Whenever someone asks a musician who their favorite singer was / is, the answer would be mostly evasive. It would be something like - some singer from Bollywood ( Lata or Rafi for an instance) or two or three singers combined (latha, Asha, rafi) so that they are out of controversy. But, A.R.Rahman, T.M.S, P.Jayachandran, K.J.Yesudas and Sujatha are very precise on their choice and it’s always “P.Susheela”.
In 1998, the reporter of
“Ananda vikatan”, Mr.Madhan interviewed
A.R.Rahman. When asked “Who is your
favourite Singer?”. Rahman’s immediate reply was “P.Susheela”!. He also told he
likes the quality, sweetness and clarity in her voice”. ( Proof )
Few years back, I could see A.R.Rahman in Vijay TV’s “Coffee with Anu”
Program. As a Custom, Anu asked him sign in the coffee cup and asked him to
give it to one of person who inspired him from same field. Again his instant
reply was “to my favourite Singer, P.Susheela”. ( Proof)
When
Rahman won his Oscar, P.Susheela felicitated him in Hyderabad. Out of his
respect for her, he participated in the function along with his mother. In that
program, he once again stated -“The singer I adore in the whole world is
P.Susheela”. ( Proof)
Last
year, he had released a coffee book with the photos of the musicians whom he
worked with and he had invited P.Susheela to release the book. There was a
beautiful photo of P.Susheela in a full page.
From
the above instances, we can understand the respect he has towards P.Susheela ! Amazing..
Inspite
of being her fan, he had worked with
Smt.P.Susheela for only five songs. The first one was “Kannukku mai azhagu”
from pudhiya mugam and that was a instant hit.
( Kannukku mai azhagu )
Then it was
“Mettu podu ” from the movie “Duet”. I
don’t know how she agreed to sing just four lines in the beginning of the song.
( Mettu podu - Duet )
The third
was a big hit “kappaleri poyachu” from the movie Indian. The whole song was
recorded with her voice and then due to hero’s intervention that song became a duet and at last it got released with only
one stanza.
( Kappaleri Poyachu - Indian )
The fourth
song is “kannulukku choopandam” which is the telugu version of “kannukku mai
azhagu”.
( Kannulaku Choopandham )
The fifth one
was “Pirappokkum ellaa uyirkkum”, the famous “semmozhi maanadu” song.
If we
analyze these songs, all are hits and the movies also hits ( especially
Indian is a blockbuster ) . “Why didn’t he give her more chances?” - Even
though the voice quality of Lata and Asha had gone bad, he was continuously working
with them. Even though P.Susheela’s vocal chords weren’t like her usual, her voice
still had that melody and timbre in it. But still he was hesitant – Why? -- these
type of questions linger in the minds of most of P.Susheela fans.
A.R.Rahman
is the son of R.K.Sekhar who composed music for 23 malayalam movies and worked
as “music conductor” for many Music directors like G.Devarajan.
P.Susheela rendered around 25 songs for
R.K.Sekhar in Malayalam movies. His First movie was “Pazhassi Raja" (1964)
produced by Udhaya Studios. P.Susheela sang three songs in that movie including
two lullabies “muthe vavavo”, “kannu rendum thamarappo” and a pathos, “Anjanakunnil thiri koluthi”. “Muthe vaa vaavo” was a hit number in those days.
R.K.Sekhar’s Second movie was Ayisha which
reflected the Culture of muslims from Malabar area. He used the lyrics from the
epic “Badarul muneer” which features the romance between Badarul muneer and
Hansul Jamaal. “Poomakalane oh hansul jammal [ Badarul Muneer ]”, anganeyangane
[Badarul Muneer].
Manoraajyathu [Badarul Muneer]. Rajakumari [Badarul Muneer], “Muthaneente muthane”. “Akkanum malayude chariviloru” and “thamara poonkaavile” are the
songs sung by P.Susheela. I am really surprised by the way she adopted the
Slang and Style of “Maappilla songs” and incorporated it
in her voice. You can feel the difficulty in "Poomakalane" song.
