Anitha Karthikeyan ( ta, அனிதா கார்த்திகேயன்) is an Indian

Playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...

. She has sung more than 250 film songs mostly in south Indian languages including

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

. It was the song "Mannavane Mannavane" from the 2015 Tamil movie '' Puli'' which “has brought her to the limelight.” In the beginning, she sang more melodious and classical based tune songs, she later became known for fast track hit numbers. In 2010, she won the Vijay Music award in the popular mass song category for the song “Vaada Vaada Paiya” from Tamil film ''

Kacheri Arambam ''Kacheri Aarambam'' () or simply ''Kacheri'' is a 2010 Indian action comedy film written and directed by Thiraivannan, starring Jiiva and Poonam Bajwa, whilst, J. D. Chakravarthy plays a pivotal role. The film was released on 19 March 2010.This ...

''. She is also known for singing

Jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s for

TV commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

. Besides, she has sung title track for different

TV Serials In television and radio programming, a serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of ...

including the “Achuvellam Pacharasi Mavilakku” for ''

Kula Deivam (TV series) Kula Deivam ( ta, குலதெய்வம்) is an Indian Tamil-language soap opera which is directed by Thirumurugan and starring T. S. B. K. Moulee, Vadivukkarasi and Srithika. It was broadcast on Sun TV on Monday to Saturday from 1 ...

''. She has performed in numerous live

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s in India and abroad including in

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

’s

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Early life and education

Anitha Karthikeyan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She began her school education at the Saraswathi Vidyalaya School, Chennai. Simultaneously, she learned western music lessons and

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. She continued her higher education at

Ethiraj College for Women Ethiraj College for Women is an arts and science college for women in Chennai, India, managed by the Ethiraj College Trust. It was founded in 1948 by the barrister V. L. Ethiraj of Vellore. History Ethiraj College for Women is an autonomous col ...

, Chennai where she completed her BSc in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

in 2003. She later graduated with MSc in

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

from M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai in 2005. Since her childhood she was participating in different musical competitions. However, it was during her studies at Ethiraj College, she developed her singing skills.

Singing career

After completing her higher education, she started her professional career as a

software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...

in Chennai. When the Vijay TV’s Super Singer Season 1 was announced in 2006, she became one of its contestants. She won the title " Viewer's Choice super singer" which introduced her to the music world, and changed her career as a playback singer. In 2007, she made her debut in the movie ''

Marudhamalai Marudhamalai, also Maruthamalai or Marudamalai, is a suburb of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located along the Western Ghats, from Coimbatore. It is currently part of 17th ward of Coimbatore Corporation. It was part of Periyanaicken ...

'' by

D. Imman Immanuel Vasanth Dinakaran (born 24 January 1983), better known as D. Imman, is an Indian film composer and singer, predominantly working in Tamil cinema. Also worked in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi film industry. His first film as mu ...

, the music director. Under his

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

, she sang various genres. She soon started singing under the compositions of different music directors in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. She got a chance to meet music director Ilaiyaraaja when she became a part of

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

during one of his musical compositions for a Kannada movie. She later rendered classical hits in the Telugu movie ''

Sri Rama Rajyam ''Sri Rama Rajyam'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Bapu who co-wrote the film with Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, and produced by Yalamanchali Saibabu. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayanthara, Akkine ...

'' under the musical composition of laiyaraaja. She has sung 25 songs for Ilaiyaraaja alone. Some of Anitha’s popular songs include “Putham Puthu Kaalai” ('' Megha''), “Kattikida” (''

Kaaki Sattai ''Kaaki Sattai'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co-written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar and produced by Dhanush, their second collaboration after '' Ethir Neechal'' (2013). The film stars Sivakarthikeyan and ...

''), “Idhedho Bagunde” ('' Mirchi''), “Loveaa” (''

Uttama Villain ''Uttama Villain'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and written by Kamal Haasan. The film was presented by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan and produced by S. Chandrahasan for Raaj Kam ...

''), “Senga Soola Kara” (''

Vaagai Sooda Vaa ''Vaagai Sooda Vaa'' () is a 2011 Tamil-language period drama film directed by A. Sarkunam, directing his second film after ''Kalavani''. It stars Vimal and newcomer Ineya, with Bhagyaraj, Ponvannan and Thambi Ramaiah playing supporting roles. T ...

''), “Shokku Sundari” (''

Ainthaam Padai ''Ainthaam Padai'' () is a 2009 Tamil language action film starring Sundar C, Simran, Mukesh, Vivek and Nassar. It released on 23 July 2009 and was produced by Sundar's wife, Khushbu. The film was flop at the box office. Plot The film is about r ...

'') and “Amma Wake Me Up” (''

Vathikuchi ''Vathikuchi'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by newcomer Kinslin and produced by A. R. Murugadoss in association with Fox Star Studios. The film stars Dileepan, the younger brother of Murugadoss, in ...

'').

Discography

The discography of Anitha Karthikeyan includes

References

External links

Anitha's Songs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karthikeyan, Anitha Living people Tamil playback singers Women musicians from Tamil Nadu Singers from Chennai Kannada playback singers Malayalam playback singers Indian women playback singers Telugu playback singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Year of birth missing (living people)