Cinemaazi wishes P Susheela a very happy birthday

Known by the title ‘Gana Kokila’ or ‘Gana Saraswati’, today marks the birthday of P Susheela, one of the most prolific and mellifluous singers who has entertained listeners over more than six decades. Recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records for singing the highest number of songs in Indian languages, she has sung a whopping 17, 695 songs in 12 Indian languages. She has sung in languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese. She has been awarded the National film award five times, in addition to other esteemed awards from the governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008. Born on 13 November 1935, in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, P Susheela had early training in music and also completed her Diploma in Music from Andhra University. With her distinct, clear vocals she soon carved a niche for herself, from the time she was signed on for Petra Thai (1952) for a duet. With back to back hits in 1955 in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada industries, her popularity rose quickly. The top vocalist in the 60s across the south Indian languages, she also sang Hindi songs with music directors like KV Mahadevan,Laxmikant Pyarelal, and S N Tripathi. She reigned till 1985, post which she became selective about film songs. Focusing on devotional music and light music, P. Susheela was heard as recently as last year in films like LKG (2019), Aadai (2019) and Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019). We wish the legendary singer continued health and happiness. Here she sings Kaaveri Oram from Aadi Perukku (1962) which starred Gemini Ganesan and B Saroja Devi. 

Image courtesy: upperstall.com