Sunday Celebrity: Playback singer P.B.Sreenivos, the multi-faceted personality

By Gopal Ethiraj, Chennai

Chennai, 30 August (Asiantribune.com):Up to the age of three, his parents were very much worried the child was not speaking, and they were praying all the gods they knew to open up his voice. Their joy knew no bounds when one day the child yelled when a stone slab fell near it with a great bang.

The child later was known and became renowned with its voice. It was none other than P.B.Sreenivos, the film playback singer, lyricist, writer. He has sung more than 1000 songs for films in fourteen Indian languages. As a playback singer, he has created a niche for himself, and honors came one after another. As a lyricist he is proficient enough to pen in eight languages—Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Malayalam and English. He is also known as Md. Rafi of South India.

When child Sreenivos found his voice, singing became his choice. His mother was good singer at home. That inspired him, he started to hum. He came across sweet Hindi songs of Manna Dey, Md. Rafi, Naushad, Talat, Mukesh. Rafi became his voice-model. All Rafi-sung songs were on lips.

“When I was trying film chances, it was Rafi numbers my audition test-songs. My songs S.P.Balasubramaniam was using as his audition test-songs when he was knocking at the doors of producers, which fact he himself acknowledges in all his interviews. I am happy, honored,” says P.B.Srieenivos talking to Asian Tribune.

Our meeting, early this week at the Mylapore New Woodlands, where he sits every evening and is almost the Brand Ambassador of the hotel, was itself happening with a symmetrical thinking. He was waiting for me, and the rain had delayed my reaching on time. However, ‘PBS’ as he is called affectionately, received me warmly, and asked me to sit for sometime and have my coffee while he said he would finish his writing he was on. I wondered if it was punishment for my late coming.

Not willing to kill my time I started to scribble on my papers. There were half a dozen servers and those who had come to eat were behind my back watching my paper. ‘PBS’ asked me what was it—I had completed a profile sketch of ‘PBS’. With a big simile and surprise, he said what a big coincidence, “I was penning a poem on you in Tamil with your name embedded vertically down the lines!” We exchanged our sketches of each other duly signed.

His will power prevails

How he came into film industry? While at school and college at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Sreenivos used to tell he would become a playback singer, and his family was against it. His father brought an astrologer home and asked him to see if he would have any success in his pursuit. The astrologer said he would not click well. His parents then persuaded him to change his idea of future. But he was not to give up.

His father then took him to Emani Shankara Sastri, a veena exponent (he was a sub-registrar in Kakinada then) for an advice, who asked him to sing a song. He was out with his Rafi song from “Didar” ‘huve hum jinke liye’, and won his appreciation. Sastri said he would have a bright future in films. His parents stopped crossing him thereafter.

His break in films

In 1951 was his first break in films with “Mr.Sampath,” in Hindi, a Gemini film, which was also made in Tamil as “Miss Malini”. He sang couplets and triplets with Geeta Dutt and Shamshed Begum. His first break in Tamil was in R.Nagendra Rao’s ”Jathakam,” which was also made in Telugu and Kannada.

“Gemini’s S.S.Vasan was very much impressed with my voice. He told Sastri even my humming, melts him. Narasu Iyer of Narasu Studios’ recording of my song ‘Avanillal puviyinile anuvum asayade’ for “Prema Pasam” and ‘Muralidhara mohana krishna’ for Thyagi Ramaiah Das gave me courage to stay put with my resolve to be a playback singer,” Sreenivos says of his beginning in the industry.

Then came his recording in “Adutha veettu Penn” where all his four songs became hits—‘kannale pesi pesi kolladhe’, ‘vadatha pushpame..’, ‘Maalayil, malar solaiyil..’ and a Japanese-worded ‘Sayanora, sayanora..Tokio’ with S.Janaki. “Kalangalil aval vasantham..” penned by Kannadasan, tuned by Viswanathan-Ramamurthy duo for “Pava Mannippu’ is another hit of PBS, still doing rounds.

