Ganga Sittrarasu is an Indian playback singer who has worked in the Indian film industry. Ganga worked extensively with

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

during the late 1990s and early 2000s, while also regularly collaborating with M. M. Keeravani.

Career

The child of professors A. Krishnan and Vatsala Krishnan, Ganga learnt carnatic music as a child and became interested in singing with the encouragement of her guru Sri Haripad K. P. N. Pillai and Lakshmi, a music teacher at her school. After winning several inter-school competitions for carnatic and light music, Ganga was encouraged by her friends to try her luck in the film industry as a playback singer. In June 1992, she went to Chennai with her father and met composer M. M. Keeravani, who gave her the first opportunity to make a voice recording, while dubbing a movie titled ''Aanenna Pennenna'' from Telugu to Tamil. In the year 1993, she completed her graduation in B. A. English Literature and then also achieved a Diploma in Carnatic Music, Sangeetha Ratna, from the Music Academy in 1995. Later she joined

’s chorus and initially worked in a group singing harmonies, before being given individual tracks. She worked as a part of several of Rahman's films in the chorus from ''

Pudhiya Mannargal ''Pudhiya Mannargal'' () is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Vikraman with music by A. R. Rahman. The film stars Vikram and Mohini. The movie's score and soundtrack are composed by A. R. Rahman. The film did not perform well com ...

'' (1993) to ''

Lagaan ''Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Sh ...

'' (2001). Her first lead song was released in 1994 which was in Malayalam movie, '' Pakshe'', where she had sung a duet with K. J. Yesudas with music composed by

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

. Her first Tamil solo song was in 1997 for the film, ''

Ponmanam ''Ponmanam'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by debutant S. P. Rajkumar, assistant of K. S. Ravikumar. The film stars Prabhu, Suvalakshmi and Priya Raman. The film produced by V. Natarajan, had musical score by S. A. Rajk ...

'' with music by S. A. Rajkumar. In 2001, she got her first Telugu opportunity again from Keeravani and sung four songs in the movie ''

Akasa Veedhilo ''Akasa Veedhilo'' () is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. Produced by Ramoji Rao, the film stars Nagarjuna, Rajendra Prasad, Raveena Tandon and Kasthuri, with music composed by M. M. ...

''. He also later introduced her to the Kannada field in the film, ''

Deepavali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...

''. For her work, she has been awarded as the best female singer by Tamilnadu Cinema Kalai Manram twice; first in 2002 for the film ''

Samuthiram ''Samuthiram'' () is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language drama film written by Erode Soundar and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film stars an ensemble cast of Sarath Kumar, Murali, Manoj Bharathiraja, Kaveri, Abhirami, Sindhu Menon and Monal. The ...

'' and then in 2005 for the film ''

Devathaiyai Kanden ''Devathaiyai Kanden'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Boopathy Pandian. The film stars Dhanush and Sridevi Vijaykumar. The film borrows its name from a hit song from another Dhanush-starrer ''Kaad ...

''. She later also received acclaim for her work with

Mani Sharma Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshina ...

, and notably sang the "Mambalam" song from ''

Pokkiri ''Pokkiri'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Prabhu Deva. It is the Tamil remake of the 2006 Telugu film ''Pokiri'' starring Mahesh Babu. The film stars Vijay and Asin with Prakash Raj, Nassar, Mukesh Tiwari, Vadiv ...

'' (2007).

Personal life

Ganga is married to V. Sitharasu, a leading photographer in the Tamil film industry. She is blessed with two male children

Awards

Golden Diva of Playback singing - Isai24x7 Digital Music Awards www.isai24x7.com (For her 25 years of Playback singing)

Notable discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitharasu, Ganga Living people Indian women playback singers Tamil playback singers Kannada playback singers Telugu playback singers Tamil singers Musicians from Kozhikode Singers from Kerala Women musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers Year of birth missing (living people)