If you have dropped by AMPM on Park Street for a cocktail with friends or family, chances are that you’ve stumbled across a set sung by Samara Mehta Vyas. The 17-year-old is fresh out of school and waiting for her ISC results, but smashes the AMPM stage whenever she gets a gig. She doesn’t consider herself a professional yet, but a singer who enjoys herself on stage. And she plans to pursue her career as a singer in New York… “by hook or by crook”!
My Kolkata spoke to the youngster ahead of her gig at AMPM Kolkata on Saturday (April 20) with Generations Apart, where they will be performing a tribute night for rock band Queen.
First baby steps
Samara’s first experience with music came at 11 months. How? “I used to scream a lot. I screamed in the hospital for the first time and my mother said that I am going to become a singer!” she said. Growing up in a Parsi household, music was something that came naturally. Broadway musicals, Queen and The Carpenters were a regular part of her childhood soundtrack.
“My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and more shaped my childhood and I used to sing songs with my grandfather… who is not the best singer, but we would have our good times,” she said. Seeing her father (Sandeep Vyas) become an acclaimed musician and her mother (Sanaya Mehta Vyas) become a successful businesswoman further motivated her to be the best version of herself.
Samara grew up watching musicals like ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘The Sound of Music’
Debut performance
Like many gifted performers who started young, Samara’s first-ever performance was at the age of two. The song she sang? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. “The Parsis have a community meet where they host talent contests and my granny dressed me up in a big red dress. I remember I sang that day with an ice cream in my hand,” she reminisced.
Now, 16 years later, she performed her first professional gig at AMPM in 2023. “That was a distant dream. Pradyumna Manot, the music director at AMPM, approached me and said he wanted me for my talent and that made me more confident,” she said. Since then, she has been performing with local band Generations Apart, who perform retro, pop and rock numbers.
Samara and Generations Apart give the crowd at AMPM a banger of a night AMPM
But, unlike most musicians who probably feel a little nervous on stage the first time around, Samara has mastered her stage presence. Not only does she perform her songs, but also “blabbers” during the breaks to ensure everyone is comfortable. “I used to think that going off the set list means you’re doing a bad job, but now I know the importance of reading an audience,” she said, a tactic she learned while being on stage.
‘I love performing with my dad’
Sandeep Vyas is a household name in the music industry in the city. If you’re having a good time at a live performance, chances are Sandeep is behind the mix. So what about a father-daughter duo? “During his performances, he would casually call me up on stage and we would do a couple of numbers. I love performing with my dad,” she says. During lockdown, they also recorded a cover of Cold Heart by Elton John.
When we asked about the father Sandeep and the mentor Sandeep, Samara said, “They’re the same. He asks me about practice, which songs I’ve done, how much have I studied… why have you studied,” she said jokingly. She also repeated a story of Sandeep where he needed throat surgery, but had a gig before the operation. Even then, he rocked the stage as if all was fine and went for his operation the next day. “We haven’t had a proper duo concert yet, but I would love to do that,” she said.
Her mother, Sanaya, is the reason Samara does anything at all, she said. “I wouldn't have done half the things I have done if it wasn’t for her. She pushes me to sing and to do athletics. She tells me to do it for the experience and she’s brutally honest with me,” she added.
The (yellow brick) road ahead
While Samara waits for her ISC results, she is also planning to go to college in August in the US. She sees herself at New York University pursuing music and media. As a musician, New York could be a good stepping stone for the young singer as buskers, jazz clubs and gigs are available at large. “That’s why I am going to New York — to chase my dreams.
The Queen connect
Samara connects with Freddie Mercury the most Getty Images
As she readies herself for the Queen tribute gig, Samara told us about how she connects to lead the singer of the opera rock band. “First of all, Freddie Mercury was a Parsi. So if not me, then who else [will sing in this gig]?” She was 10 when she got into rock, and loved Queen ever since. Like many others, We Will Rock You was the first song she heard, but she delved deeper into the band to discover Bohemian Rhapsody and other cult hits. “For one person to make that kind of music is amazing. He was so free on stage. I can sing those songs in my sleep and if someone asks me to sing Queen, my go-to song is Somebody To Love,” she signed off.
