Melody Queen of the South

IT WAS a day of respite - from the heat, political humdrum and the mundane routine - for the full-house crowd at the open-air Indian Airlines Stadium in Meenambakkam.

They could not have asked for more as the intermittent shower provided the right setting for the musical night by the Melody Queen of the South, P. Susheela. Organised by Raj TV in association of N'Joy Entertainers, the star-spangled show on Sunday was got up to felicitate P. Susheela, on her 50-years of contribution to the South Indian film industry.

Christened `Nenjam Marapadhilai' the show proved to be a platform bringing together singers belonging to two generations from TMS to Vijay Yesudass. Susheela, who began her singing career in 50s was at her best, right from the beginning with Bharathidasan's Tamizhukku Ammudendru Per to her national award winning Naalai Inda Veelai.

Joining in the celebrations were S.P. Balasubramanian, who paired Susheela for `Iyarkai Enum Illayakanni', and T.M. Soundarajan, who joined her for the evergreen duet `Muthukalloo Kangal'. Praying for Susheela's long life was her peer, S. Janaki. At Illayaraja's request, which was sent through Gangai Amaran, Susheela rendered `Maalai Pozhudin Mayekathile'. Illayaraja had scored the music. Vairamuthu, in his honouring speech, hailed Susheela as Raga Rani.

While Ramya Krishnan did a la Jayalalitha (as in Ayarathil Oruvan), Divya Unni danced to `adal udan paadalai ketpathil than Sugam' and Chinny Jayanth and Vaiyapuri provided comic relief during the `breaks', several in the crowd looked the other way. The breathtaking sight of flights landing and taking off from the runway nearby was just irresistible for some.

For Raj TV, organisers of the show, it was another feather in the cap, in the series of live events hosted by the satellite channel. Other prominent ones got-up by the channel include Roja 100, Gujarati and the State Government cine awards. Such events, the television network said, are for forging a strong bond between the film, music and entertainment industry, besides millions of Tamil television viewers.

By N. Ravi Kumar

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Section  : Entertainment
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