{"id":41475,"date":"2024-05-29T03:33:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T07:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=41475"},"modified":"2024-05-29T05:37:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T09:37:04","slug":"p-leela-forgotten-singer-who-sang-unforgettable-songs-in-tamil-cinema-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=41475","title":{"rendered":"\u266c P. Leela, ‘Forgotten’ Singer Who Sang Unforgettable Songs In Tamil Cinema \u2665"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by D.B.S. Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

(P. Leela was the uncrowned queen of song in the realm of Tamil films during the fifties and sixties of the last century.Born in 1934, Leela passed away in 2005.This Article written in 2015 is re-posted here without any changes to denote Leela’s 90th Birthdy on May 19)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was pleasantly surprised this week when a South Indian journal asked me to revise an article I had written earlier about the singer Porayathu Leela \u2013 popularly known as P. Leela. The request for an article to denote Leela\u2019s birthday was most unexpected as she had passed away 10 years ago on October 31st 2005.Her once successful career as a Play back singer of film songs in Tamil cinema had virtually ended decades before her demise. Leela, born on 19 May 1934, was ethnically a Malayalee who resided and died in the Tamil Nadu state capital of Chennai.<\/p>\n

\"Porayathu<\/a>

\u2665\u266c Porayathu Leela (P. Leela) \u266c\u2665<\/p><\/div>\n

The present generation of film song fans may have never heard her or even heard of P. Leela. She was the uncrowned queen of song in the realm of Tamil films during the fifties and sixties of the last century. P. Leela has sung about 5,000 film songs in South Indian languages such as Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and even in Bengalee and Sinhala. Her Tamil renditions may number around 1,000. She was a household name in those days.
\n
\nThere was a time when Indian artistes and technicians played a big role in Sinhala films. The Sinhala film industry was in its nascent stages and forced to rely on Indian input to a great extent. Many Sinhala films were produced in India. Film songs in Sinhala films were heavily influenced by Hindi and Tamil films. Indian music directors such as V. Dakshinamoorthy, S.M. Subbiah Nayudu and Vedha composed music for Sinhala films. Indian playback singers like Jamuna Rani, K. Rani, S.Janaki ,AM Rajah and Leela used to sing for Sinhala films in those days.<\/p>\n

\"SL<\/a><\/p>\n

The best singer of them all<\/strong><\/p>\n

My years of childhood and early teens was an era where Tamil film singers like T.M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela, P.B. Sreenivas, Seergali Govindarajan, S. Janaki and L.R. Eeswari, etc. dominated. Singers like Leela were not actively singing in Tamil films then. Despite this it was etched in my consciousness as a kid that Leela was the best singer of them all. This was due to a rather facetious reason.<\/p>\n

The early sixties saw the \u201cLeela stores\u201d cum \u201cLeela press\u201d owner Mr.Sinnathurai bringing out an illustrated calendar in Ceylon as Sri Lanka was known then. An illustrated calendar or \u2018Sithirakkalendar\u2019 was a novelty when first introduced. Radio advertisements were used greatly to market the new product. The similarity of the \u201cLeela\u201d name between the singer and calendar was smartly used to promote the product.<\/p>\n

Most ads would first have a line from a popular song by Leela like \u2018Engume Aanandham\u2019 or \u2018Konchum Salangai Oli Kettu\u2019. Thereafter a voice would say that just like Leela\u2019s songs, the Leela calendar too was the best or that like a song by Leela, the namesake calendar too gave pleasure. This made an indelible impression on me that Leela was the best singer at that impressionable age. Of course in later years one listened to more old songs and realised that all those nightingales of yesteryear were unique in their own way.<\/p>\n

\"Porayathu<\/a>

Porayathu Leela – (May 19, 1934 – October 31, 2005)<\/p><\/div>\n

My mother too was an ardent fan of Leela. Her favourite Tamil film singer duo or \u2018jodi\u2019 were Leela and the renowned singer Ghantasala. Leela was a Malayalee and Ghantasala a Telugu. Yet they were a popular pair singing in Tamil and Telugu films then. Voice wise, Ghantasala was a bass and Leela a soprano but both harmonised well. My mother would often say that the voices of Ghantasala and Leela were made for each other. The duo hit it off perfectly in films like \u2018Bhathala Bhairavi,\u2019 \u2018Maya Bhajaar\u2019 and \u2018Prema Pasam,\u2019 with evergreen numbers like \u2018Amaithi Illathen Maname,\u2019 \u2018Ennathan un Premaiyo,\u2019 \u2018Kathale Deiveega,\u2019 \u2018Neethanaa Ennai,\u2019 \u2018Aahaa Inba Nilavinile\u2019 and \u2018Veesum Thendralile,\u2019 etc.<\/p>\n