Remembering P Leela

Be it expressing grief and dismay in the court of Hasthinapur through Panchali’s plea in “Deva Deena Bhandava” or singing the Ramayana through Lava Kusha in “Vinudu Vinudu Ramayana Gaatha Vinudee Manasara” or oozing affection and beauty in “Himagiri sogasulu” or “Raavoyi Chandamaama” playback singer Leela hypnotised the audience and took them into her own world of melody.

Music transcends barriers of language and proving the point are the many playback singers from South who delivered heavenly songs to our Telugu Audience in addition to making a mark across other launguages. One such singer who left her impression was P Leela. A documentary featuring her interview was showcased this Sunday at Lamakaan in Tripuraneni Sai Chand’s Cinema Cinema. A native of Kerala with her exceptional voice and a firm grip on intricacies of carnatic music she managed to mesmerise film audience of all the southern languages.

Under the tutelage of Ghantasala her skills were polished and given a podium to present herself to the world. In spite of her mother tongue being Malayalam, she used to make notes of the Telugu lyrics in Malayalam and ensure that no linguistic biases or accents are heard in her songs. The skill of the play back singer is played out in how natural a song feels when the actor is portraying the sequence on screen. P Leela had for over two decades of experience as a playback singer infusing life into any song that she sang.

Taking us down the melody lane, “Tellavara Vache” from ‘Chiranjeevulu’ ,”Jalakalatalalo” from ‘Jagadekaveeruni Kadha’ , “Echata nundi veecheno” from ‘Appu Chesi Pappu Kudu’, “Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo” from ‘Maya Bazaar’, a selection of songs sung by her were shown in the documentary. Her father’s love for music initiated her into music that subsequently brought her to Chennai and later into films. She considers herself blessed to have got a chance to work under and alongside her mentor and guide Ghantasala.

She reminisces about her initial days in the industry when they spent at least two to three days learning and rehearsing the songs before going into recording. Thorough preparations were made and the recordings were attended to by the director, producer, music director and lyricists. Context of the song, the actor who is singing the song on screen, the emotion that is to be conveyed in the song were all explained. Compromise was never an option and the singers would do as many re-takes as necessary. Only when all the parties present were happy with the final output, would the song be finalised. She notes that with changing time the music in the industry moved from semi classical to western to folk genres. One can’t choose which is better and the changes were part of evolution of culture itself.

Madhavapeddi Suresh, SV Rama Rao, Gundu Hanumanth Rao, Ram Durvasula, Chandrashekar, Mudigonda Linga Murthy and Bnim graced the occasion with their presence. Tales from the golden era, when the best of the lyricists, singers, music directors came together to give us master pieces were shared. Songs from the era liberate your soul and making living worthwhile. Blessed were the ones who have had a chance to relive those moments through these captured memories.