Golden voice of a glorious era

Date: 03-10-1997 :: Pg: 27 :: Col: a

Playback singer P. B. Srinivos is known for his distinct tone and versatile voice. M. L. Narasimham writes on his long music career.

Chennai recently witnessed two playback singers, K. J. Yesudass and S. P. Balasubramaniyam, performing together on stage for the first time. A highlight of the show was the honouring of a veteran in the field by the two singers. It was none other than playback singer P. B. Srinivos, a melodious voice of the Sixties. At the request of the audience, Srinivos rendered his evergreen hit `Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham'' from the film, ``Paavamannippu''. Age might have taken its toll on the veteran, but his voice is still intact as mellifluous as it was in the Sixties. The thunderous applause from the 15,000-strong audience was ample proof of this. A visibly moved Srinivos said, ``I have never seen such a gala musical nite in my life.''

Why did he choose to sing this particular song? ``My career in the Tamil film field picked up after the release of ``Paavamannippu'' in 1961,'' recalls Srinivos. But there is more to it, as M. S. Viswanathan of the Viswanathan-Ramamurthy music troupe, puts it: ``At that time there were certain wrong notions that only T. M. Soundararajan should sing for `Sivaji' Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran and only A. M. Raja's voice suited Gemini Ganesan's. I wanted to break that. So I selected Srinivos to render a song for Gemini Ganesan in ``Paavamannippu''. Though he had sung for me before, this was the first time he was singing for a leading actor. In fact, ``Paavamannippu'' was co-produced by me. So it was not difficult for me to experiment. After ``Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham'' became a hit I made Srinivos sing for M. G. Ramachandran and ``Sivaji'' Ganesan too. In fact, when he sang the number, ``Penn Ondru Kandaen'' (``Padithal Mattum Poduma'') along with T. M. Soundararajan, Sivaji insisted that he would render lip movement to Srinivos's lines. Similarly, even in the Telugu field, there was a feeling that only Ghantasala's voice suited A. Nageswara Rao and N. T. Rama Rao's. In ``Vazhkai Padagu'', Srinivos rendered the song ``Chinna Chinna Kannanukku'' so well that we retained his voice for the Telugu version ``Aada Brathuku'' in which N. T. Rama Rao played the lead. But the distributors protested that the audience would not accept a new voice for NTR. But S. S. Vasan, the film's producer firmly told them that the decision was entirely with his music directors. Srinivos rendered the number ``Bujji Bujji Paapai'' which became an instant hit.''

Much before this, S. Rajeswara Rao made Srinivos sing the popular number, ``Bhayamela O Manasa'' for the film ``Bhale Ramudu'' (1956). Srinivos had sung for the film's Tamil version, ``Prema Pasam'' starring `Gemini' Ganesh and Savithri. ``Many asked me why I had opted for a new voice when Ghantasala was there. But I felt a new voice would enrich the scene. I knew Srinivos from his Gemini Studios days. I liked his base voice. It has a smooth flow, a refreshing change from Ghantasala's. He later sang some of the best songs for me which include the very popular ``Manasuloni Korika'' from ``Bhishma'' (1962) starring Rama Rao and Anjali Devi'', says Rajeswara Rao.

Recalling his early days, Srinivos says ``Though I made my debut in the South with R. Nagendra Rao's trilingual, ``Jathaka Phala'' (Kannada), ``Jathaka Phalam'' (Telugu) and ``Jathagam'' (Tamil) in 1953 under the music direction of R. Govardhan and R. Sudarsanam, it was Narasu Studio's ``Bhale Ramudu'' and ``Prema Pasam'' that got me recognition, followed by Anjali Pictures' ``Adutha Veettu Penn,'' for which I sang five songs and all of them proved to be hits. But, it was with ``Paavamannippu'' that my career picked up''.

However, Srinivos' first song was for a Hindi film, ``Mr. Sampath'', produced by S. S. Vasan in 1952. ``From the beginning, I was interested in music and my father, Phanindra Swamy, told me that if I wanted to become a playback singer, I must first concentrate on my studies. So I completed B.Com. in my native place, Kakinada, and came to Chennai and joined the Law College. But even before I completed the first year, the urge to enter the cinema field forced me to make regular visits to the Gemini Studios, where our family friend, Emani Sankara Sastry, was the head of the music department. He took me under his care and because I had good knowledge of Hindi, it became easy for me to sing the Hindi numbers.''

