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PBS - King of melody

'Kaalangalil aval vasatham' - an evergreen song which transports us to celestial bliss whenever heard and the mellifluous, melodious, euphonious and honey-toned voice belongs to none other than P B Srinivas (PBS).

One can define PBS as playback singer. A singer who has sung in many languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, and enthralled the listeners and held them captive with his enchanting voice. He is not only a multi-lingual singer but also a muliti-lingual poet.

The 73-year-old PBS hails from Andhra Pradesh and has sung almost all the songs for Kannada super star Rajkumar and thus became a 'singer's singer'. His latest distinction is that PBS has been appointed president of the Iyal Isai Nataka Manram by the Tamil Nadu government.

How did you become a musician?

I became a musician at a very young age thanks to my mother's blessings. My mother was a good singer with a great voice. I grew up listening to movie songs. Right from the beginning, I decided to abstain from learning Carnatic music, the reason being that I could not understand the methods of teaching by the music teachers.

I became intersted in Carnatic music after listening to the music of M S Subbalakshmi, D K Pattammal, Semmangudi, Ariyakudi and G N Balasubramanyam.

It became clear to me that if singers are good, then the music emanating from them will also be good. Though I have not learnt Carnatic music, I grasped the basics of ragas, talas and created some new new ragas myself.

How did you enter the cine field and when?

My father was not interested in my joining the cine field. But I was attracted to it. He thought that his son would get corrupted but I was firm in my decision. So, he told me to finish my degree before taking the plunge.

I finished my degree and my father took me to an astrologer who predicted firmly that I would not be joining the cinema. I was annoyed and asked him whether all his predictions turned out accurate and he replied in the negative.

He told me that sometimes they might go wrong and I assured him that this would be one of them. I told him about my great intention to put in all efforts to join the cinema and that I would do so till my last breath.

He liked my sincere answer and advised my father to permit me to do as I wanted. He appreciated my interest and talent and blessed me.

Then my father took me to Gemini studio, which was in 1952, my first entry into the film world. Veena exponent Padmasree Yemani Sankara Sastri and Co-music director B S Kalaa gave me a chance to sing in a Hindi movie called 'Mr Sampath', which was a remake of a Tamil film 'Miss Malini'. I sang only two lines in that movie.

You have rendered playback for Kannada super star Rajkumar who is a good singer. How did the Kannada people accept that?

AV M R Nagendrarao of Gemini was shooting a film called 'Jaadhagam' in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. G K Venkat introduced me to Rajkumar saying I had a good voice and that he should give me an oppurtunity to sing.

Rajkumar gave me a chance in 'Kokilaswarar'. I sang a sloka and solo in that movie. On hearing my song, Rajkumar thanked Venkatesh for introducing me to him and heaped praise on me.

Later on, I sang in 'Bhaktha Kanakadasa', produced by T R Nayudu, in the music of M V Raju. All the songs from that film became a super hit and Rajkumar decided to have me as his regular playback from then on.

Since then I have rendered 200 songs in 20 years for him and if I am popular in Kannada film world today, it is because of Rajkumar. I owe my thanks to him, without doubt.

About your entry into Tamil films...

Though my entry was through the film 'Jaadhagam', I sang a solo and a duet with P Leela for 'Premapasam'. But the song which made me popular was 'Kaalangalil aval vasantham' from the silver jublee film 'Paava Mannippu'. 

The music was composed by M S Viswanathan and the lyrics were by the great Kannadasan.

Like for Rajkumar in Kannada, your voice suited Gemini Ganesan. Did you make any special effort to make that happen?

No, not at all. Before the film 'Pava Mannipu', I had rendered many songs for Anjali pictures in 'Adutha Veetu Penn'. The 'Japan' song rendered by me with Janaki was a hit. Though I have not sung for Gemini Ganesan in a big way, my songs for him became phenomenally successful. 

For example, one can mention the songs, 'Aaadadha manamum aadudhe', 'Chinna chinna kannanukku', 'Valarndhakadhai marandhuvittai' etc...

How did you get into Hindi films?

A V M Chettiar, who was impressed with my 'Kalangalil aval vasantham' song, was bent on making me sing for a Hindi film. Chettiar was then involved in producing a Hindi film, 'Mein Bhi Ladki Hoon'. I sang a duet with Latha Mangeshkar which was my long-time dream.

Once I pointed out a mistake in Usha's (Latha's sister) song. V N Sarmaji was surprised when he played the song and found out that I was right. He rectified the mistake and gave me more oppurtunities to sing in Hindi films.

That was also was a reason for my entry into Hindi films. Latha liked my voice and recommended me to nearly 15 to 16 music directors. But I could not stay on. I started singing more in Tamil and Kannada and lesser and lesser in Malayalam and Telugu.

