CHENNAI: The death of vocalist Swarnalatha on Sunday sent shock waves in the music industry where she had many friends.
Legendary music composer MS Viswanathan, who gave the then 14-year old Swarnalatha a break in films, described her as a very talented singer. She is believed to have approached him first, when she wanted to launch her career in film music. He gave her a chance in the film 'Needhikku Thandanai'. “I was shocked on hearing the news. Swarnalatha was introduced to films by me, and was highly talented in music,” he said.
Vocalist Mano, who has sung several film songs along with her, apart from performing with her live in many shows, was also a good friend. Mano said he was devastated on hearing about her death.
“She was a great being, who only concentrated on her work and nothing else. We were introduced around the same time, and honed our singing skills under Ilayaraja sir. Swarnalatha is a demure, silent person, who despite having friends in the industry, kept all her problems to herself. A spinster with health problems at a relatively young age, I feel god has not been fair to such a nice person as Swarnalatha,” he said.
Singer Chinmayi confessed to being an admirer of the singer, and expressed her condolence on a social networking site.
Swarnalatha, along with SP Balasubramaniam, had crooned for the chart-topping 'Raakkamma Kaiya thattu' song in 'Thalapathi', which was ranked fourth in BBC’s World Top Ten Songs in 2002. She has sung for all leading music composers, including MS Viswanathan, Ilayaraja, AR Rahman and Vidyasagar.
In Bollywood, Swarnalatha created a sensation with the song 'Haai Rama' in 'Rangeela' and 'Sunta hai' in 'Pukar'.
Apart from the National award, Swarnalatha is the recipient of several awards, including two Tamil Nadu awards for her songs in 'Karuthamma' and 'Chinna Thambi'. Her most recent hits include 'Kummi adi' for AR Rahman for the film 'Sillunnu Oru Kaadhal' and Vidyasagar’s songs 'Chithiraiyil enna varum' in 'Sivappadhigaram' and 'Poovanathil' in 'Thambi' (all in 2006).
A celebrity with a friendly disposition, Swarnalatha had many friends in the music industry. She was residing in Saligramam.
The final rites will be held on Monday.