Swarnalatha

Last updated

Swarnalatha
Swarnalatha.jpg
Background information
Also known asThe Humming Queen Of India [1]
Born(1973-04-29)29 April 1973
Chittur, Palakkad, Kerala, India
Died12 September 2010(2010-09-12) (aged 37)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Genres Cinema Playback singing, Carnatic music, Hindustani Music, Ghazal
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)vocals
Years active1987–2010

Swarnalatha (29 April 1973 – 12 September 2010) was an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning almost 22 years (from 1987 until her death), she recorded over 10,000 songs in many Indian languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi, and Badaga. [2]

Contents

She won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Porale Ponnuthayi" from the film Karuththamma . The song was composed by A. R. Rahman, under whose musical direction she recorded many memorable songs. She was also the first female playback singer to get a National Award In A. R. Rahman Music. [3]

Personal life

She was born in Kerala, to K. C. Cherukutty and Kalyani. Her father was a harmonium player and singer. Her mother also had interest in music. Swarnalatha was trained to play harmonium and keyboard. [4] Swarnalatha's family later moved to Bhadravathi in Shivamogga District, Karnataka where she had her education. [5] She started singing at the age of 3. Surrounded by a family of musicians and music lovers, Swarnalatha was trained in Carnatic and Hindustani music. Her sister Saroja was her first music teacher.

Career

Swarnalatha's family moved to Chennai to seek opportunities in the film industry for her singing talent. The first opportunity came from M. S. Viswanathan in 1987 when she performed a duet with K. J. Yesudas, "Chinnachiru Kiliye" in the film Neethikku Thandanai . [5] Subsequently, she was approached by many other music directors to perform songs under their baton. She also had the opportunity to work with the director P. Venu. She was recruited by musicians like Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman. She also recorded a few Hindi songs, the most notable one being "Hai Rama Yeh Kya Hua" from the film Rangeela with singer Hariharan.

In Telugu, she recorded more songs under the music direction of Mani Sharma, Ramana Gogula, Raj–Koti, and Vandemataram Srinivas. They include top-rated songs like Raamma Chilakamma, Osey Ramulamma, and Nizam Babulu. A. R. Rahman employed Swarnalatha for many of his songs. She was one of the most versatile singers of her times, as she was able to sing melodies like "Maalayil Yaaro Manathodu Pesa" from Sathriyan [3] or "Porale Ponnuthayi" from Karuthamma as well as Rahman's experimental songs like "Mukkabla" from Kadhalan or "Mottu Vittadha" from Pavithra .

Swarnalatha was the first female playback singer to fetch the National Award under A. R. Rahman's music direction. She received the award for the song "Porale Ponnuthayi". She recorded many songs with music directors Deva, Vidyasagar, Harris Jayaraj, Anu Malik, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Raj–Koti, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Mani Sharma, Hamsalekha and many others.

She recorded all the songs initially rendered by Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum for the Tamil movie Anarkali (the dubbed version of the Hindi movie Mughal-e-Azam ) and was praised by the Bollywood music director Naushad Ali, which she considered the best moment in her career. [6] [7]

Television

Swarnalatha appeared as a judge in many television singing competitions, notably in the 2001 Vijay TV reality show and in the 2004 Jaya TV Ragamalika. [8] [9]

Death

Swarnalatha died at Malar Hospitals Ltd Adayar, Chennai at the age of 37, on 12 September 2010. She had Idiopathic lung disease.[ citation needed ]

Awards and recognitions

Awards
AwardsWins
National Film Awards
1
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
3
Cinema Express
5
Kalaimamani
1
Total
10

National Award ( Silver Lotus Award )-( Rajat Kamal )

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

Cinema Express Awards

Government Honour

Recognition

Frequent collaboration

Ilaiyaraja

She has sung over 200 songs for Ilayaraja and marked as one of the noted combinations in 90's. 'Povomaa Oorkolam' and 'Nee Yengae Enn Anbae' from the film Chinnathambi were hits. Government of Tamil Nadu honoured her with the award of Best Singer for the song 'Povomaa Oorkolam'.

The song 'Raakkamma Kayyathattu' from the film Thalapathi figured in BBC's Hits List of World Songs.

