Sithara Krishnakumar (born 1 July 1986) is an Indian

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

lyricist
classical dancer and an occasional actor. She predominantly works in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

in addition to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Sithara is a well known singer who is trained in

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu * Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...

and Carnatic classical music traditions and is also a recognised

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

singer. She is the recipient of several awards which includes three Kerala State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. She travels extensively and has performed in concerts and stage shows across the world. Folk and fusion being her other areas of interest. She has collaborated with various popular musical bands in Kerala as well as collaborated in many stage shows which includes international shows as well. In 2014, she formed a musical band Eastraga which focuses on a mix of female oriented songs backed by a team of renowned musicians. She is also part of the 6-member band named Sithara's Project Malabaricus, an independent venture which features contemporarised folk and classical songs.

Personal life

Sithara was born in

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

to K. M. Krishnakumar, an academician and Saly Krishnakumar. Born into a family inclined to classical arts, Sithara was introduced to the world of music as a child and started singing at the age of four. She attende
St. Paul's Higher secondary School Thenhipalam
GMHSS Calicut University Campus School and NNM Higher secondary School Chelembra . She did her graduation in English Literature from Farook College, Feroke and secured her master's degree from Calicut University

Campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

, Kerala. She married Dr. Sajish M, a cardiologist, on 31 August 2007 and the couple has a daughter Saawan Rithu born on 9 June 2013. The family resides at

Aluva Aluva (; also known by its former name Alwaye) is a town in the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around from the city center on the banks of Periyar River. A major transpor ...

, Kochi Kerala.

Career

She started off her art life as a dancer and eventually became a playback singer. She was trained in Carnatic Music by Sri Ramanattukara Satheesan Master and Palai CK Ramachandran. Sithara also received extensive education in Hindustani Classical music from Ustad Fiyaz Khan. She is also a classical dancer trained by Kalamandalam Vinodini. For her multifaceted talents, she was accoladed with the Kalathilakam title in Calicut University Arts Festival for two consecutive years(2005 and 2006). She holds master's degrees in Hindustani Khyal Music and Vocal Music from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Sithara performing with Shankar Mahadevan

Sithara performing with Shankar Mahadevan

Sithara started off her playback singing career in the year 2007 with the song Pammi Pammi in Vinayan's Malayalam film

Athishayan ''Athisayan'' () is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language science fiction monster film written and directed by Vinayan, starring Master Devadas with Jackie Shroff (in his Malayalam debut), Kavya Madhavan, Karthika, Jayasurya and Mukesh in other ...

. Formerly, she was the winner of several musical talent shows like

Asianet Asianet may refer to: Disney Star channels *Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star **Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel **Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...

Saptha Swarangal (2004), Kairali TV Gandharva Sangeetham (Seniors) and

Jeevan TV Jeevan TV is a news and entertainment Malayalam television channel. Its headquarters is at Palarivattom, Kochi, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and depende ...

Voice 2004. She also won Jeevan TV's 20 million Apple Megastars in 2008. She has gained a good reputation as a devoted Ghazal singer and a passionate stage performer of other vocal genres. She has worked with noted composers like Ouseppachan,

M. Jayachandran Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...

G. V. Prakash Kumar G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian composer, actor, producer and singer known for his work in Tamil films and a few Telugu films as well. His first film was S Pictures' ''Veyil'' (2006) and he became popular in Tamil cinema by the early 2010s. He ...

, Prashant Pillai, Gopi Sundar, Bijibal,

Shaan Rahman Shaan Rahman (born 30 December 1979) is an Indian composer and singer, best known for his compositions in the Malayalam cinema. Shaan made his debut as a music director in the 2009 film ''Ee Pattanathil Bhootham'' directed by Johny Antony. He g ...

and rendered her voice to over 300 film songs including Malayalam and other Indian languages. Her works are of various genres. Sithara Performing at Qatar in 2019 by Ijas Muhammed Photography

Sithara Performing at Qatar in 2019 by Ijas Muhammed Photography

In 2017, she turned composer with the single Ente Akasham, Written by herself. The video which officially got released at a program held by Kerala State Women's Development Corporation to commemorate

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

, picturized the life of night-time female workers. She turned film music composer with the film ''

Udalaazham ''Udalaazham'' (lit. ''Body Deep'') is a 2018 Indian Paniya / Malayalam drama film written and directed by Unnikrishnan Avala. It features actors Mani, Remya Valsala, Anumol, Indrans, Sajitha Madathil, Joy Mathew and Nilambur Ayisha in the lead ...

'' along with Mithun Jayaraj. The film is produced under the banner ''Doctor’s Dilemma'' – a doctor's collective which includes her husband Dr. Sajish. M. She made a cameo appearance in the Malayalam film

Ganagandharvan Ganagandharvan () is a 2019 Indian Malayalam comedy film directed by Ramesh Pisharody and written by Pisharody and Hari P. Nair. Mammootty is playing a ‘ganamela’ singer named Kalasadhan Ullas. Debutante Vanditha Manoharan play the female lea ...

directed by

Ramesh Pisharody T. V. Ramesh (born 1 October 1983), professionally credited as Ramesh Pisharody, is an Indian stand-up comedian, impressionist, television presenter, actor and film director. He works in Malayalam television shows, stage, and cinema. Early l ...

