Srinivas @ Srini'(as he is fondly referred to as) is an award winning playback singer who has sung over 2000 songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. He is also a music composer.
Early life
Srinivas was born in a Tamil Iyengar family at Ambasamudram, Tamil Nadu, though his family moved and has since then lived his entire childhood in Thiruvananthapuram. He started listening to Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. D. Ramanathan and others through his aunt Mrs. Padma Narayanan, his guru in music. The soul-stirring magic of Kishore Kumar-R.D.Burman deeply influenced him in his childhood days.
He went to complete his B.Tech from Bombay University, Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT, now known as ICT); during which he represented his university in youth festivals. After pursuing his career as a chemical engineer for 10 years, his passion for music got the better of him.
Career
In 1988, Srinivas approached music director Ilaiyaraaja, who was at the helm of Tamil film music then. He was offered the opportunity to work with Ilaiyaraaja, but however things did not work out, as he was suffering from severe throat infection that day.
It was later in 1992, that the soundtrack of Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Roja reignited his dreams of playback singing. Mani Ratnam had introduced composer A. R. Rahman with this movie, who then went on to change the music scene on the whole Indian film industry.
Encouraged by the use of fresh voices in Roja, Srinivas approached A. R. Rahman. Rahman took a liking to Srinivas's rendition ofMehdi Hassan's ghazals and offered him work at Chennai.
In 1994, Srinivas shifted base to Chennai and started lending his voice to advertisement jingles and devotional albums.
His first foray into playback singing began with the song Sorgam Enbathu Namakku with Swarnalatha from the movie Nammavar, composed by Mahesh. It went on to became a runaway hit.
But it was only in 1996, that he gained recognition with the song "Maana Madurai" from A. R. Rahman's Minsaara Kanavu. Then came "En Uyire" in Mani Ratnam's Uyire (the Tamil version of Dil Se). This Rahman composition catapulted Srinivas into fame.
Srinivas has sung for leading music directors like A.R.Rahman, Ilayaraja, Deva, Vidyasagar, and in languages like Tamil, Malayalam, etc. He has made a foray into music direction through the Tamil movie Ae Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke, in which he was one among the five music directors of the movie. And his composition "Ini Naanum naanillai" in that film is a major hit. His famous albums includeUssele Ussele and Paarvai. Also he has worked as a co-composer to Praveen Mani for Little John. He has also composed music for a Malayalam film titled Seethakalyanam.
The playback singer from South cut his first private album in Hindi titled Yeh Duniya Sab Ki. His other hits in Hindi include "Kaisi Hai Yeh" from Dil Chahta Hai and "Zindagi" from the film Yuvvraaj.
Srinivas is a close associate to A. R. Rahman from the very first day he got introduced to Rahman. On working with Rahman, he says, "There can be only one Rahman. Two years ago, he called me out of the blue to supervise his recordings. I consider it an honour. Earlier, he would be there to monitor every single take. I sometimes wonder if I can match his perfection standards," and adds, "He's at lightning speed when it comes to creativity and innovations. There are times when he compliments me and nothing feels as good as that. For me, it's like an award."
He is a judge on Airtel Super Singer, aired in Vijay TV along with Sujatha and Unnikrishnan. He also judged a famous music reality show named Gandharva Sangeetham, telecasted in Kairali TV, and in which Anuradha Sriram and Johnson were the other judges.
In 2010, he released an album titled, Timeless Classics by Srinivas. This was a tribute to Mehdi Hassan and included major ghazals of him sung by Srinivas. It was released on Saregama and was launched by A. R. Rahman.
In May 2011, he composed music for Jayaraj's Mammootty-starrer thriller The Train.
Awards
He has also bagged many prestigious awards. He was awarded the State Award by the Government of Tamil Nadu twice, for his song 'Minsara Poove' from the Rajnikanth film 'Padayappa' and most recently(2007) for his song, 'Maargazhiyil' from the movie 'Onbathu Rooba Nottu' and also the Kerala State Award for the song 'Baansuri' from the film 'Raathrimazha'. He was also conferred with the title 'Kalaimamani' by the Tamil Nadu Government. His other awards include The Cinema Express Award, IIFA Award, AV Max Award and Filmfans Award. Most recently, he was awarded the Kerala Film Critics' Award for Best Music Director, for the movie Seethakalyanam.
Source from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivas_(singer)
Biodata of Srinivas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Srinivas |  |
| Original Name | Srinivasan | |
| Pet Name | Vasu/Srini, for college friends: Eecchu | |
| Date of Birth | 07.11.59 | |
| Father | Duraisamy | |
| Mother | Lakshmi | |
| Wife | Sujatha | |
| Children | Charanya, Sunandha | |
| Sister | Raji | |
| Native place | Ambhasamudhram/Tirunelveli Dt | |
| Mother Tongue | Tamil | |
| Guru | Padma Narayanan (carnatic vocal) | |
| Educational Qualification | B.Tech. Chemical Engineering (textile dye stuff/ manufacturing specialist) | |
| School | Model School - Trivandrum - Thycand | |
| College | UDCT - Bombay, Matunga | |
| University | Bombay University | |
| B.Sc. | Kerala University College | |
| Languages known | Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, English. | |
| Introduced by | Introduced by Vidhya Sagar (Telugu - One by Two) Tamil - Mahesh (Nammavar - Sorgam enbathu namakku) 1994 | |
| First Song | Idnaru Idnary Duet with Mano, Chitra, Sujatha | |
| Turnig Point | Minsara Poovae (Padaiyappaa) | |
| Number of songs sung so far | songs 800, Albums 5000 | |
| Number of Languages sung in | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi | |
| Titles/Awards | Kalaimamani, Best Singer - State award for Padaiyappaa Cinema Express (2), Film fans Assn. - Minsara poovae, Dhinakaran (2), IFTA Malaysia, AV MAX award -Hindi (Dil Chatha hai - kaisa hai), IAFA award nomination. | |
| Other Awards | School first prize, carnatic - Kerala state first prize, Bombay University first prize. | |
| Abroad shows/countries visited | Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, USA, Australia, Saudhi Arabia, Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar, Muscat, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany,France, Canada, UK. | |
| Other activities | Reading books | |
| Address | CD-7, 7th floor, Shanthi Haven Apts, 140 - St. Marys road, Alwarpet, Ch-18. | |
| Phone | 044-4233 1543 | |
| Cell | 98400 23282 | |
| shreeni711@gmail.com | ||
| Work | Regional Manager of a Public Limited Company (South Indian & South Asia region) | |
| Albums produced | Usaelae...Usaelae , Paarvai | |
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