Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi (born 28 August 1928) is an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and Tamil cinema. She was the first light music singer on All India Radio and the first playback singer in the Telugu cinema.

Early life

Balasaraswathi was born in Venkatagiri in 1928. She learned music from Allathuru Subbayya and lent her voice for the first solo gramophone by HMV recording company at the age of six.

Career

She acted as child actor Ganga and also sang in the films ''Sati Anasuya'' and ''Bhakta Dhruva'', both directed by

C. Pullaiah Chittajallu Pullayya (Telugu language, Telugu: చిత్తజల్లు పుల్లయ్య; 1898 – 6 October 1967) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He is one of the earliest film personalities in Telugu cinema being ...

in 1936. Observing her talent, director K. Subramaniam invited her to act in Tamil films. In the following years, she acted in Tamil films like '' Bhaktha Kuchela'' (1936), ''

Balayogini ''Balayogini'' ( ''Girl Saint'') is a 1937 Indian film made in Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu languages. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to ...

'' (1937), and ''

Thiruneelakantar ''Thiruneelakantar'' is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Raja Sandow and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. The film, based on the life of Tirunilakanta Nayanar, was a big hit and was known for Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's acting ...

'' (1939). She played the role of Tukaram's daughter in ''Tukaram'' (1938). The Tukaram role was portrayed by

Musiri Subramania Iyer Musiri Subramania Iyer (9 April 1899 – 25 March 1975) was a Carnatic vocalist whose stage performing career spanned the 1920s to the 1940s. After retirement from the stage, he remained an iconic figure in Carnatic music as a dedicated teache ...

in the Tamil version and by

C. S. R. Anjaneyulu Chilakalapudi Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu (11 July 1907 – 8 October 1963), popularly known as C. S. R., was an Indian method actor, and thespian best known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theater. He acted in many stage dramas and portray ...

in the Telugu version. In 1940, she acted with

S. Rajeswara Rao Saluri Rajeswara Rao (11 October 1922 – 25 October 1999) was an Indian composer, multi instrumentalist, conductor, singer, and music producer known for his works predominantly in South Indian cinema.M. L. Narasimham"Trend-setter in Light Music ...

in ''

Illalu Illalu () is a 1940 Telugu-language drama film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. Plot Murthy (Umamaheswara Rao) is married to Indira (Kanachanamala) and they live happily. Subsequently, he falls in love with Leela (Lakshmi Rajyam), an educated ...

'', directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. In ''Bhagya Lakshmi'' (1943) of Sri Renuka Films of

V. Nagayya V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. I ...

, she sang for Kamala Kotnis on screen, this being the first instance of playback singing in Telugu cinema. The song ''Thinne Meedha Sinnoda'' was composed by Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao. She lived for some years in Mysore, and then shifted to Hyderabad. After her husband's death, she has lived with her son in her grandson's house in Secunderabad.

Music composers she sang for

She worked with

G. Ramanathan Gopalan Iyer Ramanathan was an Indian music composer for Tamil movies. He is also known as ''Isai Methai'' (Genius of Music) or ''Sangeetha Chakravarthy'' (Emperor of Music) and is considered to be one of the influential Tamil music composers ...

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...

C. R. Subburaman C. R. Subbaraman also known as C. S. Ram (1916–1952) was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar–Gan ...

, S. V. Venkatraman,

Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...

, Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao, R. Chinnaiah,

S. Hanumantha Rao Saluri Hanumantha Rao (1917–1980) (Telugu: సాలూరు హనుమంతరావు) was a music composer of South Indian films. He is son of Saluri Sanyasi Raju who was a mridangam player for the concerts of Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu ...

P. Adinarayana Rao Penupatruni Adinarayana Rao (21 August 1915 – 19 August 1991) was an Indian music director, film producer, lyricist and play writer. He co-founded "Aswini Pictures" with Akkineni Nageswara Rao and produced some movies in Telugu and Tamil langu ...

, G. Aswathama, Ogirala Ramachandra Rao,

Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao ( te, బాలాంత్రపు రజనీకాంత రావు; 29 January 1920 – 22 April 2018) was an Indian writer, composer and poet in the Telugu language. He was the son of Balantrapu Venkatarao, o ...

, Adepalli Rama Rao, C. N. Pandurangan,

T. V. Raju Thotakura Venkata Raju (Telugu: తోటకూర వెంకట రాజు), better known as T. V. Raju (1921 - 20 February 1973), was an Indian music composer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He worked as an assistant composer to ...

Ghantasala Ghantasala may refer to: People * Ghantasala (musician) (Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, 1922-1974), Telugu singer and composer * Ghantasala Balaramayya (1906 - after 1952), Telugu film producer and director * Ghantasala Sai Srinivas, professionally ...