After listening to a ``doha'' rendered by Srinivos in ``Mr. Sampath'', R. Nagendra Rao gave him a break in his trilingual. But to render another Hindi song, Srinivos had to wait till AVM remade their Tamil hit ``Nanum Oru Penn'' in Hindi as ``Mai Bhi Ladkhi Hoon''. ``Chandra Se Hoga Ho Pyara'' which he sang along with Lata Mangeshkar, was a big hit.

Srinivos soon became a much sought after playback singer not only in Tamil and Telugu, but also in Kannada and Malayalam. ``For Sathyan and Prem Nazir, I sang more than 100 songs.'' Some of the Malayalam songs that won him fame are from ``Mamalugaluku Appurathu'', ``Kattu Tulasi;; and ``Ini Oru Janamam Undo''. He even made a guest apperance in a Malayalam movie, ``Kavya Mela'' along with K. J. Yesudass, M. B. Srinivasan and Dakshina Murthy. His latest screen appearance was in the Tamil hit, ``Kalamellam Kathal Vazhga''.

Srinivos' success, apart from Tamil films, was in the Kannada field as well. The reason behind his occupying a prime position in Kannada film playback singing was his voice that had become synonymous with the legendary Rajkumar. ``I first sang for him in ``Ohileswara'' (1956). Then came ``Bhakta Kanakadasa'' (1960) which was a turning point for both of us. After this film our combination clicked in a big way and I sang in over 200 films for him which include, ``Tukaram'', ``Srikrishnadevaraya'', ``Ranadheera Kanterava'' and ``Manthralaya Mahathme''. Rajkumar himself is a good singer apart from being a great artiste''.

Though Srinivos has rendered less number of songs in Telugu when compared to Tamil and Kannada films, most of his renderings are popular even today. ``Among the Telugu songs, I consider `Bujji Bujji Pappai'' (``Aada Brathuku''), `Vennela reyi'' (``Preminchi Choodu''), `Oho Chittemma Chinnamma' (``Asadhyudu''), `Oho Gulabi Bala' (``Manchi Manishi''), `Aanati Chelimi Oka Kala' (``Pelli Roju''), `Andala O Chilaka' (``Letha Manasulu'') and `Manasuloni Korika' (Bheeshma).

Says M. S. Viswanathan, ``In Tamil films, Srinivos has given many hits with me, K. V. Mahadevan and V. Kumar. In fact, all my compositions with him have proved hits. His strong point is the swaragnana. He can sing a song as soon as he hears the tune and the lyric. Modest and disciplined, he has a distinct tone and a peculiar voice which blends easily be it pathos, comedy or romance. He can sing an `Anubhavam Pudimai', `Nilave Ennidam', `Yar Yar Yar Aval Yaro' and `Mayakkama Kalakkama' to `Viswanathan Velai Vendum' with ease. Such is his range.

But a modest Srinivos says, ``A song becomes popular only when it has a well conceived scene and a strong picturisation. Otherwise however good the singer, the lyric and the tune, it does not help''.

According to S. Rajeswara Rao, Srinivos is a very good ghazal singer too, ``perhaps the best from the South''. HMV brought out a cassette of ghazals sung by him.

A multi-linguist, proficient in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Sanskrit and Englsh, Srinivos has written poems too. His collection ``Pranavam'' has poems in eight languages. Another work, ``Time God'', tracks the essence of Hindu philosophy. When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he wrote a lyric, ``Man to Moon'', recorded it along with S. Janaki and sent it to the then U.S. President, Richard Nixon. Later, he wrote a sequel to it, ``Moon to God''. One of his best works is the ``Diamond Key'' or ``Srinivasa Virtha'', a method he has evolved to identify the swarams for each of the 72 melakartha ragas. Srinivos provided musical score for a mythological film ``Mahasadhvi'' (Kannada) directed by Ravi.

What does he think about the present state of music? ``There is `vegam' (speed) but no `raagam' (rhythm). I do not blame the composer alone for this. It is as much the fault of the audience as it is of the music composer. Today's music directors are talented. But they are going according to the trend. Music directors such as M. S. Viswanathan never compromised on the melody aspect. Then the first letter in music represented only melody. But today without that, it makes one sick. I say all this with a sense of anguish. Naushad used to say that our rich Indian music has all the resources, including the western rhythm for a good score. Then why borrow? Perhaps it depends on the virtuosity and imagination of the composer to make use of it.''

Considering the fact that he has sung so many songs, did he ever feel he was sidelined? ``Every artiste in this field faces turning points. One has to adjust and move on. My job is to entertain the viewers within the available opportunities. I hope I have fulfilled that. Looking back, I feel contented. I sang to my heart's content.