Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) 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 ...

who is popular for singing in

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 ...

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, nativ ...

and

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 ...

movies. She has also sung for

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 ...

, Badaga,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has recorded more than 7,000 songs to date. Sujatha mohan on stage

Personal life

Sujatha Mohan is the granddaughter of Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai, the first

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin State after India gained

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. Her father, the late Dr. Vijayendran died when she was two years old. She completed her graduation in Economics from the

St. Teresa's College St. Teresa's College is an autonomous women's college located at Kochi, Kerala, India, formed under the patronage of the Archdiocese of Verapoly. History The college was established on 15 June 1925, as the first Women's College of the erstwh ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

. She married Dr. V. Krishna Mohan on 9 May 1981. Her only daughter,

Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700 so ...

, is also a singer.

Radhika Thilak Radhika Thilak (1969 – 20 September 2015) was an Indian Malayalam-language playback singer. She sang 70 songs for Malayalam films. Career Some of her songs are "Arunakirana deepam", "Deva sangeetham", "Maya manchalil", "Kaithapoo manam", "Th ...

and

G. Venugopal Gopinathan Nair Venugopal (born 10 December 1960), popularly known as G. Venugopal, is an Indian playback singer known for his works in Malayalam films. He started his singing career in the film '' Odaruthammava Aalariyam'' (1984). Since then h ...

are her cousins.

Career

Sujatha shot to fame in the seventies as ''Baby Sujatha'', the schoolgirl who regularly used to sing with K. J. Yesudas in his stage shows all over the world. She recorded her first song, "Kannezhuthy Pottuthottu" when she was in the sixth standard. The song was composed by

M. K. Arjunan M. K. Arjunan ( ml, എം.കെ. അർജുനൻ; 1 March 1936 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Cinema of Kerala, Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as ''Ar ...

for the 1975 Malayalam movie ''Tourist Bungalow''. She recorded songs for

Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include: ;Shyam *Shyam (actor), Indian Hindi film actor *Shyam (composer), an Indian music composer from Kerala * Shyam Benegal, Indian film di ...

in ''Kamam Krodham Moham'' and

Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This incl ...

in ''Aparadhi''. Around this time, composer M. G. Radhakrishnan got her to record many non-film songs; the biggest hit among them was "Odakkuzhal Vili". She debuted in Tamil through the song "Kaadhal Oviyam Kandein" from ''

Kavikuyil ''Kavikkuyil'' is a 1977 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Devaraj–Mohan. The film stars Sivakumar, Sridevi and Fatafat Jayalaxmi, with S. V. Subbaiah, Rajinikanth and Senthamarai in supporting roles. It was released on 29 July 1977. ...

'' (1977), tuned in ''Hameer Kalyani'' raga by

Illayaraja 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 ...

, but it was not included in the film. Her first released song in Tamil was "Kalai Paniyil" from the Tamil film ''

Gaayathri ''Gayathri'' is a 1977 Indian Tamil-language film directed by R. Pattabhiraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. It stars Jaishankar, Rajinikanth and Sridevi. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Sujatha. It was released on 7 ...

'' (1977), starring

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...

and

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

with music by

Ilaiyaraja 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 ...

. She sang for Ilaiyaraaja in ''

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

'', ''Kavikuyil'' and ''Ilamai Kolangal''. After her marriage in 1981, she took a sabbatical from playback singing. She made a successful comeback in 1988 through ''Kadathanadan Ambadi'', followed by the hit ''

Chithram ''Chithram'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film was produced by P. K. R. Pillai under his production house Shirdi Sai Creations, and stars Mohanlal, Ranjini, Nedumudi Ve ...

''. She used to sing ad jingles in the late 1980s for

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 ...

(such as the Premiere Cooker ad and the Tilda Rice ad). Then Rahman got her to sing " Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" from

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

's 1992 film ''

Roja Roja may refer to: * ''Roja'' (film), a 1992 Tamil-language film by director Mani Ratnam * ''Roja'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film * Roja Selvamani Roja Selvamani (born Sri Latha Reddy; 17 November 1972), also known as R. K. ...

'', which became one of the biggest hit songs in India. The backing vocals for the song " Kadhal Roja" were also performed by Sujatha. She has had other hit songs, most of them with Rahman from films including ''

Pudhiya Mugam ''Pudhiya Mugam'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language thriller film directed by Suresh Chandra Menon. It stars Revathi, Suresh Chandra Menon, Vineeth and Kasthuri. The film featured music by A. R. Rahman. ''Pudhiya Mugam'' is an adaptation ...

'' (1992), ''

Gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

'' (1993), ''

Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

'' and ''

Minsaara Kanavu ''Minsara Kanavu'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film that was co-written and directed by Rajiv Menon. The film stars Arvind Swamy, Prabhu Deva, and Kajol in her Tamil debut, and revolves around Priya (Kajol), a con ...

'' (1997). She has also recorded some songs in

, including "Dil Hai Sanam" (the Hindi version of "Thee Thee") from ''

Chor Chor ''Chor Chor'' is a 1974 Bollywood drama film directed by Prem Prakash. The film stars Vijay Anand. This is one of the best suspense thrillers that Bollywood has made. It is surprising that very few people know about this movie. Perhaps the cas ...

