Swarnalatha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Humming Queen Of India[1] Nightingale Of Tamil Cinema[2] Swarangalin Arasi[3] Gandharva Kuralarasi |
| Born | (1973-04-29)29 April 1973 Chittur,Palakkad,Kerala,India |
| Died | 12 September 2010(2010-09-12) (aged 37) Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India |
| Genres | Cinema Playback singing,Carnatic music,Hindustani Music,Ghazal |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | vocals |
| Years active | 1987–2010 |
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, includingTamil,Telugu,Malayalam,Kannada,Hindi,Urdu,Bengali,Oriya,Punjabi, andBadaga.[4] Her beautiful voice is the reason behind her title "Queen of Tones In India".[5]
She won theNational Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Porale Ponnuthayi" from the filmKaruththamma. The song was composed byA. R. Rahman, under whose musical direction she recorded many memorable songs. She was also the first femaleplayback singer to receive aNational Award inA. R. Rahman Music.[6]
She was born K. C. Cherukutty and mother Kalyani. Swarnalatha was trained to play harmonium and keyboard.[7] Swarnalatha's family later moved toBhadravathi inShivamogga District,Karnataka where she had her education.[8] 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.
Swarnalatha's family moved toChennai to seek opportunities in the film industry for her singing talent. The first opportunity came fromM. S. Viswanathan in 1987 when she recorded a duet withK. J. Yesudas, "Chinnachiru Kiliye" in the filmNeethikku Thandanai.[8] Subsequently, she was approached by many other music directors to record songs under their baton. She also had the opportunity to work with the directorP. Venu. She was frequently approached by musicians likeIlaiyaraaja andA. R. Rahman for their compositions. She also recorded a few Hindi songs, the most notable one being "Hai Rama Yeh Kya Hua" from the filmRangeela with singerHariharan.
In Telugu, she recorded more songs under the music direction ofMani Sharma,Ramana Gogula,Raj–Koti, andVandemataram 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" fromSathriyan[6] or "Porale Ponnuthayi" fromKaruthamma as well as Rahman's experimental songs like "Mukkabla" fromKadhalan or "Mottu Vittadha" fromPavithra. In Kannada, her first song, "Saradara Baa Baalina Sindhoora" was a duet with actor-singerRajkumar for the filmParashuram in 1989.
Swarnalatha was the first female playback singer to fetch the National Award underA. R. Rahman's music direction. She received the award for the song "Porale Ponnuthayi". She recorded many songs with music directorsDeva,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 byLata Mangeshkar andShamshad Begum for the Tamil movieAnarkali (the dubbed version of the Hindi movieMughal-e-Azam) and was praised by the Bollywood music directorNaushad Ali, which she considered the best moment in her career.[9][10]
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.[11][12]
Swarnalatha died at Malar Hospitals Ltd Adayar,Chennai at the age of 37, on 12 September 2010. She hadIdiopathic lung disease.[citation needed]
| Awards | Wins |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 3 |
| Cinema Express | 5 |
| Kalaimamani | 1 |
| Total | 10 |
National Award (Silver Lotus Award)-(Rajat Kamal)
Government Honour
Recognition
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She has sung over 200 songs forIlayaraja 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 filmThalapathi figured in BBC'sHits 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 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 forRahman.
