THIRUANANTHAPURAM: It was in the 1970s that KJ Yesudas, who had by then become a household name in South India, entered Hindi filmdom. His golden voice did not go unnoticed in an industry dominated by the Rafi-Kishore-Mukesh triumvirate.
As Yesudas celebrates the 50th year of his career, Lata Mangeshkar has written that it has given her immense pleasure to have been able to perform with a singer of such great quality.
" Aise guni kalakar ke saath gaane ka mujhe avsar mila is baath ki mujhe bahuth khushi hain, ’’ Lata Mangeshkar wrote to ‘Keral Jyothi’, the Kerala Hindi Prachar Sabha magazine here, a few days ago.
In the handwritten letter, the singing legend also prays to God that more fame and happiness accrue to Yesudas. " What can I say about Shri Yesudasji, the famous South Indian classical music singer ,’’ begins the letter. " The entire nation lauds his songs. He is a very good man. He has sung many songs in Hindi films and they have become super hits, ’’ she has written.
"We had written to Lataji requesting her to write a brief piece on Yesudas on his completing 50 years in singing. We got the letter a few days ago,’’ said ‘Kerala Jyothi’ managing editor Dr S Thankamani Amma.
Yesudas, who holds the record for the most number of national awards for playback singing, has sung several duets with Lata Mangeshkar, including for the films ‘Trishul’ and ‘Mera Rakshak.’ In two songs, he joined both Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.