Porayath Leela (19 May 1934 â 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, a Carnatic vocalist, and a music director. She began her career as a playback singer in the 1948 Tamil film Kangkanam. She recorded songs in various Indian languages, including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, and Sinhala. Leela was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006.
During her career, Leela collaborated with composers such as V. Dakshinamoorthy, Baburaj, G. Devarajan, Ghantasala, M. S. Viswanathan, K. Raghavan, Br Lakshmanan, L. P. R. Varma, B. A. Chidambaranath, A.T. Ummer, M. K. Arjunan, Johnson, Ouseppachan, Ilaiyaraja, as well as playback singers K. J. Yesudas and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. Leela described her vocal style using the term Ganamani.
Leela was born in 1934 in Chittur, Palakkad, Kerala, to V.K. Kunjanmenon (Menon) and Porayath Meenakshi Amma. She was the youngest of three daughters, with sisters Sharadha and Bhanumathi. Her father, V.K. Kunjanmenon, was a teacher at Ramavarma Higher Secondary School in Ernakulam. He encouraged his daughters to learn Carnatic music, and Leela attributes her passion for singing to his influence.
By age 13, Leela had sung over 5,000 film songs in the South Indian languages of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. She has also recorded songs for Bengali and Sinhala films. Leela sang during the same era as the Carnatic musicians M.S. Subbulakshmi, M.L. Vasanthakumari, and D.K. Pattammal.
Leela's first guru was Thiribuvana Manibhagavadhar, the uncle of musician T. V. Gopalakrishnan. Later, she learned from Paththamadai Krishna Ayyar, Maruthuvakudi Rajagopala Iyer, and Rama Bhagavathar. Leela was trained in Carnatic music by Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and V. Dakshinamoorthy. Vadakkancheri Ramabhagavadhar was a close friend of Leela's father, Menon. He had settled down in Madras. He would invite Menon and Leela to Madras to learn music whenever he visited Ernakulam. The headmistress of the school where Leela was studying advised her father to take her to Madras for further music training.
Menon resigned from his job in Ernakulam and took Leela to Madras in 1944. They stayed with Vadakkancheri Ramabagavathar in Mylapore and the 10-year-old Leela began learning in the gurukula style. Her father insisted that Leela do sadhaka (practice music) early in the morning.
In Madras, Leela had opportunities to listen to concerts of singers like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, S. Ramanathan, G. N. Balasubramaniam, Chembai, and others. Leela said this 'kelvi gnanam' (learning music by listening) helped her much in developing and refining her. In 1946, Leela participated in several music competitions in her city, receiving multiple awards. Durgabai Deshmukh gave Leela her first formal concert opportunity at Andra Mahila Sabha.
The Columbia Recording Company was looking for a female voice. The manager at the time, Ganabathirama Iyer, recommended Leela. She was appointed as their artist, which paved the way for her entry into films.
In Tamil, Nandakumar was the first movie to introduce playback singing. A.V. Meiyappa Chettiar came up with the idea of replacing the soundtrack with voice and the playback system was introduced in Tamil cinema in 1938. It gradually got accepted and many singers entered the movie world.
When she landed in Madras, she did not know Tamil or Telugu. She would write the songs in Malayalam and practice them to perfection. Once she started her career as a playback singer, she arranged for tutors and learned other languages.
She got her first offer to sing in 1948 for a Tamil movie. Her father was initially reluctant but later he was persuaded to accept. Leela made her first appearance as a playback singer in the movie Kangkanam. She sang her first song, Sree Varalakshmi, at age 13. C.H. Padmanabhasastry was the music director of the film. She sang all the songs for the heroine in that film. After her debut in Kangkanam, she was the most sought-after playback singer in South Indian cinema for more than two decades, according to The Hindu.
In 1948, she sang Paaduka Poonkuyile for the Malayalam movie Nirmala, though Balan. The film was made in 1938 and it was the first Malayalam "talkie" with a soundtrack. Balan was produced by T.R Sundaram for Modern Theatres, Salem, with S. Nottani as the director.
In 1949, Leela made her debut in Telugu cinema singing in three films: Mana Desam, Keelu Gurram, and Gunasundari Katha. Singer and music director Ghantasala (with whom Leela has sung the most songs) introduced Leela in Manadesam. She sang all the songs for the heroine in the film Gunasundari Katha.
By the 1950s, Leela was recording playback songs in all major South Indian languages. Around the same period, she contributed to Shavukaru, the debut production of Vijaya Productions, which did not achieve commercial success at the box office.
She sang in the film Missamma (made as Missiyamma in Tamil) and worked as a music director for a film called 'Chinnari Papalu' (Telugu) in 1968. The film was produced exclusively by women. She sang eight songs along with P. Susheela in the film Lava Kusa (1963).
Leela married a lawyer, but the marriage was unsuccessful. In her later years, she devoted herself to performing classical concerts and light music programs. She lived with her nieces and nephews in Defence Colony, St. Thomas Mount (Parangimalai).
She was known for her ability to sing both classical and light film music. Satya Kabali, an actor, said that Leela had an emotional touch and classical discipline which she imparted in film music.
On her death, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha said:
âÂÂOne of the greatest vocal musicians of India, who made a name for herself by singing exquisite songs in her mellifluous voice in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu both for the film industry, as well as in Carnatic music. She had also rendered melodious devotional songs. Though she had been decorated with a number of awards including the Kalaimamani Award of the State Government for 1991-92, she was the epitome of humility and considered her contributions in the field of music a humble service to humanity and an offering to the Lord. In her passing, we have lost a great singer, leaving a great void in the world of music"
She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously for her contributions in the year 2006.
She was awarded the Kalaimamani title in 1992 by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Leela received the best playback singer award from the Kerala government in 1969 for the song Ujjayiniyile Gaayika from the movie Kadalpalam.
She received a Certificate of Honour for the Growth and Development of Malayalam Films from the Kerala Government.
Leela has been awarded many titles, including:
P. Leela died on 31 October 2005, at 00:40 IST at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre in Chennai. She was hospitalized in late September after suffering serious injuries sustained due to a fall in the bathroom in her home. Though she was operated on, her condition suddenly worsened due to pneumonia, possibly a complication from her long-standing asthma. She went into a deep coma a day before she died. She was cremated with full state honours on the day of her death at Besant Nagar Crematorium. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha eulogised her after her death.
An open stage named Thiruvarangu was built in 2018 at her native place Chittur-Tathamangalam in her memory.