She had sung several experimental songs for Ilayaraja such as "Sollividu VelliNilave', "Kanne Indru Kalyana Kathai" and "Ennai Thottu Allikonda".

A. R. Rahman

A. R. Rahman and Swarnalatha association started from the year 1993. Their Combination is known for the magical songs such as "Mukkala Mukkabala", "Hai Rama yeh kya hua", which are the hit songs of 90's. She was the first female singer to receive National Award under Rahman's Music for the song "Porale ponnuthayi" from karuthama released in the year 1994. She has sung nearly 80 songs for Rahman.

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hariharan (singer)</span> Indian playback singer

Hariharan Anantha Subramani is an Indian playback, bhajan and ghazal singer who predominantly sings in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages. He has also sung over 15,000 notable songs in 10 regional languages including Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Sinhala and Bhojpuri. He is an established ghazal singer and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. Jayachandran</span> Indian playback singer

Paliyath Jayachandrakuttan is an Indian playback singer and actor from Kerala. Jayachandran is best known for his captivating voice which gave him the title Bhava Gayakan by the music fraternity of South India. He has worked with many composers including G. Devarajan, M. S. Baburaj, V. Dakshinamoorthy, K. Raghavan, M. K. Arjunan, M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Koti, Shyam, A. R. Rahman, M. M. Keeravani, Vidyasagar and M Jayachandran. He has sung more than 10000 songs in total in different languages.He also acted in few films too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vairamuthu</span> Indian film lyricist, poet, and novelist

Vairamuthu Ramasamy is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first worked as a translator, while also being a published poet. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the film Nizhalgal, an Ilaiyaraaja musical, directed by Bharathiraja. During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems which have won him seven National Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist. He has also been honored with a Padma Shri, a Padma Bhushan and a Sahitya Akademi Award, for his abundant literary output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sadhana Sargam</span> Indian singer

Sadhana Sargam is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, Telugu and Tamil language films. She is a recipient of the National Film Award and Filmfare Awards South. She has also won five Maharashtra State Film Awards, four Gujarat State Film Awards, and one Orissa State Film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harini (singer)</span> Indian film playback singer and classical singer

Harini not to be confused with singer Harini Ivaturi is an Indian film playback singer and classical singer who sings in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films, working with many leading film composers. She is married to another playback singer, Tippu.

Minmini is a South Indian film playback singer. She is best remembered for the song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" from Roja, the debut work of film composer A. R. Rahman, which was dubbed in Hindi as "Choti Si Asha". Most of her songs are in Tamil, most of them composed by Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman. Her Malayalam songs include "Souparnikamritha" from Kizhakkunarum Pakshi, "Oonjal Urangi", and "Neelaraavi" from Kudumbasametham. She has lent her voice to songs from films including Enga Thambi (1993), Karuththamma (1994), and Thevar Magan (1992). She made a comeback in 2015 with the song "Kanmaniye" from Mili.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unni Menon</span> Indian singer

Unni Menon is an Indian film playback singer. He has recorded over 4000 songs in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. In the early part of his career, he spent many years as a low-profile playback singer. The turning point in his career came with the song "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" from Mani Ratnam's award-winning 1992 Tamil film Roja, composed by A. R. Rahman. He has frequently associated with A. R. Rahman, lending his voice to nearly 27 popular songs from films like Karuththamma (1994) and Minsaara Kanavu (1997).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. Susheela</span> Indian singer (born 1933)

Pulapaka Susheela, popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playback singers in India. She has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as well as by the Asia Book of Records for performing a record number of songs in different Indian languages. She is also the recipient of five National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer and numerous state awards. Susheela is widely acclaimed as a singer who defined feminism in South Indian cinema and is well known for her mellifluous vocal performances for over 40,000 film songs across South Indian languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mano (singer)</span> Indian singer

Nagoor Babu, known by his stage name Mano, is an Indian playback singer, voice-over artist, actor, producer, television anchor and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sujatha Mohan</span> Indian playback singer

Sujatha Mohan is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi and more languages movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has recorded more than 20,000 songs to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinmayi Sripaada</span> Indian playback singer

Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company Blue Elephant, a Skincare company importing K-beauty to India - Isle Of Skin, and a medi-spa Deep Skin Dialogues in Chennai and Hyderabad. She is often credited as Chinmayee and Indai Haza. She rose to fame for her critically acclaimed song "Oru Deivam Thantha Poovae" from the National Award winning movie Kannathil Muthamittal.

