Product Code Database
Kavita Krishnamurthy (born as Sharada Krishnamurthy), is an Indian Playback singer and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 numerous songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali language, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Telugu language, Odia language, Marathi language, English language, Urdu, Tamil language, Malayalam, Gujarati, Nepali language, Assamese, Konkani language, Punjabi language and other languages. She is the recipient of four Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer Awards (winning consecutively during 1995–1997), and the Padmashri which she received in 2005. She was awarded a Doctorate Honoris causa for her contributions to Indian music by Bangalore-based Jain University in 2015. In 1999, she married noted violinist L. Subramaniam and resides in Bengaluru.
She is an alumnus of St. Xavier's College, Bombay from where she did her BA Honors Economics. She was very active in St. Xavier's music group. During the annual college festival (Malhar), she met Ranu Mukherjee, the daughter of Hemant Kumar. Ranu took the initiative of reintroducing Kavita to her father, who began using her as a singer during his live performances. At one such performance, playback singer Manna Dey spotted her and employed her to sing advertisement . Through her aunt's contacts, she met Jaya Chakravarthy, the mother of actress Hema Malini, who later introduced Kavita to the music director Laxmikant (one of the composer duo Laxmikant–Pyarelal) in late 1976. A recent interview covers a pretty good summary of her musical journey.Kar, Dr. Kohinoor. "Kavita Krishnamurti: Far Beyond 1942 A Love Story, pp. 1, 24"
She recorded her first song under Vilayat Khan's composition in Kadambari (1976). The song was entitled Aayega Aanewala (a remake of Mahal's (1949), the superhit song sung by Lata Mangeshkar) and was picturised on Shabana Azmi. Laxmikant gave her an opportunity to work as a dubbing artist. Initially, she recorded songs and cut demos of songs intended for singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
First original song:
However she got her first own song, recorded in 1977 in Kannada language, "Ondanondu kaaladaga" in the film Ondanondu Kaladalli ( Once upon a time) directed by Girish Karnad. The song was penned by the Jnanpit awardee Chandrashekhara Kambara and the music by Bhaskar Chandavarkar. Being the only song in the entire movie, "Ondanondu kaladaga" with its folk touch, became a hit and earned fame for Kavita Krishnamurti. Then she went on to sing many Kannada-language songs.
In 1980, she sang "Kaahe Ko Byaahi" for the film Maang Bharo Sajana, which featured her singing in her own voice, although the song was dropped from the final cut of the film. In 1985, her career took off with her first major hit, "Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon" from the Hindi film Pyaar Jhukta Nahin (1985). Following the success of the song, it opened up opportunities for her beyond the Laxmikant–Pyarelal camp. However, "Hawa Hawai" and "Karte Hai Hum Pyaar Mr. India Se", two popular songs from the equally popular movie Mr. India (1987) - Karte Hain Hum Pyaar Mr. India se, proved to be a turning point in her career. The songs were composed by music composers Laxmikant–Pyarelal, the latter being a duet with Kishore Kumar and lip-synced on screen by an actress Sridevi. Her collaboration with Laxmikant–Pyarelal produced several hits. Hawa Hawai, which launched her into stardom was dubbed to be recorded by Asha Bhosle, however later producer decided to keep her version despite her mistake in the song.
The 1990s thrust Kavita into being known as one of the leading female playback singers. Her performance as a singer in the film , composed by R. D. Burman, won her much popular acclaim. With a string of hits from 1942, Yaraana, Agni Sakshi and , Kavita Krishnamurthy established herself as a leading female playback singer, alongside Alka Yagnik. She went on to work with several music directors of the 1990s Hindi films, such as Bappi Lahiri, Anand–Milind, A. R. Rahman, Rajesh Roshan, Raamlaxman, Ismail Darbar, Himesh Reshammiya, Aadesh Shrivastava, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin–Lalit, Viju Shah and Anu Malik. Her work with A. R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar remain some of the most critically acclaimed renditions of the last two decades. During her stint as a playback singer, she sang duets with the leading male singers of her time. Early in her career, she sang duets with Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and Shailendra Singh. Her most prolific works were with the leading singers of the 1990s are Amit Kumar, Mohammad Aziz, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Abhijeet. She has also sung with younger singers in the 2000s such as Sonu Nigam, Shaan and Babul Supriyo. Her female duets mostly have been with Alka Yagnik, then with Anuradha Paudwal and Sadhana Sargam with a few duets also with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. During the 90s and early 2000s, Kavita Krishnamurthy alongside Alka Yagnik sang mostly for leading ladies.
As she actively started exploring fusion music, Kavita traveled around the world, including the US, UK, UAE, Europe, Africa, Australia, East Asia, the Middle East, and South America. She has performed in concert halls including Royal Albert Hall in London, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Madison Square Garden, The Lincoln Center in New York City, the Zhongshan Music Hall in Beijing, The Esplanade in Singapore, The Putra Jaya World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, and Gewandhaus.
Although primarily a playback singer, Kavita has sung with orchestras as a soloist; she has collaborated with Western artists from jazz, pop and classical fields. She has lent her voice for many albums. As a playback singer, Kavita has performed throughout India. In 2014, she also sang "Koi Chahat Koi Hasrat" for the album Women's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere. It was composed by Nayab Raja and penned by Dipti Mishra.
Subramaniam has four children from his previous marriage. His eldest daughter Gingger Shankar is a singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, while his second eldest, Bindu Subramaniam is a law graduate and singer-songwriter. Narayana is a doctor, while the youngest, Ambi Subramaniam, is an accomplished violinist.
Kavita and her husband opened a musical institute, the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts, in Bengaluru in 2007. In March 2013, she launched her own app.
|
|
