Rice Student Sings in Upcoming Malayalam Film

At Rice University, Ahi Ajayan ’26 goes quietly about her business as a student at the Wiess
School of Natural Sciences.

But on the other side of the world, she’s a hit. The freshman sings a featured song, “Kannilu Kannilu,” in a new Indian comedy, “Ayisha.” She’s the voice behind a breezy dance number that was released to YouTube weeks before the film itself. To date, the video has more than 3.5 million views.

“My mom said that I was singing all the time as a child,” said Ajayan, the daughter of Pulickel
Ajayan, a professor and chair of Rice’s Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering,
and Poornima Ajayan, a finance and data specialist at the George R. Brown School of
Engineering. “I used to hum, and every time I was doing activities, I would sing. On my third
birthday, my mom put me in classical Indian music lessons.”

Ajayan entered Rice as a student of cognitive studies, but hopes to find a connection between
music and the brain. “I think it would be interesting to see if I could somehow create a bridge between music and neuroscience and see what the effects are of music on our brains, our development and our cognitive abilities. There's a lot of scope for discovery with cognitive science,” she said. One thing remains constant – music will always be a part of Ajayan’s life.
“Music has become one of the biggest parts of my life,” she said. “In the studio, I recognized
this is what I want to do with my life. I’ve never felt this special about anything else in my life
than in that moment. Being able to interact with audiences and see how they respond to my
music made me love it and become more passionate about it. I would love to pursue music
fulltime, pursue more collaborations and record more songs.”

Learn More: https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/rice-university-student-ahi-ajayan-performs-main-track-upcoming-film-ayisha

Видео Rice Student Sings in Upcoming Malayalam Film канала Rice University