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

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

. He rose to prominence after rendering the songs 'Aadi Pona Aavani' and 'Nadukadalula Kappala' from the soundtrack of '' Attakathi''. He has predominantly sung songs belonging to the gaana genre of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. 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 Indi ...

. He has been credited for reviving the gaana genre in

Tamil Cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

after 'Thenisai Thendral'

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

. 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 to study Botany. He later contested in the TV reality show ''Gana Kuyil Pattu'' that featured on Kalaignar TV 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. He made his debut in the film industry with '' Piragu'' composed by Srikanth Deva, son of the 'Father of Gaana Genre' –

. He first found success for his songs 'Aadi Pona Aavani' and 'Nadukadalula' in the sleeper hit '' Attakathi''. Since then he has sung a number of successful songs under top composers like

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...

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 ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), 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 subsidiarie ...

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 '' Piragu''. He has danced for a song in 'Attakathi' Dinesh's second movie as hero, '' Vaaraayo Vennilaave''. 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'', 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 K. Selva Bharathy is an Indian film director and dialogue writer, who works in Tamil cinema. He was one time assistant of late director-actor Manivannan. He was also an erstwhile dialogue writer for director Sundar C. He has directed nine films ...

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, 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

Television Appearance

Awards

Kalaimamani Honour by Tamil Nadu Government * 2015 - Contribution to Playback singing

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