Remember a cuckoo voice that sang some of the hit devotional songs in the 70’s and 80’s? ‘Thedi varum kannukalil’ and ‘Guruvayoorappante thiruvamruthethinu’ brought her many claps and pats. Singer Ambily was just 12 years then. Having sung some of those evergreen melodies, this versatile singer vanished into thin air for more than a decade.
Braving the past, the singer is making a comeback to the movie industry after 20 years through Sunder’s Tamil movie ‘Paravasam’. She is all the more excited about the release of her 25th album ‘Krishna Yadu Nandana’ to be released next month at Guruvayur. If you ask her the reason for the long absence, she will just smile and reply ‘’I wanted to sing and directors knew that I could sing. But...’’
"2012 is a year of blessing for me," says the singer. ‘’I have become a granny last month and apart from that I am going to sing in the movie ‘Paravasam’. This is something very big for a singer who was wiped out from the industry for almost two decades’’ she adds.
Meanwhile, Ambili saw life taking many ups and downs. The box office collapse of her husband K G Rajashekharan’s film 'Simhadwani' in 1990 was a difficult period. She started her own music troop ‘Mayambu’ and started performing for stage programs. She continued doing albums too. “I believe in luck. To prosper oneself, talent is not enough,’’ she adds.
Dakshina Moorthy introduced her to film industry through ‘Guruvayoorappante thiruvamruthethinu...’ which secured her many laurels including the ‘Kala Rathnam Title’ and ‘Best Singer Award’ from Kerala Devaswom Board. ‘Oonjala, oonjala’, ‘Swarnamalakal’, ‘Maayalle raga mazhaville’ were among her major hits.
“There was a time when I would run from one studio to another. But, even in the midst of struggles I never knocked on anyone’s doors for a chance. I was promised many songs. Only when those films were released did I realise I was sidelined’’.
Busy with the album release, Ambily says ,“I started my career singing a song on Guruvayoorappan and now my 25th album is also about Krishna and the release will be held in Guruvayur.” The CD is produced and marketed by Sneha Audios of which Ambily is the managing director. She is settled in Chennai with her family.
Her daughter Ranjini is married and settled in Bangalore with husband Sudheer and kid Sanvi. Her son Raghavendra is working for Ford and he had recently acted in several Tamil documentaries.
Looking back, the singer says she has always been happy with what she had.’’ There’s nothing wrong in seeking a chance. But that was not my cup of tea. And definitely, no complaints, no regrets’’.