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. As of 2021[update], she had recorded more than 18,000 songs.[3] She is celebrated as the Melody Queen of South India, she is known by various affectionate titles: Bhava Gayika in Kerala, and Innisai Kuyil in Tamil Nadu.[4] She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration with music composers like A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, M. M. Keeravani, Koti, Vidyasagar, Mani Sharma, and with the playback singers K. J. Yesudas and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, over the years.[3] Her husky voice and versatile singing style have garnered her a massive fan base.
Sujatha shot to fame in the seventies as Baby Sujatha, the schoolgirl who regularly used to sing with K. J. Yesudas in his stage shows all over the world. She recorded her first song, "Kannezhuthy Pottuthottu" when she was in the sixth standard. The song was composed by M. K. Arjunan for the 1975 Malayalam movie Tourist Bungalow. She recorded songs for Shyam in Kamam Krodham Moham and Salil Chowdhury in Aparadhi. Around this time, composer M. G. Radhakrishnan got her to record many non-film songs; the biggest hit among them was "Odakkuzhal Vili".
She debuted in Tamil through the song "Kaadhal Oviyam Kandein" from Kavikuyil (1977), tuned in Hameer Kalyani raga by Illayaraja, but it was not included in the film. Her first released song in Tamil was "Kalai Paniyil" from the Tamil film Gaayathri (1977), starring Sridevi and Rajinikanth with music by Ilaiyaraja. She sang for Ilaiyaraaja in Johnny, Kavikuyil and Ilamai Kolangal. After her marriage in 1981, she took a sabbatical from playback singing. She made a successful comeback in 1988 through Kadathanadan Ambadi, followed by the hit Chithram.
She used to sing ad jingles in the late 1980s for A. R. Rahman (such as the Premiere Cooker ad and the Tilda Rice ad). Then Rahman got her to sing "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" from Mani Ratnam's 1992 film Roja, which became one of the biggest hit songs in India. The backing vocals for the song "Kadhal Roja" were also performed by Sujatha. She has had other hit songs, most of them with Rahman from films including Pudhiya Mugam (1992), Gentleman (1993), Jeans and Minsaara Kanavu (1997). She has also recorded some songs in Hindi, including "Dil Hai Sanam" (the Hindi version of "Thee Thee") from Chor Chor (Thiruda Thiruda), "Ishq Bina" from Taal, "Hai Jaana" from Pukar and "Ishwar Allah" from Earth, and provided backing vocals for the song "Tum Ho Meri Nigahom" from Kabhi Na Kabhi, all of them composed by A. R. Rahman. She has had many of her notable and successful songs under the musical direction of A. R. Rahman. She is considered as one of the Legendary Singers in India.
She made a strong comeback in the Malayalam film industry in the mid-1990s and most of her notable Malayalam songs were composed by Vidyasagar. Most of her hit songs from Telugu are composed by Mani Sharma. She was also a judge in munch star singer junior, IDEA star singer, AIRTEL super singer (VIJAY TV).
Sujatha has received several awards and recognitions for her work in the South Indian film musical world. She has been awarded the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Indian state Tamil Nadu in 2021. She was also awarded Kerala, Tamil Nadu state awards.
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