I am trained in Carnatic music, but I want to explore the field of playback singing. How should I begin?

Hi, I think it will be a better option if you open your youtube channel singing to include your singing talent by making your album like Dhvani, Jubin etc. I am suggesting you because nowadays more competition in singing is there and, also many talented playback singers show their talents.
Thank you!🙏

I am a recordist for the last four years in a major studio. We often get newbies who are trained well in Carnatic music.

To pursue a playback singing career, you have many platforms to exhibit your talents, especially on social media. Social media is so saturated with the contents, So you have to get an extra mojo and stand out from the rest of the contents to get noticed.

A more straight factor that will help you pursue a career is to get "contacts" with the people who are close to the industry. And if you can showcase your previous recording sessions, it will help you to move further up.

1. So the first thing you need to do is to get some studio experience. Because singing in-studio and singing live is totaly different. Singing with a good condenser or tube mic and good preamp and compression will help improve your singing dynamics. According to the song genre, these dynamics and vocal control are more noted characteristics by the music directors. The following important factor is your voice's timbre. That is a naturally occurring thing.
2. Do some cover songs with an original backing track or arranged tracks in a professional studio under a sound recordist; they can give suggestions to improve your singing style. These songs can be used as reference tracks to show your previous works while contacting a music director.
3. Try to sing songs of different genre and different singing style. Try to break out of your comfort zone and learn how to adapt yourself to other styles. Anuradha Sriram, Sithara, Shreya Ghoshal are perfect example of versatile singers. Add these songs to your portfolios as well.
4. Try singing with a metronome. Every new singer who comes to the studio for the first time seems to struggle with a metronome at first. Practice with a metronome and learn and adjust yourself not to get conscious about metronome alone.

These are some starting points. 

I hope this helps!

Best wishes for your future!

Try showcasing your vocal talent in social media first of all.. like singing for a short film, or album which can reach soon to people.. smart way is needed so that you can easily get in sight to a good music director or composer.. on other side try recording your songs and keep sharing it in YouTube or or social sites tagging all reputable music directors asking for a chance.. try to expose your talent.. as of now social media is the best platform..

First of all, you should listen to film songs with a classical base and other genres daily. Keep singing with the tracks using Smule or Starmaker to get familiarised yourself with film songs. Then you can approach music directors with a sample of your voice. Many new music directors are looking for fresh talent.

All the best!

Hi,

Being trained in classical music, though not mandatory, always helps in pursuing playback singing. I am trained in Hindustani classical, have struggled a bit in this area, have recorded some tracks with music directors to share my experience. 

Remember, classical music is for the classes, and playback singing is for the masses. While classical experience will help you hit more challenging notes, we need to be careful not to bring too much classical touch in playback singing. Here singing needs to be simple. I would suggest you practice singing typical film songs without music, then with tracks and practice. Then get some recorded in a professional studio and have a YouTube channel with some of your songs. 

Then you can approach music directors with the links and ask for work. Offer to do track singing for free for them, which would be a good experience. It would help if you had some luck, I did not get much, but you must always be at the top of your game for luck to work.

All the best!