Bala Murugan, better known by his stage name Gana Bala is an Indian playback singer in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

. He rose to prominence after rendering the songs 'Aadi Pona Aavani' and 'Nadukadalula Kappala' from the soundtrack of ''

Attakathi ''Attakathi'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith, a former assistant of Venkat Prabhu. Produced by C. V. Kumar, it stars Dinesh, Nandita Swetha and Aishwarya Rajesh. The film garnered att ...

''. He has predominantly sung songs belonging to the

gaana Gaana (or Gānā) is a genre of Tamil music, which is sung in the Madras Bashai dialect of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is rap-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the Chennai people." It evolved over the past two c ...

genre of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. He has been credited for reviving the

genre in

Tamil Cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

after 'Thenisai Thendral'

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

. He has also penned lyrics for some of his songs.

Career

Bala first tripped on 'Gaana' when he was in high school. He gained confidence as a Gaana singer when he joined

Presidency College, Chennai Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...

to study Botany. He later contested in the TV reality show ''Gana Kuyil Pattu'' that featured on

Kalaignar TV Kalaignar is an Indian general entertainment satellite television channel based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The channel was launched on 15 September 2007 as Kalaignar in respect of former Chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. Malaysia ...

and won it. He has worked on a number of devotional albums and also performed on stage. One of his independent albums, ''Vaanavil'' was released by composers

and

Dhina Dhina (also credited as Dheena) ( ta, தினா; born on 15 January 1966) is an Indian film and television series composer from Tamil Nadu, India. Biography and career Dhina first worked as an assistant musician under popular composer G. K ...

. He made his debut in the film industry with ''

Piragu ''Piragu'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by N. Jeeva. The film stars Hamsavardhan, Keerthi Chawla and Sunitha Varma, with Vadivelu, Dhandapani, Malaysia Vasudevan, Sabitha Anand, Emey, and Karate Raja playing sup ...

'' composed by

Srikanth Deva Srikanth Deva is an Indian music director of Tamil films. He made his debut as music director in the Tamil movie '' Doubles'' in 2000. He is the son of composer Deva, nephew of the famous music director duo Sabesh–Murali and the cousin of actor ...

, son of the 'Father of Gaana Genre' –

. He first found success for his songs 'Aadi Pona Aavani' and 'Nadukadalula' in the sleeper hit ''

''. Since then he has sung a number of successful songs under top composers like

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...

and G. V. Prakash Kumar. He has also sung a jingle with composer G. V. Prakash Kumar to mark the 10th anniversary celebrations of

Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi (also known as 98.3 Mirchi) is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiaries of The Times Group. ''Mirchi'' is Hindi f ...

Chennai.

Other works

Film work

Apart from singing, Bala has also featured in some of his songs. He has also appeared in a minor role as a mechanic in his debut film ''

''. He has danced for a song in 'Attakathi'

Dinesh Dinesh (Devanagari: ') is a common Hindu male given name. The Sanskrit word ' is a compound of ' 'day' and ' 'lord', meaning 'day-lord', an epithet of the Sun. Notable people with the name include: * Dinesh, Indian film actor * Dinesh Baboo, Ind ...

's second movie as hero, ''

Vaaraayo Vennilaave Dinesh Ravi, better known as Attakathi Dinesh, is an Indian actor who has acted in leading roles in Tamil cinema. He made his breakthrough playing the lead role in ''Attakathi'' (2012), portraying Dinakaran. Career Dinesh completed his high ...

''. At the audio launch of

Vikraman Vikraman is an Indian film director primarily working in Tamil cinema. Career 1990–1994 He worked as an assistant to actor and director R. Parthiban in ''Puthiya Pathai'' (1989), which was the latter's debut film as a director and an actor. ...

's ''

Ninaithathu Yaaro ''Ninaithathu Yaaro'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Vikraman and produced by Ramesh P Pillai. The project stars debutants Rejith Menon and Nimisha Suresh playing the lead pair with Karthik Yogi, ...

'', Bala expressed interest in acting and his desire to become a hero. He will soon turn hero in a film to be directed by K. Selva Bharathy titled ''Parry's Corner''. The film is said to ponder over the fact that while migrants to Chennai hit it big, Chennai-ties still live mediocre lives. Bala will be playing a cycle rickshaw driver.

Philanthropy

Bala is a law graduate and works as an advocate. He has contested local municipal elections twice as an independent candidate, losing only by slender margins. Bala, who identifies himself as an

Ambedkarite Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian econonist, polymath, barrister, social reformer, human-rights advocate, and the architect of Indian Constitution. Ambedkarism includes the principles of Nava ...

, says,

Filmography

As playback singer

;Films * The films are listed in order that the film released, regardless of the dates the music released. ;Television

As lyricist

As actor

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bala, Gaana Living people 1970 births Tamil playback singers Tamil film poets Tamil-language lyricists Indian male singer-songwriters Indian singer-songwriters Indian male playback singers Singers from Chennai 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian male singers