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Anand Aravindakshan is an Indian playback singer, and the 2016 title winner of Airtel Super Singer Season 5, a television-based reality singing competition in Tamil televised on Vijay TV. He has sung many movie songs in Tamil and Malayalam, devotional songs, and jingles, along with concert performances.

Early Life
Anand was born in 1989 in Kerala. His family soon moved to Chennai, and he started learning classical music from the age of six in a Gurukul mode of disciplined training from Smt. Seetha Rajan. He also completed Grade 5 in Western Music from the London College of Music. Anand did his school education from Chennai, and while in high school at Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School in Chennai, Anand started representing his school at cultural events and competition. After his graduation in commerce at Vivekananda College in Chennai, Anand completed a course in sound engineering from Soundtech Media School of Sound Engineering and Recording in Pune and his MBA from Symbiosis College in the same city.

Anand's Singing Career
During his graduation, at the age of 18, Anand got his first singing opportunity, when received a call from music director Gopi Sundar. This opportunity was followed by other songs for multiple music composers, including a Telugu song for Sharreth Vasudevan ; Tamil songs for movies such as Aarohanam, Sundarapandian, Neerparavai, 10 Endrathukulla, Kodi, and other movies; and Malayalam songs for movies such as Annayum Rasoolum and Talsamayam Oru Penkutty.

Reality Show Experience
During this period Anand also took part in about four reality shows, where he won two shows and was announced first runner-up in the other two. He was the first runner up in the 2007 edition of Gandharva Sangeetham, a reality music show telecast by Kairali channel and in the 2008 edition of Athiradi Singer, a reality music show telecast by Sun TV. He was the title winner of the 2010 edition of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa challenge, a reality music show telecast by Zee Tamil. However, his latest reality show win in 2016 stirred up a lot of discussion and brought Anand to the limelight. This show was the fifth season of Airtel Super Singer (Tamizhagathil Brahmaanda Kuralukkana Thedal), a television-based reality singing competition in Tamil televised on Vijay TV, and Anand was the title winner of this edition. With playback singers such as Srinivas, Unnikrishnan, Usha Uthup, and Mano judging the show, Anand was part of the top 30 contestants who were selected to participate in the various rounds. He was eliminated in the later rounds of the show but he made a comeback to the show as a wild card candidate and became part of the top 5. He was eventually announced the winner in the grand finale of the season, but this victory instantly fuelled controversial social media discussions questioning this decision, mentioning that Anand was already a playback singer. Anand later clarified his stand, and Vijay TV released a statement confirming that this rule of rejecting playback singers as candidates was not applicable for the fifth season since the rule was removed two years earlier for the Super Singer Senior category. Hence, they mentioned that Anand’s victory was valid.

Concerts, Jingles, and Other Recordings
In addition to being a playback singer, Anand has also performed on stage for concerts and live events. He has also sung more than 100 devotional songs. An Acapella piece that he released on YouTube in 2016 went viral, receiving more than 300 thousand views. He has also sung many jingles, including Vivel Soap and Snickers, as well as title songs of teleserials and reality shows, including Josco Indian Voice and Kuladheivam.

Personal Life
Anand Aravindakshan’s father, Aravindakshan, is also a musician and vocalist. He currently works in the West London Tamil School in the United Kingdom. Anand’s father learned music under Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and he was a vocalist for Bharatanatyam dancers such as the Dhananjayans. Anand’s mother, Usha Aravindakshan, is a homemaker. Anand also has a brother, Mukund Aravindakshan. In December 2017, Anand married Paromita Banerjee, his high school sweetheart, in a Bengali-style wedding.