You shifted to the US as a toddler. How did that experience shape you as a musician?
I think the western forms of music I was exposed to early on played a constructive role in shaping my vision as an artiste. Also, the Carnatic music school my mother started in California in 1992 played a huge role in my growth. Being surrounded by music all the time was incredible, and Carnatic became my creative fountainhead. I think the challenges I faced really had to do with me embracing the different dimensions of my identity. When I was in school, I was very deliberate about isolating my 'Indian' and 'American' identities, which I think was pretty detrimental to my growth as a human being and artiste. The moment I started destroying the silos, realising that shades of the California suburbs and those of Chennai's hustle and bustle blended together to create me, I started feeling comfortable in my own skin.

Adiye [an AR Rahman hit Sriram sang] released when you were relatively young. In what ways has the experience of singing blockbuster hits shaped you?
It took a little adjusting to, but I also just kept my head in the music. At the time Adiye released, I was working on evolving my grasp of Carnatic music and on refining my original musical vision. So when the film music took off, I was still grounded in the process of artistic discovery. Getting to work with AR Rahman sir on Adiye and subsequent songs has been a dream come true; it bolstered my confidence to continue on my journey. Singing film hits has opened me up to an incredible and exponentially growing fan base. The perspective that you gain from performing in a packed venue of 10,000 people singing along with you is something else.