Manorama was probably the last of a tribe that had the skills required for both theatre and, later, films. It was her singing talent that opened for her the doors to the stage, and later, films — just as it did for her worthy predecessors T.A. Maduram, M.S. Sundaraibai and C.T. Rajakantham, singer-actors.
By the time she entered the film industry, playback singing had emerged as a separate genre. She, like J.P. Chandrababu, secured a place for her as a playback singer in spite of her busy schedule, though the versatility of Chandrababu in singing was quite another story.
“She was a natural singer who honed her talents by listening to great singer-actors of yesteryear like M.K. Thiyagraja Bhagavathar and M.S. Subbulakshmi,” said Vamanan, author of Thirai Isai Alaigal .
Manorama, whose original name was Gopichanda, had plenty of opportunity to watch films when her family moved from Mannargudi to Pallathur in Chettinadu.
“She had the talent for memorising and rendering film songs without missing the elements of the original singer. She also had habit of collecting books containing film songs,” Vamanan had said in his book.
When she was asked to render Bharathiyar’s Paarukkulle nalla naadu in school, she sang it in the tune of Kattriniley varum geetham , the famous song of M.S. Subbulakshmi in the film Meera . But poverty deterred her from continuing in school.
The people of Pallathur were so fond of young Manorama, they insisted that the drama troupes visiting the village festivals give a chance to their “Papa”. Pallathur Papa became Manorama after singing in the drama Andaman Kadhali.
She first sang in the film Magale Un Samathu along with L.R. Eswari, who later became a popular playback singer. G.K. Venkatesh was the music director of the film. The next opportunity came from lyricist Kannadasan who produced the film Ratha Thilagam. Manorama parodied “ Pogathey pogathey ”
Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subramaniam remembered her singing a virutham beautifully in a play. It was probably this talent that convinced Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi to give her a chance to sing the song “ Pogathey ayya pogathey ” set to raga Ananda Bhairavi in the film Dharisanam .
It was the songs that had a touch of folk and gana elements made her popular. While “ Vaa vaathiyarey ootanday” in the film Bommalattam was in Madras Tamil, Poonthamalliyile o ru ponnu pinnaley in Karunthel Kannayiram was in the Ceylone pop style.
Theriyatho nokku theriyatho in the film Sooryagandhi was straight out of a Brahmin household and Kaanankuruvikku kalyanamam was an original folksy tappankoothu .
Her singing journey continued even in films starring fourth generation actors and music director. Dillikku rajanaalum paati sollai thattathey and Madrasai suthi paarkapore n with the music of A.R. Rahman continue to resonate.
