Happy 80th Brithday To P Susheela

There is no introduction needed for 'P Susheela '. There is no iota of doubt that she is the best female playback singer of South Indian cinema. Well, let me be careful. When I say best, there should be sufficient justification for that. Let me see what I can to justify my phrase. But firstly, Nettv4u wishes this talented singer a jubilant 80th birthday.

Susheela was born into a family where music is a passion. She imbibed Carnatic skills at a young age. She also won top prizes at music competitions very often. It was music director Nageswara Rao who was instrumental in getting her sing for films. And that’s how her debut bilingual flick Petra Thaai/Kanna Thalli took place in 1952. Edhukku Azhatthaai is the first song that she had lent her voice. Though Susheela is a Telugu by birth, she made it a point to pronounce Tamil well with the help of professional trainers. This was not limited to only Tamil; this was also for other languages that she sung (her diction in every song that she sung is something admirable). This is something similar to the proficiency of ace singer Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar, the veteran playback singer, had >> Read More... . And by the end of the 50s it was Susheela who was the perennial queen of playback singing in Tamil cinema. Missiamma, Kanavane Kan Kanda Dheiyvam and Kalyana Parisu are the impeccable jewels in the crown of this indisputable singer of South India. And who can forget her impeccable singing in Aalaya Maniyin Osai?

Besides Tamil and Telugu, Susheela had also lent her voice to Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu and Sinhalese.

And well, the 60s and 70s too was a golden era for this talented singer. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam….she mesmerized the audience with her flawless voice. In fact, she was singing in almost all the songs in Tamil films. She was the undisputed queen of the Southern film industry for nearly twenty years.

Susheela had a great time in singing. Well, one point to prove that she is talented is that when singing was also given equal importance as the story it was Susheela who had a major part in this trend. Susheela proved her efficiency even at devotional songs, and her renditions were very popular. Five times National Awards, several State Awards (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh), many Lifetime Achievement Awards…..well, it doesn’t stop with this. She also has some Honorary Doctorates and Padma Bhushan to her credit. Well, I can write pages of her fame.

Oh, the song Aalaya Maniyin Osaiyai..is being tuned somewhere…let me sign off!