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards: * 2012 – Best Singer – '' Celluloid'' – "''Enundodee''" * 2017 – Best Singer – ''

Vimaanam ''Vimaanam'' () is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by debutant Pradeep M. Nair, and starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Durga Krishna. The film was released on 22 December 2017. This film is said to be loosely ba ...

'' – "''Vaanamakalunnuvo''" * 2021 – Best Singer – '' Kaanekkaane'' – "''Paalnilavin''" South Indian International Movie Awards: *2014 – Best Female Playback Singer – ''

Mr. Fraud ''Mr. Fraud'' is a 2014 Indian action thriller film written and directed by B. Unnikrishnan and starring Mohanlal, Siddique, Dev Gill, Vijay Babu, Miya, Manjari Phadnis and Pallavi Purohit. The film was produced by A. V. Anoop under the banne ...

'' – "''Sadaa Paalaya''" *2019 – Best Female Playback Singer – '' Eeda'' – "''Marivil''"

Asianet Film Award The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artist ...

s: *2016 – Most Popular Duet Song – ''

Jacobinte Swargarajyam ''Jacobinte Swargarajyam'' () is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language family-drama film written and directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan. The film revolves around Jacob Zacharia (Renji Panicker) and the struggles faced by his son (Nivin Pauly) to clear h ...

'' – "''Thiruvavani raavu''" Asiavision Awards: *2017 – Best Singer (Female) – '' Udaharanam Sujatha'' – "''Ethu Mazhayilum''" Mirchi Music Awards South: *2012 – Best Female Playback Singer in Tamil – '' Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal'' – "''Kangal Neeye''" *2019 - Best Female Playback Singer in Malayalam - ''

Kumbalangi Nights ''Kumbalangi Nights'' is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Madhu C. Narayanan. The directorial debut was written by Syam Pushkaran and jointly produced by Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim under their production house Fa ...

'' - "''Cherathukal''" Mazhavil Music Awards *2019 - Best Female Playback Singer - Madhura Raja - "''Mohamundiri"'' *2020 - Best Female Playback Singer *2021 - Best Female Playback Singer - Kaanekkaane - "''Paalnilavin''" Janmabhumi Film Awards: *2018 – Best Female Playback Singer - Eeda - "''Marivil"'' Mangalam Music Awards: *2017 – Best Female Playback Singer Yuva Awards: *2017 – Best Female Playback Singer Red FM Malayalam Music Awards: *2017 – Best Female Playback Singer Anand TV Awards: *2018 – Best Female Playback Singer *2016 – Best Female Playback Singer

Federation of Kerala Associations in North America The Federation Of Kerala Associations In North America (FOKANA) is an umbrella organization formed on July 4, 1983, in New York City to unite all Kerala/Malayali organizations of the American continent. It was during the seventies that many Malaya ...

Awards: *2016 – Best Female Playback Singer – ''

Lailaa O Lailaa ''Lailaa O Lailaa'' is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language action spy thriller film directed by Joshiy. It stars Mohanlal and Amala Paul alongside a supporting cast of Sathyaraj, Joy Mathew, Sreerag Nambiar, Rahul Dev and Kainaat Arora. Bollywood ...

'' – "''Nanayumee Mazhai''" Other Awards: *2002 – Baburaj Memorial Award – Best Female Singer *2004 – Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award – Best Singer *2009 – Drishya Award – Best Female Album Singer *2011 – Mohammed Rafi Memorial Award – Best Playback Singer *2011 – Vayalar Samskarika Vedi Award – Best Playback Singer *2012 – Kannur Rajan Memorial Award – Best Playback Singer *2012 – L Channel Award – Best Playback Singer *2012 – Inspire Film Award – Best Playback Singer *2019 - Johnson Music Awards - Best Playback Singer *2020 - Muzic2morrow Awards - Best Female Singer *2020 - Movie Street Film Awards - Best Female Playback Singer

Discography

As composer

Albums

Films

As Playback Singer

*''All songs are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted''.

TV series title song

Albums(Non-film songs)

Malayalam film songs

Discography (other languages)

Tamil

Kannada

Telugu

Filmography as Actor

Television shows

References

External links

Official Website
*
Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sithara 1986 births Living people Indian women playback singers Indian women classical singers Malayalam playback singers Tamil playback singers Telugu playback singers Kannada playback singers Musicians from Kozhikode Indian women ghazal singers Indian ghazal singers Singers from Kerala University of Calicut alumni Film musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian singers Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Indian women folk singers Indian folk singers 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Kerala Actresses in Malayalam cinema