Sujatha Mohan

Biography

Sujatha Mohan (born 31 March 1963) is an Indian playback singer whose work has had a significant presence across several South Indian film industries, particularly Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. She has also recorded songs in Kannada, Badaga, Hindi, and Marathi language films. Introduced to formal music training at a young age, she began performing on stage as a child and first appeared alongside renowned singer K. J. Yesudas in 1973. She is referred to as Bhava Gayika (Singer of Emotions) in Kerala for her emotive singing, and Innisai Kuyil (Nightingale of Music) in Tamil Nadu, reflecting her sweet and expressive vocal style.
Sujatha made her film playback debut in Malayalam cinema while singing as a young child artist (often credited back then as "Baby Sujatha") in 1975 with composer M. K. Arjunan for the film Tourist Bungalow and later entered Tamil cinema in 1977, collaborating with composer Ilaiyaraaja for the soundtracks of Kavikkuyil and Gaayathri. Her association with Kavikkuyil became particularly notable, and she came to be popularly known as “Kavikkuyil Sujatha” in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). After a brief sabbatical, Sujatha rose to fame after her association with A. R. Rahman for the soundtracks of the film Roja (1992). Over the years, she became widely recognized for her contributions to film music, including her collaborations with leading composers across South Indian film industries. With a singing career spanning more than five decades, she has recorded over 18,000 songs across films, devotional music, and independent albums, making her one of the most prolific voices in Indian music.
Throughout her career, Sujatha has received several accolades, including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer thrice, the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer thrice, the SIIMA for Best Female Playback Singer, the Kalaimamani award (2019) from Government of Tamil Nadu and the Swaralaya Yesudas Award (2009) among many others.

Personal life

Sujatha is the granddaughter of Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai, the first Chief Minister of the erstwhile State of Travancore–Cochin after India gained Independence. Her father, the late Dr. Vijayendran, died when she was two years old. She completed her graduation in Economics from the St. Teresa's College, Ernakulam. She married Dr. V. Krishna Mohan on 9 May 1981. Her only daughter, Shweta Mohan, is also a singer. Radhika Thilak and G. Venugopal are her cousins.

Vocal struggles

Sujatha experienced severe vocal issues for three years in the late 2010s. She struggled even to speak, making it impossible for her to take up singing assignments.
Though she was unable to perform initially, she worked extensively to regain her voice and eventually resumed singing, including recording songs again.

Career

Sujatha Mohan first gained public recognition in the 1970s as “Baby Sujatha,” a young vocalist who frequently performed alongside singer K. J. Yesudas at stage concerts across India and overseas. She made her playback singing debut while still in school, recording the song “Kannezhuthi Pottuthottu” for the 1975 Malayalam film Tourist Bungalow, composed by M. K. Arjunan. During the same period, she also recorded songs for composers such as Shyam in Kamam Krodham Moham (1975) and Salil Chowdhury in Aparadhi (1977), while collaborating extensively with M. G. Radhakrishnan on non-film music. Among these recordings, “Odakkuzhal Vili” emerged as one of her early popular successes.
Her entry into Tamil cinema came through a song composed by Ilaiyaraaja for Kavikkuyil (1977), although it was not included in the final film. Her first released Tamil song was “Kalai Paniyil” from Gaayathri (1977), featuring Sridevi and Rajinikanth. She subsequently contributed to several of Ilaiyaraaja’s notable soundtracks, including "Oru Iniya Manathu" from Johnny (1980) and Ilamai Kolam (1980). Following her marriage in 1981, Sujatha took a break from playback singing before returning to the industry in 1988. Her comeback was marked by successful projects such as Kadathanadan Ambadi (released 1990) and the widely acclaimed Chithram (1988).
In the late 1980s, Sujatha worked extensively in the advertising industry, recording commercial jingles for composer A. R. Rahman, including campaigns such as the Premier Cooker and Tilda Rice advertisements. This association later led to one of the defining moments of her career when Rahman selected her to perform "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" for Mani Ratnam’s 1992 film Roja. The song became a landmark success and played a significant role in bringing her voice to a wider audience across India. Sujatha also provided the backing vocals for "Kadhal Roja" from the same soundtrack. Over the following years, she continued to collaborate with Rahman on a number of acclaimed film projects, contributing memorable songs to soundtracks such as Pudhiya Mugam (1993), Gentleman (1993), Minsaara Kanavu (1997), Ratchagan (1997) and Jeans (1998). The collaboration produced songs in Hindi cinema as well, including "Dil Hai Sanam" (the Hindi version of "Thee Thee") from Chor Chor (Thiruda Thiruda), "Ishq Bina" from Taal (1999), "Hai Jaana" from Pukar (2000) and "Ishwar Allah" from Earth (1998), and provided backing vocals for the song "Tum Ho Meri Nigahon" from Kabhi Na Kabhi (1999). She has delivered most of her notable and successful songs under the musical direction of Rahman.
She has worked extensively with leading composers in India including Raveendran, Johnson, Ouseppachan, Deva, S. P. Venkatesh, Kannur Rajan, M. M. Keeravani, Sirpy, Koti, Vidyasagar, Sharreth, S. A. Rajkumar, Hamsalekha, Mani Sharma, Karthik Raja, Bharadwaj, Yuvan Shankar Raja among many others and has recorded maximum duet songs with K. J. Yesudas, M. G. Sreekumar, Hariharan, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Unnikrishnan. She made a strong comeback in the Malayalam film industry in the mid-1990s and most of her notable Malayalam songs were composed by Vidyasagar. Additionally, most of her hit songs from Telugu were composed by Mani Sharma.

Awards and accolades

Sujatha has received several awards and recognitions for her work in the South Indian film musical world. In 2021, she was awarded the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Indian state Tamil Nadu for the year 2019. She has also received Kerala and Tamil Nadu state awards.

Other prominent awards and nominations

1997 - Dinakaran Cinema Awards for Best Female Playback Singer - Surya Vamsam
1997 - Cinema Express Awards for Best Female Playback Singer - Surya Vamsam
1998 - Dinakaran Cinema Awards for Best Female Playback Singer - Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen
2015 – Asiavision Awards for Best Female Playback Singer – Ottamandaram
2014 – Thikkurishi Award (shared with Shewta) for movie Ottamandaram
2013 – JFW magazine Women Achievers Award
2009 – Swaralaya Yesudas Award
2008 – Best female singer award in GMMA (Gulf Malayalam Music Awards)
The Film Critics award 11 times
Raju Pilakkad Film Award
South Indian Bank women's achiever's award 2017
Mirchi Music Awards 2018: Lifetime achievement
Kamukara Purushothaman Kamukara Award 2019: Lifetime achievement (award from P. Susheela)
Kalaimamani 2019

TV shows

Mohan has judged popular reality shows over South Indian television across Malayalam and Tamil languages.

As judge