From Mohanlal to Kunchako Boban, several actors in Mollywood are taking to playback singing and the list is getting longer.
Published Jul 02, 2023 | 10:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 10, 2023 | 1:20 PM
Popular Malayalam actor-singer. (Supplied)
Music plays an important role in cinema; needless to say, singers have a separate fan base in every industry. But guess what? Actors, too, are enjoying a significant share in that fan base by turning into singers.
In Malayalam, senior actor Mohanlal has sung a good number of songs in the projects he has been part of. Even superstar Mammootty has crooned songs in some of his movies like Pallavur Devanarayanan (1999) and Loudspeaker (2009).
Now, more actors, including Dhyan Sreenivasan, Kunchako Boban, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Mamta Mohandas, Remya Nambeeshan, Aparna Balamurali, and Dulquer Salmaan, have joined the list. Let’s check it out:
The voice of Prithviraj Sukumaran is quite familiar to Malayalam audiences. His song ‘Premam Ennal Enthaanu Penne’ from Amar Akbar Antony (2018), which he sang along with his brother Indrajith Sukumaran and Jayasurya, is still popular.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is a prolific actor and singer. (Supplied)
Some of his hit songs are: ‘Kaane Kaane‘ (Puthiya Mukham, 2009), ‘Njan‘ (Anwar, 2010), and ‘Arikil Ini Njan Varaam‘ (Ranam, 2017).
‘Kaattu Paranjathum‘, ‘Kettille Kettille‘, ‘Vadakku Vadakku‘, and ‘Tarzan Antony Coming Back to Cinema‘ are his other popular songs.
He also sang the ‘Adadachako‘ song in Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2019) with Biju Menon.
The actor also lent his voice to Vineeth Sreenivasan’s blockbuster movie Hridayam (2022).
He worked mostly with composers Gopi Sunder and Deepak Dev.
Indrajith Sukumaran has been in the Malayalam film industry for over 20 years. He is the elder brother of actor Prithviraj Sukumaran. Indrajith played both lead roles and negative characters.
‘Anthinila Chemparunthe‘ (Mullavalliyum Thenmaavum, 2003), ‘Happy Husbands‘ (Happy Husbands, 2010), ‘Poril Theyyaram‘ (Chekavar, 2010), and ‘Kadam Katha Aayi‘ (Aaha, 2021) are some of his popular songs.
Remya Nambeeshan is a successful playback singer and actress. (Supplied)
Remya Nambeeshan excelled both as an actor and a singer. Her roles in films like Traffic (2011), B 32 Muthal 44 Vare (2023), and Left Right Left (2013) are considered noteworthy.
She has been busy in Tamil films for some time now after she raised her voice against a few Malayalam filmmakers.
Some of her popular songs in Malayalam are ‘Aandalonde‘ (Ivan Megharoopan, 2011), ‘Vijana Surabhi‘ (Bachelor Party, 2011), ‘Fy Fy Fyi’ (Paandiyanaadu, 2013).
The actress is now reportedly interested in filmmaking, too.
Mamta Mohandas has sung many peppy songs. (Supplied)
Malayalam actress Mamta Mohandas has been in the industry for more than a decade.
She debuted in Malayalam with Mayookham (2005). Later, she did some good films in Malayalam and Tamil.
The actress is a playback singer, too. She has quite a few peppy numbers to her credit. One of them is the “Daddy Mummy” song from the Tamil movie Villu (2009), which was composed by Devi Sri Prasad.
Some of her songs in Malayalam are from the movies Anwar (2010), Arike (2012), Thriller (2012), and Aadupuliyattam (2016).
Vineeth Sreenivasan is a celebrated singer, actor, and director. He debuted as a singer in the movie Kilichundan Mambazham (2003) by singing ‘Kasavinte Thattamittu’, which became a super hit.
Some of his superhit songs are ‘Karale (Udayanaanu Tharam, 2005), ‘Omal Kanmani‘ (Karan, 2006), ‘Omana Puzha‘ (Chanthupottu, 2006), and ‘Hridayavum‘ (Notebook, 2006).
Vineeth Sreenivasan debuted as a director with Malarvadi Arts Club (2010). Its soundtrack was a super hit. The filmmaker’s latest movie Hridayam (2022) has 15 songs composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab.
Dulquer Salmaan during a recording session. (Supplied)
Youth icon Dulquer Salmaan is a successful actor and producer.
He debuted with Second Show in 2012. After a decade, he built his own name in multiple industries, including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi.
The actor turned into a playback singer and rendered several songs that have topped the charts.
Some of his peppy songs are “Johny Mone Johny” from the movie ABCD (2011). It was a hit.
He later rendered several tracks for his film Charlie (2015); ‘Sundaripenne‘ from the movie was a popular track.
Dulquer also sang the ‘Dingiri Dingale‘ song for his film Kurup (2021) and a few more for Comrade in America (2017) and Parava (2017).
Kalabhavan Mani was instrumental in popularising folk songs. (Supplied)
Late Kalabhavan Mani was an amazing actor-singer. Mani did many films in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.
He entered the industry as a comedy actor and rose to fame as a character artist; he carved a niche for himself by shining in both lead and negative roles.
Kalabhavan Mani was also a renowned singer. He popularised folk songs by promoting them through music albums, cassettes, and video CDs.
His folk songs were also included in his films like Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum (1999), Karumadikuttan (2001), and Akashathile Paravakal (2001).
Nazriya Nazim is an Indian film actress-singer. She is famous for her work in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014).
She began her career as a child artist. Her first lead role was in the 2013 romantic drama Neram where she co-starred with Nivin Pauly.
The film was a critical and commercial success. It also earned her critical acclaim as well as numerous awards.
Nazriya Nazim went on to star in several other films, including Njan Prakashan (2018), Trance (2020), and Pattam Pole (2013).
Dhyan Sreenivasan and Kunchako Boban have now joined the league of actors-singers.
Dhyan, brother of singer-actor-director Vineeth Sreenivasan, has sung for his new movie Nadikalil Sundari Yamuna. A video of the song ‘Konnadi Penne‘ has been released recently.
Dhyan Sreenivasan debuts as a playback singer. (Supplied)
The track is written by Manu Manjith and composed by Arun Muraleedharan.
Nadikalil Sundari Yamuna is touted to be a laugh-riot and is set in the rural areas of Kannur. It revolves around the lives of two youngsters — Kannan and Vidyadharan.
Popular actor Kunchako Boban also debuted as a playback singer in his new movie Padmini, directed by Senna Hegde. The actor sang ‘Love You Muthe‘ along with music director Vidyadharan.
The song has become popular now and is being used in the promotion of the movie.
Aparna Balamurali is doing a prominent role in Padmini. She is a singer, too.
The National Award-winning actress has crooned several tracks in movies like Maheshinte Prathikaram (2016), Pa.Va (2016), Oru Muthassi Gadha (2016), and Sunday Holiday (2017).
