Who is Nikhita Gandhi, the singer who was set to perform on the fateful night at Cusat?

The death of four people, including three students, in a stampede at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) recently sent shock waves across the state. The tragedy occurred when a large crowd had gathered at the venue to watch singer Nikhita Gandhi perform during the Inter-University Tech Festival. While the state comes to terms with the tragedy, we take a look at the singer's track record and why she is very popular among the youth.

Who is Nikhita Gandhi?
Nikhita Gandhi is a Bollywood singer who has millions of fans across the country. Though the Kolkata-born singer aspired to become a dentist, she decided to pursue full-time music after she arrived in Chennai for her higher studies. Nikhita’s life took a turn after joining A R Rahman's KM College of Music. The song 'Ladio' composed by AR Rahman and crooned by her in Shankar's film 'I', became a turning point in her career.

Later, she sang for another Rahman composition in Mani Ratnam's film 'O Kathal Kanmani'. She also made a mark in 'Thanga Makan', singing along with Dhanush for songs composed by Anirudh. Nikhita has also released several music videos of her own. She has sung 10 songs composed by Rahman in her career.

Debut in Malayalam
Nikhita, a well-known singer in Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada, Arabic, Hindi, and Bengali languages, made her debut in Malayalam with the song 'Kadalin Theerathe' in the film 'Zam Zam', though the movie never released. Although she is very active as a playback singer, Nikhita won fans across the country through her stage shows.
Fans often flock from far and wide to witness the singer's 'energy-packed' performances on stage. Nikhita has her own music band and is conquering hearts across the world.

Breakthrough
Nikhita, who has Bengali-Punjabi family roots, learned Odissi dance and Hindustani music for around 12 years. Nikhita has said that she never expected to become a singer, even though music was her 'companion' from a young age.
The singer has said that meeting AR Rahman and getting the opportunity to study in his music academy were the turning points in her life.She said she never regrette d dropping out of college to become a singer.

Song tops the charts
Nikhita's solo song 'My Life is in this Town' for the Vijay movie 'Leo' was lapped up by millions of her fans. The most recent recording was a duet with Arjit Singh for the film 'Tiger 3'.
The song with over 100 million viewers topped music video charts. There are unconfirmed reports that Nikhita earns over Rs 40 crore a year.