Parakkal Unnikrishnan (born 9 July 1966) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and

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 ...

Early life and background

Unnikrishnan was born to K. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Harini Radhakrishnan in

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The family home, Kesari Kuteeram, was a well-known landmark of Madras city, with great grandfather Dr. K. N. Kesari, an Ayurvedic physician and the promoter of the Telugu women's magazine Gruhalakshmi. He went to

Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School The Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School is a Central Board of Secondary Education ( CBSE) affiliated school located at Anderson Road, Cochin House, Egmore in Chennai - 600006. It is recognized as the first CBSE school in Chennai. It is ranked a ...

, Chennai. He later transferred to Santhome Higher Secondary School in Chennai and completed his schooling in 1984. He graduated from

Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was formally inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India, on 20 acres (81 ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and received his

B.Com A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanma ...

degree from the

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. He earned a General Law and Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations. He worked as an executive in Parry's Confectionery Ltd. from 1987 to 1994, when he quit his job to become a professional singer.

Singing career

Unnikrishnan was initiated into

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

at age of 12 by V. L. Seshadri. He was inspired by Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan. He attended a special workshop for six months on "''Veena Dhanammal Bhani''" under Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. Brinda and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. T. Vishwa Nathan. He won the

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer The following is a list of winners of the National Film Awards, National Film Award (Silver Lotus Award) for Best Male Playback singer. The award was first granted to Mahendra Kapoor in the year 1967. The singers whose performances have won awar ...

for his debut film songs "Ennavale Adi Ennavale" and "Uyirum Neeye". These songs were composed by

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 ...

, with whom Unnikrishnan gave most of his memorable songs. He is the first male playback singer to be awarded the national award for a Tamil song. He was one of the permanent judges in the reality television show AIRTEL Super Singer on

Vijay TV Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

in seasons (2006, 2008, 2010–2011, 2013, 2015–2016, 2018) and 2008 Idea Star Singer on

Asianet Asianet may refer to: Disney Star channels *Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star **Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel **Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...

. Unnikrishnan is also becoming known for his experimental work. In 2008, he presented a novel jazz concert in Thiruvananthapuram with the Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet and pianist

Anil Srinivasan Anil Srinivasan (born 3 June 1977) is an Indian pianist. Born in Chennai, India and educated at the University of Southern California and at Columbia University, New York, he is well known for his collaborative work with Carnatic vocalist Sik ...

. He prefers singing classical songs over pop music. He is the recipient of many awards like Tamil Nadu's Kalaimamani, Nada Bhushanam, Isai Peroli, Yuva Kala Bharathi, Isayin Punnagai, Isai Selvam, Sangeetha Kalasarathy, Sangeetha Chakravarthy. In 2012, Unnikrishnan rendered a series of Devotional songs on Lord

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

, Lord

Ayyappan Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion t ...

, Lord

Venkateswara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology ...

, and

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

among others. The albums were produced by Gaananjali Recordings and were composed and released by

Manachanallur Giridharan Manachanallur Giridharan (born 15 April 1964) is a South Indian music director, lyricist, singer, and also an educationist. He is also the founder of '' EdServ Softsystems Limited''. He has founded his own music production house called ''Gaanan ...

. The album titles include Ayyan Malai Engal Malai, Om Nava Sakthi Jaya Jaya Sakthi, Sabarimalai Va Charanam Solli Va, Vindhaigal Purindhai Nee En Vazhvile, jeans, and Uchi Pillaiyare Charanam. Notable among them is the Harivarasanam, part of the Ayyappa album and is the only other popular rendering after the famous K. J. Yesudas's.

Personal life

Unnikrishnan is married to Priya, a

Bharathanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

and

Mohiniyattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name fr ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

and a native of

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

. They were married in November 1994 and have 2 children – a son named Vasudev Krishna and a daughter named Uthara. Uthara won the National award for playback singing for her debut song "Azhagu" in the movie "

Saivam ''Saivam'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, directed and produced by A. L. Vijay. The film features Nassar in the lead role and child actress Sara Arjun plays another pivotal role. The film's cinematography was handled by Ni ...

". Both Unnikrishnan and Uthara received national awards for their debut songs. Vasudev is passionate about cricket and is a member of the

Madras Cricket Club The Tamil Nadu cricket team is a domestic cricket team run by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association representing the state of Tamil Nadu, India.It has been one of the most dominating teams in white ball cricket in domestic circuit The team plays in Ranj ...

and Life Member of the

Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is the governing body of cricket activities in the India state of Tamil Nadu. It is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and governs the Tamil Nadu cricket team. Rupa Gurunath is the form ...

References

External links

* *
Artists Profiles : P.Unnikrishnan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unni Krishnan, P. 1966 births Living people Indian male playback singers Singers from Kerala Film musicians from Kerala Musicians from Palakkad Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners 20th-century Indian singers Malayalam playback singers Tamil playback singers Telugu playback singers Kannada playback singers 21st-century Indian singers Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners 20th-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian male singers