Kamukara Purushothaman (4 December 1930 – 26 May 1995) was an Indian singer. He was a noted

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

during its early years. He has recorded over 170 songs in 68 movies in various

South Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

languages.

Early life

Kamukara was born on 4 December 1930 in

Thiruvattar Thiruvattar is a panchayat town in Kanyakumari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. About the town This town is situated northeast of Marthandam and northwest of Nagercoil. The two main rivers, the Pahr ...

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

district of present day

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He was the son of Parameswara Kurup and Lekshmikkutty Amma. He started learning music from an early age under Karnatic music guru Thiruvattar Arumugham Pillai Bhagavathar, along with his sister, Leela Omchery, a known singer and musicologist. His career debut was at the local temple, Aadi Keshava Temple, Thiruvattar. He started music concerts by the age of 15 and became an artist at Trivandrum Broadcasting Corporation by the age of 20 and became active in

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

music programmes.

Career

His first recording for a film was in 1953 for the Malayalam film, ''Ponkathir'', a Merryland Studio production to start a film career which spanned over 20 years and 68 Malayalam (total 125) films. He was the leading male singer in Malayalam films during the 50s and 60s till K.J. Yesudas appeared on the scene. Two of his soulfully rendered songs, "Aathmavidyalayame" for the film ''

Harishchandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi-Bhagavata Purana, Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most ...

'' and "Ekanthathayude" for '' Bhargavi Nilayam'' are widely considered to be among the all-time great songs of Malayalam film music. He was a regular singer in Merryland films until the 1970s. Most of his songs were written by Thirunainar kurichi Madhavan Nair and composed by Brother Lakshmanan. Later in his career, Kamukara Purushothaman, along with K. P. Udayabhanu and other senior singers formed a music troupe by name ''Old is Gold'' and performed stage programs all over India and abroad. In 1983, he received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.

Death

Kamukara, who was a school teacher by profession, and retired as the Principal of Thiruvattar Govt. School, died suddenly on 26 May 1995 after suffering from a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while on a journey to

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

. He was aged 64 at the time of his death. He is survived by his four children, children-in-law and grandchildren. Ramani Purushothaman, his wife, died on 30 January 2025, aged 88.

Popular songs

Kamukara Awards

Kamukara Award is instituted in the remembrance of Kamukara Purushothaman, to exemplary musicians. It was started in 1997, as a part of Kamukara's second death anniversary. Awardees by the year are: V. Dakshinamoorthy, K. Raghavan, P. Leela,

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...

, P. Jayachandran, P. Susheela,

S. Janaki Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely referred to as Janaki Amma and Nightingale of India(nightingale of South) . She is one of the greatest playback singers in the history ...

Vani Jairam Vani Jairam (born Kalaivani; 30 November 1945 – 4 February 2023) was an Indian playback singer in Indian cinema. She is fondly referred to as the "'' Meera of modern India''" Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. ...

, P. B. Sreenivas,

M. S. Baburaj Mohammad Sabir Baburaj (3 March 1929 – 7 October 1978) was an Indian music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film music. Baburaj has rendered music to many evergreen Malayalam film songs. Earl ...

, B. Vasantha, L. R. Eswari, K. J. Joy, M. S. Viswanathan,

M. K. Arjunan Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan (1 March 1936 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as ''Arjunan Master''. Early life Arjunan was ...

, M. G. Radhakrishnan,

Shyam (composer) Samuel Joseph (born 1937), better known as Shyam, is a music composer who works in Malayalam cinema. From the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, Shyam had a prolific run as a composer in the Malayalam film industry, composing for nearly 200 films. W ...

, K. P. Udayabhanu, P. Madhuri, Ouseppachan,

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan is a renowned Indian playback singer known for her contributions to a wide range of Indian film industries, particularly in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. Over her decades-long career, she has also recorded songs in other ...

, K. S. Chithra and M. G. Sreekumar.

References

External links

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBddfe2C7U0 on YouTube * http://www.devaragam.com/vbscript/MusicNew.aspx?ArtistID=113 on ''Devaragam'' * http://www.raaga.com/channels/malayalam/album/MC0000054.html on ''Raaga'' * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj90iwKzvyY on YouTube * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQO10CdixFY on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Purushothaman, Kamukara Indian male playback singers Malayalam playback singers Malayali people 1930 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Tamil Nadu People from Kanyakumari district 20th-century Indian male singers Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award