The young singer gave up, almost.
“I cannot sing this song, the pronunciation is too difficult,” she said.
The composer, V. Dakshinamoorthy, was not willing to give up, however. He taught her how to pronounce Malayalam properly – she had a big problem with the letter ‘na’ -- and the following day the song was recorded.
The song was Paattupadiyurakkaam njaan… The singer was P. Susheela.
Having already made her mark in Tamil and Telugu, her mother tongue, it was perhaps inevitable that she should lend her golden voice to Malayalam film music, which was in its golden period at the time. She conquered the Malayali ear in no time. That debut song in 1960, for Seetha , was a smashing hit. It remains arguably the most popular lullaby of all time in Malayalam cinema. “I was determined to make Susheela sing Paattupadiyurakkaam…, ” Dakshinamoorthy had once told this writer. “I had listened to some of her Tamil songs and was impressed.”
G. Devarajan, the greatest composer ever in Malayalam, too was impressed. He began to create masterpieces only for her, just as Madan Mohan did for Lata Mangeshkar, the only singer who has been compared with her.
Devarajan and Susheela teamed up for over 250 songs, many of them became classics, such as Rajashilpee… ( Panchavankaadu ), Ezhu sundara rathrikal… ( Aswamedham ), Enthinee chilankakal… ( Karuna ), Poonthenaruvee… ( Oru Penninte Katha ), Priyathamaa… ( Shakunthala ) and Maalakhamaar vannu… ( Makane Ninakku Vendi ). Susheela does not know Malayalam, but no singer could have given better expression to these songs, most of them penned by Vayalar Rama Varma.
She has an uncanny ability to bring out the complete meaning of a song, though she does not know the language. Then, there is the sheer power and sweetness of her voice. She is, in other words, a genius.
Little wonder that someone like P. Jayachandran, himself a genius of a singer, idolises her. When it comes to fan-following, no female singer in South Indian cinema could perhaps rival her.
Be it Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu or Kannada, she has to her credit some of the finest ever songs in those languages. Just as she does not need to know the language to sing a song perfectly, we need not know Tamil to enjoy her songs like Unnai kaanaathe kannum… ( Idhaya Kamalam ), Sonnathu neethanaa… ( Nenjil Oru Aalayam ), Chittukkuruvi… ( Puthiya Paravai ) and Nalandaana… ( Thillana Mohanambal ).
Happy birthday, Ms. P. Susheela!
