Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi (born 28 August 1928) is an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in
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 ...
and
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 ''Kollywo ...
. She was the first
light music singer on
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All ...
and the first playback singer in the
Telugu cinema
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, ...
.
Early life
Balasaraswathi was born in
Venkatagiri
Venkatagiri is a town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and mandals headquarters of Venkatagiri mandal. Venkatagiri's old name is "Kali Mili". It is famous for its Handloom Cotton Sarees. Venkatagi ...
in 1928. She learned music from Allathuru Subbayya and lent her voice for the first solo gramophone by
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
recording company at the age of six.
Career
She acted as child actor Ganga and also sang in the films ''Sati Anasuya'' and ''Bhakta Dhruva'', both directed by
C. Pullaiah in 1936.
Observing her talent, director
K. Subramaniam invited her to act in Tamil films. In the following years, she acted in Tamil films like ''
Bhaktha Kuchela'' (1936), ''
Balayogini
''Balayogini'' ( ''Girl Saint'') is a 1937 Indian film made in Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu languages. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to ...
'' (1937), and ''
Thiruneelakantar
''Thiruneelakantar'' is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Raja Sandow and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. The film, based on the life of Tirunilakanta Nayanar, was a big hit and was known for Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's acting ...
'' (1939). She played the role of Tukaram's daughter in ''Tukaram'' (1938). The Tukaram role was portrayed by
Musiri Subramania Iyer
Musiri Subramania Iyer (9 April 1899 – 25 March 1975) was a Carnatic vocalist whose stage performing career spanned the 1920s to the 1940s. After retirement from the stage, he remained an iconic figure in Carnatic music as a dedicated teache ...
in the Tamil version and by
C. S. R. Anjaneyulu in the Telugu version. In 1940, she acted with
S. Rajeswara Rao in ''
Illalu
Illalu () is a 1940 Telugu-language drama film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam.
Plot
Murthy (Umamaheswara Rao) is married to Indira (Kanachanamala) and they live happily. Subsequently, he falls in love with Leela (Lakshmi Rajyam), an educate ...
'', directed by
Gudavalli Ramabrahmam
Gudavalli Ramabrahmam was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Telugu cinema. He is known for directing critically acclaimed social problem films like ''Mala Pilla'' (1938) and ''Raithu Bidda'' (1939). At a time w ...
.
In ''Bhagya Lakshmi'' (1943) of Sri Renuka Films of
V. Nagayya
V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. ...
, she sang for Kamala Kotnis on screen, this being the first instance of playback singing in Telugu cinema. The song ''Thinne Meedha Sinnoda'' was composed by Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao.
She lived for some years in Mysore, and then shifted to Hyderabad. After her husband's death, she has lived with her son in her grandson's house in Secunderabad.
Music composers she sang for
She worked with
G. Ramanathan,
K. V. Mahadevan,
C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subbaraman also known as C. S. Ram (1916–1952) was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar–Gan ...
,
S. V. Venkatraman,
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...
, Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao, R. Chinnaiah,
S. Hanumantha Rao,
S. Rajeswara Rao,
P. Adinarayana Rao, G. Aswathama,
Ogirala Ramachandra Rao
Ogirala Ramachandra Rao ( te, ఓగిరాల రామచంద్రరావు) (1905–1957) was an Indian actor, music director and multi instrumentalist, predominant in Telugu cinema.
Early life and career
Ogirala was born on 10 Sept ...
,
Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao, Adepalli Rama Rao, C. N. Pandurangan,
V. Nagayya
V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. ...
,
T. V. Raju
Thotakura Venkata Raju (Telugu: తోటకూర వెంకట రాజు), better known as T. V. Raju (1921 - 20 February 1973), was an Indian music composer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema.
He worked as an assistant composer to ...
,
Ghantasala,
Naushad
Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...