Suseela’s ectasy

‘Nilave ennidam nerungathe’, a solo tuned by M S Viswanathan for Gemini Ganesh, still speaks of him as imitable singer. “S.Janaki would say I cannot imagine any better voice for this song. Once P.Suseela and myself were giving a light music programme at Annamalai Mandram in Chennai. As she has to catch her train she finished her singing first, got off the stage, but could not leave the hall without listening my ‘nilave ennidam nerungathe’. Not aware of this, I was rendering other songs, keeping this much-awaited number to the last. Impatient Suseela sent a chit, asking me to sing the song and that she was waiting. I did. Filled with ecstasy, she came back on the stage and joined with me, making the solo a duet.”

His association with AVM, he remembers well. For AVM’s “Ramu” a Gemini Ganesh-K.R.Vijaya starrer, his rendering ‘kathalikka neram’, ‘Viswanathan velai vendum..’ ‘anubhavam pudumai avalidam kanden..’ ‘ninaipadellam nadanduvittal..’and so many were his hits.

“There was times I have given five recording in a day. There were two films with all songs with me and Janaki—“Policekaran Magan” and “Sumaithangi”,’ PBS remembers with contentment.

Appreciation from US president

PBS has cut many gramophone disc records. One in English is noteworthy. When Apollo landed on Moon in 1968, he wrote an English poem “ Man to Moon; Moon to God” which was published by a weekly “Movie Land”. A producer V.Radhakrishnan came forward to cut this into a record disc. The copy of the same was sent to Louis Armstrong, the man who landed on the moon and President Nixon, the then president of USA, who sent a letter of appreciation to him.

His singing for recent films include ‘7 G Rainbow Colony”, “Gilli” “Aayirathil Oruvan.” In the last film he has sung for a Vairamuthu song. He is content he has sung with Lata Mangeskar, P.Suseela, S.Janaki and almost all top music directors.

A formula for ragas

He is lover of Gazal singing, and writing gazal is his favourite sport. He says he written gazals in eight languages. He has invented a formula to remember 72 ragas. He calls it “Diamond key” (Vaira savi). It is beneficial to the music learners to recognize all ragas. PBS’ was made a visiting faculty of the Music college.

During Ms. Jayalalithaa regime, P.B.Sreenivos was made president of Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram and Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan, secretary for a term of three years. “Kalainger period I got the Kalai Mamani title. Jayalalithaa period I got the chance to confer the title to 200 of the artistes.”

Almost all state governments have honored him. Kartnataka government has honored him last month and also the Sri Ragavendra mutt bestowed on him “Sangeetha Kalanidhi” title and made him Asthana Vidhwan of the Mutt on August 7, 2009. “It should be noted I am 7th asthana vidwan of the Mutt like the sa-re-ga-ma-pa-da-nee. The ‘nee’ is me,” he says. Kanchi Sankaracharya Sri Jayendraswamigal had bestowed on him “sangeetha Nathamani” title in addition to “sangeetha ratna” conferred earlier.

His devotional rendering include Sri Sharadha Bhujanga stotram, Sri Venkateswarta Suprabatham, Sri Mallikarjuna stotram, Mukunda mala and Purandeswara compositions. He has penned about 2 lakh verses, gazhals, bajans and dohas. A book titled “Pranavam’ in eight languages is authored work.
One can always meet him at his usual jaunt at the Woodlands in the evenings, he sporting his zari turban, shawl and trisurnam line on his forehead. If asked of his old song lines, he hesitates not to do so. “Musicians and rasikas go together. There is no former without the latter. Remove ‘M’ (him) from music ‘U’ become sic(k),” he says.

Come September 22, this year, P B Sreenivos would be turning 80. He has four sons and a daughter, but none of them venturing into films, all are good singers. His sister’s son V.G.Madhusudanan is an up and coming singer, who might step in his shoes, PBS believes.

- Asian Tribune -