, Naushad, L. Malleswara Rao,

S. Dakshinamurthi Susarla Dakshinamurthi Jr. (Telugu: సుసర్ల దక్షిణామూర్తి; 1921 – 2012) was an Indian music composer, playback singer, record producer, Carnatic musician, multi-instrumentalist,Ilavelpu in Naati 101 Chitralu ...

, Vedha,

M. Ranga Rao M. Ranga Rao (26 April 1932 – 3 August 1990) was a prominent Indian composer who predominantly worked in Kannada cinema. Rao was known for his mellifluous scores and lilting tunes backed with strong classical nuances. "Ranga Rao" composed tune ...

, Master Venu, R. Sudarsanam, Pamarti Krishna Murty,

G. Govindarajulu Naidu G. Govindarajulu Naidu was an acclaimed music director in 1940s and 50s in the south Indian film industry. Hailing from Tiruchirappalli, he was one among the musicians who defined the way of music in South Indian film industry. He composed music ...

and

M. B. Sreenivasan Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries. He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 Septe ...

With playback singers

She sang duets mostly with

and A. M. Rajah. She sang with

T. M. Soundararajan Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan (24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 fi ...

, T. A. Mothi, Seerkazhi Govindarajan,

S. Rajam S. Rajam (10 February 1919 – 29 January 2010) was a distinguished Indian Carnatic musician and painter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He was a student of the Carnatic musician Papanasam Sivan and the older brother of Tamil film director and m ...

M. S. Ramarao M. S. Ramarao (3 July 1921 – 20 April 1992) was an Indian singer and composer. He was popular for his devotional songs.He was the very first play back singer in the Telugu filmdom. Singing career Rama Rao debuted at World Telugu Conference h ...

Pithapuram Nageswara Rao Pithapuram Nageswara Rao (5 May 1930 – 5 March 1996) was an Indian playback singer who worked in the early period of Telugu cinema. He sang thousands of songs, mostly of a comedic nature, in the 1950s and 1960s along with Madhavapeddi Satyam a ...

and Subramanyam. She also sang duets with Jikki,

A. P. Komala Arkadu Parthasarathy Komala (born 28 August 1934), commonly known as A. P. Komala, is an Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada languages. Career life She was a much sought after playback singer from t ...

M. S. Rajeswari M. S. Rajeswari ( ta, எம். எஸ். ராஜேஸ்வரி; 24 February 1932 – 25 April 2018) was an Indian playback singer who has recorded over 500 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language films. Early life She ...

, K. Rani,

P. Susheela Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...

and P. S. Vaideghi.

Filmography

Playback singer

Actress

# Sati Anasuya (1936) Telugu # Bhakta Dhruva (1936) Telugu # Bhaktha Kuchela (1936) Tamil #

(1936) Tamil # Tukaram (1938) Telugu & Tamil #

(1939) Tamil #

(1940) Telugu #

Apavadu ''Apavadu'' ( te, అపవాదు; English translation: Scandal) is a 1941 Telugu Drama film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. The plot Prakash is a revenue inspector who happily lives with his wife Kamala, sister Kantham and son Kittu. Ven ...

(1941) Telugu #

Chandrahasa Chandrahasa () is a king of the Kuntala kingdom in Hindu mythology. The story of Chandrahasa is described in the Ashvamedhika Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Chandrahasa befriends Arjuna who was accompanied by Krishna guarding the ashvamedha cer ...

(1941) Telugu #

Dhaasippen ''Dhaasippen,'' also ''Dhaasippenn'' () is a 1943 Tamil-language film directed by Ellis R. Dungan and produced by Bhuvaneswai Pictures. The lead actors are T. R. Mahalingam and M. G. Ramachandran. The film was scored by Lalitha Venkatraman an ...

(1943) Tamil #

Radhika Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

(1947) Telugu # Bilhana (1948) Telugu & Tamil # Shanthi Nivasam (1960) Telugu #

Sabhash Raja ''Sabhash Raja'' () is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Sundarlal Nahatha, Doondy under the Rajasri Productions banner and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Rajasulochana, with music comp ...

(1961) Telugu

References

External links

*
Listen to some of the songs of R. Balasaraswathi at Old Telugu Songs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balasaraswathi, Raavu 1928 births Telugu playback singers Living people Indian film actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Indian women playback singers 20th-century Indian singers Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Singers from Andhra Pradesh Actresses from Andhra Pradesh Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh People from Nellore district All India Radio people All India Radio women 20th-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Andhra Pradesh