Preetha PV

Playback Singer

The development of her unique style is the result of a lifetime of musical influence. Growing up in a family of music lovers meant that Preetha was always surrounded by different forms of music. Her family exposed her to a wealth of music as a child, all of which influenced her development.

Her first foray into studio recording came when she was asked to join Mini Coral, in All India Radio, at the age of 11. Later she began singing with her sister at various events, which she continued for three years before finally deciding to get professionally trained at the age of 14, a decision which she never looked back from. She started learning Carnatic music under the mentorship of Nattuvam Paramasivam master and was later mentored by Perumbavoor G Ravindranath.

Preetha’s musical journey did not begin with playback singing. She started off with singing chorus for various movie songs recorded at Tharangini Records, Thiruvananthapuram which later progressed into singing the track for movie songs. She also maintained an active participation in stage shows and ganamelas. ‘Aaru Nee’, a small piece of poetry composed by music director Shyam in the movie ‘Pandu Pandoru Rajakumari’ (1992) was her debut in the field of playback singing. In 1998, she got the opportunity to sing her first solo song ‘Onnaam Kadal’ under the music direction of Balachandra Menon in the movie ‘Samaantharangal’. She sang the same song as a duet with Padmashree Dr. K.J. Yesudas for the audio cassette. A side story is that, she was reached out to first, for singing the track for the song, but on hearing the track, Balachandra decided to let her sing it. ‘Karale Nin Kai’ composed by Vidyasagar in the movie ‘Devadoothan’ (2000) is one of the most popular songs sung by her and it easily finds the place as her favorite. All these experiences have had a profound influence on the direction her musical journey has taken.

After realizing that singing was her main goal, she began to showcase her talent in various venues across the globe, singing at numerous shows and trying out various genres and forms of singing. And as a result, she has won numerous awards and recognitions, the most recent of which is the ‘Indiwood Excellence Awards - Best Folk Singer’ for ‘Ponne Poove Punnare’ from the film ‘Arani’ in 2017. She received the ‘Kerala State Award for the Best Female Singer in Natakams’ in the year 1999, Nana Awards for ‘Best Female Singer’ in 1995 and ‘Best Upcoming Singer’ in 1997, and ‘New Delhi & Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Yuva Pratibha Mela Award’ in 1985. She is also an A-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan since 2000.

As her confidence grew and her style developed, she soon got the opportunity to host the popular music show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ on Asianet for 5 years. She also hosted ‘Gana Samasya’, ‘Music Live’ and ‘Ganamela’ for Asianet. Along with these, she continued singing for All India Radio and Doordarshan. She never found herself restricted to a particular genre.

She is keen to point out that everything she listens to directs her musical development in some way. However, she would certainly include S Janaki, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and KS Chithra as amongst her biggest influences.

Preetha has taken it upon herself to take up entirely different, though wholly satisfying, hobbies of cooking and gardening. The satisfaction she gets from indulging in her many passions has led to a calm mind, with which she takes care of her family. Kannan Nair, her husband is an Event Manager who organizes stage shows both local and international. Her only son, Madhavan Nair is a degree student in Mar Ivanious Colege Trivandrum. Preetha believes that her success is attributed primarily to God’s grace and then to the tremendous support she receives from her family.