Song: Mannil Indha
Composer: Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics: Pavalar Varadarajan
Actors: SP Balasubrahmanyam, Radhika
Singers: SP Balasubrahmanyam
Film: Keladi Kanmani
Happy birthday, SPB! The singer, composer, actor and producer has recorded more than 40,000 songs in over 16 languages since he made his debut with a Telugu film in 1966. He acted with Radhika in the 1990 film Keladi Kanmani, playing the role of a single father who also loved singing. With compositions by Ilaiyaraaja, the film’s soundtrack became a huge hit, and the movie ran for close to 300 days.
The film follows the story after Rangaraj (SPB)’s wife’s death, when his daughter doesn’t approve of him marrying Sharada (Radhika). He sings this song at the point when they begin to fall in love. It is iconic also because SPB pulled off parts of the song without taking a single breath between the lines.