Lata Mangeshkar's birth anniversary: Recalling Nightingale of India's Tamil songs
It has not even been a year since the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar passed away and the world is still processing the grief. Today would've been the 93rd birthday of the legendary singer had she been alive. Though she is no longer with us, her music and legacy will live forever. Let's recall some of the Tamil songs crooned by her.
Debut in Tamil cinema
Murattu Adiyal (1953), a Tamil dubbed version of the Hindi film Aan introduced Mangeshkar to Tamil cinema. Four songs from the film's Tamil version were sung by Mangeshkar. Later, Hindi movie Uran Khatola was dubbed in Tamil (1955). The Hindi version had nine songs, which were all sung by Mangeshkar. For its Tamil version, she rendered her voice for one song titled Enthan Kannaalan.
'Aaraaro Aaraaro'
After about three decades, Mangeshkar entered Tamil cinema by rendering her voice for a song titled Aaraaro Aaraaro for the film Anand (1987) directed by CV Rajendran. The film had Prabhu and Radha in the lead roles, and its music was composed by maestro Ilaiyaraaja. While the aforementioned songs were for films dubbed in Tamil, this was her first original Tamil song.
'Valaiyosai Kalakala'
One of the most popular Tamil songs which has a massive number of fans even today is Valaiyosai Kalakala, crooned by Mangeshkar and SP Balasubrahmanyam. Its music was also composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Directed by Suresh Krishna, the film titled Sathya was released in 1988. Kamal Haasan and Amala Akkineni played the lead roles in Sathya, while Bahadur played a pivotal role.
'Engirundho'
Mangeshkar had also sung the song titled Engirundho from the film titled En Jeevan Paaduthe (1988). Its music was again composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Though not as famous as Valiyosai Kalakala, Engirundho is still a popular number. Directed by R Sundarajan the film had Karthik, Saranya Ponvannan, and Kapil Dev playing the lead roles. Notably, this was her last Tamil song.