'' (''Thiruda Thiruda''), "Ishq Bina" from '' Taal'', "Hai Jaana" from '' Pukar'' and "Ishwar Allah" from ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

'', and provided backing vocals for the song "Tum Ho Meri Nigahom" from ''

Kabhi Na Kabhi ''Kabhi Na Kabhi'' () is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language action film co-written and directed by Priyadarshan. It stars Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Pooja Bhatt. The film was produced by R. Mohan (aka GoodKnight Mohan) in the banner of a Malayalam ...

'', all of them composed by

. She has had many of her notable and successful songs under the musical direction of A. R. Rahman. Her husky voice has given her huge number of fans across. She made a strong comeback in the Malayalam film industry in the mid-1990s and most of her notable Malayalam songs were composed by Vidyasagar. Most of her hit songs from Telugu are composed by

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 ...

. She was also a judge in munch star singer junior, IDEA star singer, AIRTEL super singer (VIJAY TV).

Discography

Awards

Sujatha has received several awards and recognitions for her work in the South Indian film musical world. She has been awarded the

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

award by the Government of Indian state Tamil Nadu in 2021. She was also awarded Kerala, Tamil Nadu state awards.

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

Kerala Film Critics Award The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

South Indian International Movie Awards South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

Other prominent awards & nominations

* 1997 - Dinakaran Cinema Awards for Best Female Playback Singer - ''Surya Vamsam'' * 1997 -

Cinema Express Awards Cinema Express Awards are presented annually by Indian Express Group on behalf of Cinema Express film magazine to honour artistic excellence of professionals in the south Indian film industry which comprises Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam ...

for Best Female Playback Singer - ''Surya Vamsam'' * 1998 - Dinakaran Cinema Awards for Best Female Playback Singer - ''

Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen ''Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Vikraman. It stars Karthik and Roja, with Ajith Kumar in a guest appearance. Ramesh Khanna, Moulee, Sathyapriya, Fathima Babu, and Mad ...

'' * 2015 –

Asiavision Awards Asiavision Awards have been held annually since 2006 to honor the artistes and technicians of Indian cinema and television & is organized under the leadership of renowned journalist Nissar Syed. More than 40,000 people across United Arab Emirates ...

for Best Female Playback Singer – ''Ottamandaram'' * 2014 – Thikkurishi Award (shared with Shewta) for movie Ottamandaram * 2013 – JFW magazine Women Achievers Award. * 2009 –

Swaralaya Yesudas Award Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award (or usually referred to as Yesudas Award) is an award for music artists in recognition to their outstanding performance. The award is instituted jointly by ''Swaralaya'', an organization that promotes music and Kair ...

* 2008 – Best female singer award in GMMA (Gulf Malayalam Music Awards) * The Film Critics award 11 times * * * Vanitha award for 'Kallai Kadavathu' in 'Perumazhakkalam' * Mathrubhoomi Award for 'Kallai Kadavathu' in 'Perumazhakkalam' * Raju Pilakkad Film Award * Lifetime Achievement Award from Zee Tamil saregamapa little champs she got the award from her mother *

South Indian Bank South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a major private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. South Indian Bank has 933 branches, 4 service branches, 1 extension counters and 18 Regional Offices spread across India. The bank has al ...

women's achiever's award 2017 *

Mirchi Music Awards ''Mirchi Music Awards'' are presented annually by ''Radio Mirchi'' to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film music industry of India. The awards, given in seventeen different categories, were in ...

2018: Lifetime achievement *

Kamukara Purushothaman Kamukara Purushothaman (4 December 1930 – 26 May 1995) was an Indian singer. He was a noted playback singer in Malayalam cinema during its early years. He has recorded over 170 songs in 68 movies in various South Indian languages. Early ...

Kamukara Award 2019: Lifetime achievement (Award from

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 ...

) * Kalaimamani 2021

Malayalam album songs

* "Ilamyel Kondu Njaan" – ''Ithal'' (2016) * "Maayumee thaazvarayooram" – ''Album'' (2015) * "Vaadyaghosham" – ''Kerala Piravi Day'' (2014) * "Kanna Neeyengupoi" – ''Nandagopalam'' (2013) * "Kayalthirakalil Kanneeralakalil" – ''Kulirmazhayai'' (2011) * "Athramel Athramel" – ''Danaha'' (2011) * "Ravereyayittum" – ''Pranayamarmaram'' (2009) * "Ee Manjil" – ''Spandanam'' (2010) * "Ennennum" – (2010) * "Manju Peyyume" – ''Purple'' (2009)

TV shows

She has Judged several popular reality shows over South Indian television across Malayalam and Tamil languages. ;As Judge

References

External links

*
Sujatha's official website

Sujatha's Instagram Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohan, Sujatha Living people Indian women playback singers Kerala State Film Award winners Telugu playback singers Tamil playback singers Malayalam playback singers Kannada playback singers Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Bollywood playback singers Film musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Thiruvananthapuram 21st-century Indian singers Women musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers 1963 births St. Teresa's College alumni