I also sang duets and triplets with Geetha Roy, Shamshad Begum and Jikki.

About poems and songs that you have written

Till now I have written songs and poetry in eight Indian languages. So far I have written one-and-a-half lakh poems and the same amount of new tunes. I presented many of my tunes in AIR, TV, audio cassettes and CDs.

People have appreciated my rendering of Saradha Bujanga Sthotram, Sanskrit devotional songs, Purandharadasa songs, Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatham, Mukunthamalai, Naivedhyam and Sivaparivara Sthotram in Malayalam.

How many have you written and published?

I have written about the grammar of poetry under the title 'Sandhas', 'Sreenivasa Gayathri Vritham' and 'Dasa Geetha Geetha Sandhesam'. Along with Veena Gayathri I have released this as a cassette also. Apart from this, I sent the record of the book 'Man has set his foot on the moon' to President Nixon and Neil Armstrong. I was elated to receive a commendation letter from them. In my letter to them I had mentioned, "Man to moon... moon to god".

I have also published five books namely, 'Lovely Love Songs', 'White Shadows', 'Srinivasa Gayathri Vritham', 'Gayakudi Geyaalu' and 'Pranavam'.

You must have won many awards

The Tamil Nadu governent's Kalaimamani award, honourable doctorate degree from Arizona University, Karnataka Rajyotsava award from the Karnataka government and the Andhra Pradesh government's Ugadhi Puraskar are the awards that I have to my credit.

We have heard that you have written ghazals and composed music for them...

I have written thousands of songs in eight languages. Most of them are based on love. Both solo and with E V S Devi Ramamurthy, I have rendered ghazals which have been released as audio cassettes. These are very popular among ghazal fans. It should be mentioned that Devi is the daughter of the renowned Yemani Sankara Sastri.

Can you tell us about the ragas that you have created?

Though I have not learnt Carnatic music, I was inspired by listening to eminent musicians. I have created a new raga called 'Navaneetha Suma Sudha' and written keertanas in honour of Thyagaraja Swamigal.

Is there any reason for your choosing melodious songs?

Melodious songs are the most popular ones among the people. I welcome such songs in the films in future. The letter 'M' in music denotes melody. If you remove the letter, it becomes "sick'. So melody is very essential for music.

About singers with whom you have rendered songs

I have rendered songs with the 'Nightingale of South India' P Suseela in many languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. P Bhanumathi, S Varalakshmi, S Janaki and others are also in the list. In short, I have sung with many of the leading singers of that time.

Do you have an heir in music?

My sons are very good singers. My nephew V G Madhusudhanan sings with me on the stage, and he has a similar voice and style. He can be called my heir. I recorded my old songs in his voice and sent them to M S Viswanathan. He mistook it for my voice and said my voice had not changed at all. He was surprised when I told him that it was my nephew's voice.

My grandson Anandha Varadhan has won two Nandini awards as child artiste. My other two grandsons, Narasimhan and Sudharshan, are learning flute and mridhangam. My brother Ramanujam is also a very good singer. My nephew Babu and niece Lakshmi are also interested in singing.

About your trips abroad...

I have visited many countries abroad with Gemini Ganesan, Nadanamani Kamala and M S Viswanathan. I have visited South africa, Canada and a few western countries and of course Singapore and Malaysia.

Recently, you were appointed as president of the Iyal Isai Nataka Manram. What will be your contribution?

Till now T M Soundararajan was occupying the post. In December 2001, I joined the school of music as an advisor. Now they have honoured me with this post for which I thank Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. I feel happy with the responsibility that I have been entrusted with. I want to do a lot of work for this Manram but I don't want to reveal my plans at present.

You are not singing anymore in films, why?

I would like to sing even now as my voice is still the same. But new singers have come and they are being given chance by the new music directors. In spite of being out of the scene, I am still busy and keep myself so.

What is your ambition and advice to budding singers?

My desire is that colleges should conduct training sessions in film songs, light music and Carnatic music. Through this, students' talent will improve and they will shine further in this field. They have to establish light music colleges that will produce music directors and lyricists. These are my desires.

Voice is the most vital aspect for a singer. So, it is their duty to take care of it. Cold drinks and ice creams are taboo and one should keep one's mind active always.

PBS's new raga

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I have created a new raga called 'Navaneetha Suma Sudha' and G S Mani has named it as Janyaraga Janyam. This is because this raga was created while singing Saraswati raga.

The first letters of these eight ragas form the new raga's name 'Navaneetha Suma Sudha'.

K T SRI
Translated by Radha N

Published on 11^th Jan, 2004