Darshana KT is an Indian Tamil playback singer for films in India. She is currently residing in Chicago and shuttles between India and the US for her music projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shweta Mohan</span> Indian singer

Shweta Mohan is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700 songs and albums in all the four south Indian languages namely Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, she has also recorded songs for Hindi films and has established herself as a leading playback singer of South Indian cinema.

<i>Chinna Thambi</i> 1991 Indian film

Chinna Thambi is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Prabhu as the titular character, an uneducated village simpleton and Khushbu as Nandini, a homeschooled wealthy girl. Manorama, Radha Ravi, Uday Prakash, Rajeshkumar, and Goundamani play supporting roles. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, and the film released on 12 April 1991.

<i>Roja</i> (soundtrack) 1992 soundtrack album by A. R. Rahman

Roja is the debut soundtrack album of music composer A. R. Rahman, featuring lyrics by Vairamuthu. It is the soundtrack to the 1992 Tamil film of the same name, directed by Mani Ratnam, and starring Aravind Swamy and Madhoo. The album features seven tracks in Tamil and Hindi, and six tracks in Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi and five tracks in the instrumental adaptation album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Shende</span> Indian singer of Bollywood and regional films

Bela Shende is an Indian playback singer. She performed several songs in Bollywood and regional films. "Mann Mohana" from the film Jodhaa Akbar, "Su Che" from the film What's Your Raashee?, "Wajle Ki Baara" and "Apsara Aali" from Natarang are some of her famous songs. In 2014 she was awarded the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Khurkhura" from the Marathi film Tuhya Dharma Koncha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinnaponnu</span> Indian singer

Chinnaponnu is a folk and playback singer from the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

<i>Alai Payuthey</i> (soundtrack) 2000 soundtrack album by A. R. Rahman

Alai Payuthey is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2000 Indian Tamil film of the same name. The soundtrack album consists of nine tracks in original Tamil version of the albums whereas the Telugu version of the album has seven tracks. The soundtrack of Alaipayuthey was unanimously hailed as a Mani Ratnam film soundtrack turning for rhythmic fusion using modern synthesizers. A film, initially planned with film score, the recording of the songs eventually took place.

Surmukhi Raman, born on 15 September 1983 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu is an Indian playback singer from Tamil Nadu. She was brought up in Pune, Maharashtra. She occasionally writes lyrics. She is one of the emerging playback singers in South India. She has done playback for more than 150 film songs in four languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. In addition, she has recorded a number of devotionals. She has performed in numerous concerts in India and abroad.

References

  1. ↑ "The Humming Queen of India.  : a tribute to singer Swarnalatha". The Hindu.
  2. ↑ "Playback singer Swarnalatha passes away". The Hindu. 12 September 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 National award winning playback singer Swarnalatha passes away, Asian Tribune, Tue, 14 September 2010 03:25
  4. ↑ "Swarnalatha Biography". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Home" . Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Singer swarnalatha captain TV marakka mudiyuma show, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 11 May 2021
  7. ↑ ஸ்வர்ணலதாவிற்கு கண்ணீர் அஞ்சலி, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 11 May 2021
  8. ↑ இசை பொக்கிஷம் கலைமாமணி இசைப்பேரரசி ஸ்வர்ணலதாவின் அபூர்வராகங்கள் #Swarnalathaofficial, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 11 May 2021
  9. ↑ JayaTV Rewind: ஸ்வர்ணலதா கலந்துகொண்ட ராகமாலிகா || Swarnalatha | Ragamalika , retrieved 11 May 2021
  10. 1 2 3 4 "My first break – Swarnalatha". The Hindu . 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009.
  11. ↑ "Chinna Thambhi Bags Cinema Express Award". The Indian Express . 25 February 1992. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  12. ↑ BBC World Service 70th Anniversary Global Music Poll: The World's Top Ten. 2002. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.