Renowned playback singer P Jayachandran, affectionately called 'Bhava Gayakan' passed away on the evening of Janaury 9 at a private medical college in Kerala. The singer died at around 7.55 pm while undergoing treatment, hospital sources said as reported by PTI. He was rushed to the hospital after collapsing at his home on Thursday. He had been unwell for quite some time.
Who was P Jayachandran?
The singer who recorded over 16,000 songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi, was widely recognised for his contribution to Indian music, having won several awards for best playback singer.
Jayachandran was born on March 3, 1944, in Ernakulam, as the third son of Ravi Varma Kochaniyan Thampuran from Tripunithura Kovilakam and Subhadra Kunjamma from Chendamangalam Paliam House.
He began his musical journey in high school, where he played the mridangam and sang light classical music.
In the 1958 state school kalotsavam, Jayachandran won first place in the mridangam competition.
After completing his graduation in Zoology from Christ College, Irinjalakuda, he worked at a private firm in Chennai.
During this time, producer Sobhana Parameswaran Nair and director A Vincent noticed his performance at a musical show in Chennai and offered him an opportunity to sing in a film.
He made his debut with the song 'Oru Mullappoo Malayumayi', penned by eminent lyricist P Bhaskaran, for the movie 'Kunjali Marakkar' in 1965. However, his first released song was "Manjalayil Mungithorthi" from the film titled 'Kalithozhan'.
He won the Kerala State Film Award five times and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award twice, and his performance of "Shiva Shankara Sharana Sarva Vibho" from the film Sree Narayana Guru earned him the National Award.
He collaborated with numerous renowned composers, including G Devarajan, M S Baburaj, V Dakshinamoorthy, K Raghavan, M K Arjunan, M S Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, A R Rahman, Vidyasagar, and M Jayachandran.
Meanwhile, as per PTI reports, his body will be brought to his residence at Poomkunnam, Thrissur on Friday and will be laid at the Sahitya Academy Hall for the public to pay their last respects. The funeral will be held at 3 pm on Saturday at his ancestral home in Chendamangalam.
(With inputs from agencies)