, L. Malleswara Rao,
S. Dakshinamurthi
Susarla Dakshinamurthi Jr. (Telugu: సుసర్ల దక్షిణామూర్తి; 1921 – 2012) was an Indian music composer, playback singer, record producer, Carnatic musician, multi-instrumentalist,Ilavelpu in Naati 101 Chitralu ...
,
Vedha
''Vedha'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil language action drama film, directed by R. Nithyakumar starring Arun Vijay and Sheela. The music is composed by Srikanth Deva. The film opened to negative reviews.
Plot
Vijay (Arun Vijay) is crazy about hi ...
,
M. Ranga Rao,
Master Venu
Madduri Venugopal better known as Master Venu (1916–1981) was an Indian music composer of the Telugu and Tamil cinemas and the father of the actor Bhanu Chander. He was born 1916 in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India and died 1981 in Chenn ...
, R. Sudarsanam, Pamarti Krishna Murty,
G. Govindarajulu Naidu
G. Govindarajulu Naidu was an acclaimed music director in 1940s and 50s in the south Indian film industry. Hailing from Tiruchirappalli, he was one among the musicians who defined the way of music in South Indian film industry. He composed music ...
and
M. B. Sreenivasan
Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries.
He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 Septe ...
.
With playback singers
She sang duets mostly with
Ghantasala and
A. M. Rajah
Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director.
Early life
A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...
. She sang with
T. M. Soundararajan
Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan (24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 fi ...
, T. A. Mothi,
Seerkazhi Govindarajan
Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema.
Early life
Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day M ...
,
S. Rajam,
M. S. Ramarao,
Pithapuram Nageswara Rao and Subramanyam.
She also sang duets with
Jikki
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese langua ...
,
A. P. Komala,
M. S. Rajeswari,
K. Rani,
P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...
and P. S. Vaideghi.
Filmography
Playback singer
Actress
# Sati Anasuya (1936) Telugu
# Bhakta Dhruva (1936) Telugu
#
Bhaktha Kuchela (1936) Tamil
#
Balayogini
''Balayogini'' ( ''Girl Saint'') is a 1937 Indian film made in Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu languages. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to ...
(1936) Tamil
#
Tukaram
Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) ...
(1938) Telugu & Tamil
#
Thiruneelakantar
''Thiruneelakantar'' is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Raja Sandow and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. The film, based on the life of Tirunilakanta Nayanar, was a big hit and was known for Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's acting ...
(1939) Tamil
#
Illalu
Illalu () is a 1940 Telugu-language drama film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam.
Plot
Murthy (Umamaheswara Rao) is married to Indira (Kanachanamala) and they live happily. Subsequently, he falls in love with Leela (Lakshmi Rajyam), an educate ...
(1940) Telugu
#
Apavadu (1941) Telugu
#
Chandrahasa
Chandrahasa () is a king of the Kuntala kingdom in Hindu mythology. The story of Chandrahasa is described in the Ashvamedhika Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Chandrahasa befriends Arjuna who was accompanied by Krishna guarding the ashvamedha c ...
(1941) Telugu
#
Dhaasippen (1943) Tamil
#
Radhika
Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also d ...
(1947) Telugu
#
Bilhana
Kaviraj, Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the ''Caurapañcāśikā''.
According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, ...
(1948) Telugu & Tamil
#
Shanthi Nivasam
''Santhi Nivasam'' () is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by C. S. Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Rajasulochana, Kantha Rao, Krishna Kumari and Devika. It is an adaptation of Palagummi Padmaraju's Telugu play of t ...
(1960) Telugu
#
Sabhash Raja (1961) Telugu
References
External links
*
Listen to some of the songs of R. Balasaraswathi at Old Telugu Songs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balasaraswathi, Raavu
1928 births
Telugu playback singers
Living people
Indian film actresses
20th-century Indian actresses
Indian women playback singers
20th-century Indian singers
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Singers from Andhra Pradesh
Actresses from Andhra Pradesh
Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh
People from Nellore district
All India Radio people
All India Radio women
20th-century Indian women singers
Women musicians from Andhra Pradesh