Bilalukoppa Krishnayya Sumitra, popularly known as B. K. Sumitra, is an Indian singer known for her work in

Kannada films Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film ''Sati Sulochana'' directed ...

. She is also popular for her numerous devotional and folk songs.

Personal life

Sumitra was born in Bilalukoppa near

Horanadu Hornadu, also known as Horanadu, is a Hindu holy locale and also a jain holy centerPanchayat village located in kalasa taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka, India. The deity at the Annapoorneshwari Temple at Hornadu is ''Annapurneshwa ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

to Gangamma and Krishnayya. The family later moved to

Shivamogga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...

, where Sumitra was trained in

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

by M. Prabhakar, the brother of the actress

Pandaribai Pandari Bai (1930 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroi ...

. Sumitra married M. L. Sudhakar. Her daughter

Sowmya Raoh Sowmya Raoh is an Indian playback singer who has performed in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages. Early life and career Sowmya was born in a Kannada speaking family to veteran singer B. K. Sumitra and Sudhakar in Bangalore, Karnatak ...

is also a playback singer, while her son

Sunil Raoh Sunil Raoh (born 4 September 1978) is a Kannada cinema actor from India. He is also a seasoned singer and lyricist who has performed for few Kannada film songs. He has acted in numerous films as a child artist and also featured in a few televisi ...

became a film actor in the Kannada film industry.

Career

Sumitra was noticed by music composer

G. K. Venkatesh Gurusala Krishnadas Venkatesh (21 September 1927 – 17 November 1993) was an Indian film score composer who primarily worked in Kannada cinema during the 1960s, 1970s and until the late-1980s. He also composed music for Telugu, Malayalam and Ta ...

, who asked her to sing in the film '' Kavaleredu Kulavandu'' (1964). In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has worked with many composers including

R. Sudarsanam Ramakrishna Sudarsanam (26 April 1914 – 26 March 1991) was an Indian music composer who had worked in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada Malayalam, Telugu and Sinhala film industry Career Ramakrishna Sudarsanam entered the Tamil film industry wit ...

Vijaya Bhaskar Vijaya Bhaskar ( kan, ವಿಜಯಭಾಸ್ಕರ್; 1924–2002) was an Indian music director and composer who composed music for several mainstream and experimental feature films in the Kannada film industry. Scoring music for over 600 fe ...

M. Ranga Rao M. Ranga Rao (26 April 1932 – 3 August 1990) was a prominent Indian composer who predominantly worked in Kannada cinema. Rao was known for his mellifluous scores and lilting tunes backed with strong classical nuances. "Ranga Rao" composed tune ...

Rajan–Nagendra Rajan–Nagendra were an Indian musical duo who were prominent composers of film music in Kannada and Telugu cinema from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, created a niche for themselves for nearly four de ...

, and new generation musicians like

Anoop Seelin J Anoop Seelin (born 24 October 1979) is an Indian film music director and playback singer who works in the Kannada film industry. He has scored music for films including ''Gooli'', ''Eddelu Manjunatha'', ''Preethse Preethse,'' ''Yaksha'', ''I A ...

. Sumitra is active in participating in musical workshops and training students across the state.

Notable songs

* ''Ninnolume Emagirali Thande'' (Thande Makkalu) * ''A Aa E Ee Kannadada'' -

Karulina Kare ''Karulina Kare'' is a 1970 Kannada-language romantic drama film directed and written by Puttanna Kanagal. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana and R. Nagendra Rao. The film was remade in Telugu in 1972-73 as ''Pedda Koduku'' starring Sobhan Babu. ...

(1970) * ''Kareya Keli Bande'' - Anuradha (1967) * ''Madhura Madhuravee Manjulagana'' -

Sathi Sukanya ''Sathi Sukanya'' is a 1967 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Y. R. Swamy and produced by D. Puttaswamy. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath and Rajashankar. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra. Cast * Rajkum ...

(1967) * ''Sampige Marada'' - ''Upaasane'' (1947) * ''Odi Baa Ododi Baa'' - Chakratheertha (1967) * ''Maneye Brundavana'' - (Brundavana) * ''Eddelu Manjunatha'' -

Eddelu Manjunatha ''Eddelu Manjunatha'' ( kn, ಎದ್ದೇಳು ಮಂಜುನಾಥ, ''Wake Up Manjunatha'') is a 2009 Indian Kannada language cult black comedy film written and directed by Guruprasad, and produced by journalist and director V. Sanath Kum ...

(2009)

Awards

Sumitra's awards include: * Nadoja honour and Honorary Doctorate from

Kannada University Kannada University, also called Hampi Kannada University or Hampi University or Kannada University, Hampi, is a research-oriented public university in Hampi, Karnataka, founded in 1991 by the Government of Karnataka through the Kannada Universit ...

, Hampi * Kempegowda Award * 1991 – Karnataka Rajyotsava Award * 1992 – Sangeetha Nrithya Academy Award * 2017 – G. V. Iyer Award from the Karnataka Film Academy * 2019 – Lifetime Achievement Award at KIMA Awards *2021 – K. Mohandev Alva and Dr. M.K. Shailaja Alva endowment Award from Kannada Sahitya Parishat

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumitra, B. K. Living people 1941 births Indian women classical singers Indian women playback singers Kannada playback singers Singers from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women musicians 20th-century Indian musicians 21st-century Indian women musicians 21st-century Indian musicians 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 1991