One more movie under R.K.Shekhar’s
music “Chottanikkara Amma”” - the story of one of the famous temples in kerala
had P.Susheela and K.J.Yesudas rendering a beautiful evergreen duet, “Manassumanassinte kathil rahasyangal”.
He also composed music for “Miss Mary”
(1971) which was the remake of tamil and telugu hit “Missiamma”. P.Susheela
rendered three beautiful songs, “nee ente velicham”, “manivarnan illathavrindavanam” and “ponnambiliyude” and all were hits. “Neeyente velicham” is
very popular with Christian community in kerala. A.R.Rahman remembered his
father’s work in Malayalam music field in Ananda vikatan magazine. He mentioned
few songs including “manassu manassinte” and “neeyente velicham”.
Other hit songs in their combination are Sapthami
Chandrane ( Velicham
akale), “EnikkuDahikkunnu ( Velicham akale), “pallavi maathram" ( pattabhishekam), Kathatha
karthika vilakku (Anaadha
Shilpangal ),ragangal
bhavangal (
Kuttichathan), Maaridamen thukhil ( Priye ninakku vendi ) Chendumalli Chendumalli ( Nadeenadanmaare avasyamundu )
and A smash A Crash (kaalaapika ) .
on the whole, there were a number of good songs in his music. There were also of different varieties.
I am surprised as to why he couldn't reach great heights with this kind of talent!
We should be happy and thankful that atleast his son could reach the peak of his career within a short span of time. May his success continue!
Manassu Manassinte kathil | Mani varnan illaththa |
Ponnambiliyude poomukha
|
Ragangal bhavangal | Pallavi Mathram paranju |
Poomakalane oh hansul jamal |
Kathatha karthika vilakku
|
Avilable List of Songs in R.K.Sekhar's Music ( Sung by P.Susheela)
Year | Movie | Songs | Singers | |
| 1964 | pazhassi raja | kannu rendum thamarapoo | P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | pazhassi raja | anjanakunnil | P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | pazhassi raja | muthe vaa vaavo muthu | P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | thamara ponnkavile | P. Susheela. Jikki. A.M. raja | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | akkaanum malayude cheriviloru | A.M.Raja, P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | anganeyangane [Badarul Muneer] | A.M.Raja, P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | Manoraajyathu [Badarul Muneer] | A.M.Raja, P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | muthane ente muthane | A.M.Raja, P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | muthane ente muthane -sad | A.M.Raja, P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | poomagalanu | P. Susheela | |
| 1964 | Ayisha | Rajakumari [Badarul Muneer] | A.M.Raja, P. Susheela | |
| 1971 | anaadha shilpangal | kathatha kaarthika vilakku | P. Susheela | |
| 1972 | miss mary | manivarnanillatha vrundavanam | P. Jayachandran, P. susheela | |
| 1972 | miss mary | neeyente velicham | P. Susheela | |
| 1972 | Miss mary | ponnambiliyude poomukhavathil | P. Jayachandran, P. susheela | |
| 1973 | kaapaalika | a smash and a crash | P. Susheela | |
| 1974 | Nadeenadanmare Avasyamundu | chendumalli chandramadham | P. Susheela | |
| 1974 | pattabhishekam | pallavil mathram | P. Susheela | |
| 1975 | kuttichathan | raangangal bhavangal | K.J. Yesudas, P. Susheela | |
| 1975 | priye ninakku vendi | maridameeran thukil | P. Susheela | |
| 1975 | velicham akale | enikku dahikkunnu | P. Susheela | |
| 1975 | velicham akale | sapthami chandrane | P. Jayachandran, P. susheela | |
| 1976 | Chottanikara Amma | manassu manassinte | K.J. Yesudas, P. Susheela |
Courtesy: Srividya, United states,
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