Top South Indian Singer Arrives for Doha Show

Gulf Times

Top South Indian singer arrives for Doha show

Publish Date: Saturday,3 June, 2006, at 09:53 AM Doha Time

Staff Reporter

PERHAPS no other singer among the young crop of playback singers in the south Indian movie world is as busy as Madhu Balakrishnan these days.

Balakrishnan, a native of North Paravur in Kerala, has at least half-a-dozen new films in Malayalam alone, besides an equal number in Tamil. Also, he is making a mark in Kannada film music.

Balakrishnan arrived in Doha yesterday to join K S Chitra in the latter’s first concert in seven years to be held in Qatar.

The concert, being held at Doha Cinema tonight, is hosted under the aegis of Jacs Doha, a socio-cultural forum of Keralite expatriates.

Gulf Times is the official media of the event.

A 10-member orchestra is accompanying Chitra and Madhu. Its members are Sherdin Thomas (singer), Tennyson Chinnappan (sound engineer), Hemakumar Appukuttan (Keyboard), Denis Jose Peter (flute/saxophone), Michael Alexander (tabala), Ganesh Ramankutty Nair (Tabala), Sudhendu Raj Mercyraju (lead guitar), Anil Thankabai Nadar (drums) and Vinu Neelakantan Nair (team manager).

Speaking to Gulf Times on his arrival, Balakrishnan said he was looking forward to tonight’s concert as the Doha gathering is very “discerning”.

The singer, known more for his superb rendition of Ponnavani Padom Thedi in Sathyan Anthikad’s runaway hit Rasathanthram (Chemistry), has also found success with his songs in Varevelukumo en Rajakumari in Kamal’s Pachhakuthira, another hit of recent times.

At least four films, for which he has sung, like Siby Malayil’s Kissan (Music: Johnson), Raghunath Paleri’s Kannirinte Madhuram, (Music: Sharat), Highway Police (Music: M K Arjunan Master) and Broadway are to be released soon.

The singer, who made his debut in Tamil in 1995, a year before he began his successful career in his mother tongue, Malayalam, has worked with almost all top South Indian music directors, including Ilayaraja, Karthik Raja, Vidyasagar, Imayan and Dorai.

In Kannada also, Balakrishnan has sung in at least two movies, the music for which was composed by Hamsalekha, one of the most popular directors in Karnataka.