Swarnalatha
| Swarnalatha | |
|---|---|
Swarnalatha
|
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| Background information | |
| Born | 29 April 1973 Chittur, Palakkad, Kerala, India |
| Died | 12 September 2010 (aged 37) Chennai, India |
| Genres | Playback singing, Carnatic music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | vocals |
| Years active | 1987–2010 |
Swarnalatha (29 April 1973 – 12 September 2010) was an Indian playback singer. From 1987 onward, she rendered nearly 7,000 songs in many languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi and Badaga.
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. Her distinctive voice, which could effortlessly reach high octaves, quickly made her a name to reckon with in the playback music industry.
She was born in the village Kizhakkaepparra near Athikkode near Chittur, Palakkad, Kerala, to K. C. Cherukutty and Kalyani. Swarnalatha had many brothers and sisters and was the last born of a big family of music lovers. Her father was a good harmonium player and singer. Her mother also had an interest in music. Swarnalatha was trained on the harmonium and keyboard. Swarnalatha's family later moved to Bhadravathi (Paper Town) in Shimoga District, where she had her education. Born in a family of musicians (father K. C. Cherukutty was a singer and harmonium player, while sister Saroja was her music guru initially), Swarnalatha took to music when she was in her teens.
When Swarnalatha was still a child, her family moved to Chennai to seek film opportunities for her singing talent. The first opportunity came from M. S. Viswanathan in 1987, when she performed a duet with K. J. Yesudas, "Chinnanchirukiliye Kannamma" in the film Neethikku Thandanai. Subsequently, many other music directors approached her to perform their songs. She also had the opportunity to work with director P. Venu. She was recruited by legendary 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 Rangeela along with Hariharan.
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