On Thursday, P Jayachandran, a national award-winning vocalist and legend, passed away. While receiving treatment for cancer, the singer passed away in a hospital in Thrissur. He was eighty years old. In addition to leaving a lasting impression on Malayalam film, Jayachandran made a lasting impression on Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi.
Jayachandran, who crooned more than 16,000 songs, sang his first song in 1965, “Oru Mullappoomalayumaayi,” from Kunhalimarikkar by P Bhaskaran. Despite being his first song to be recorded, Jayachandran was first heard in a motion picture in “Manjalayil Mungi Thorthi,” a composition by G Devarajan from Kalithozhan.
As the voice of some of the most timeless songs in Malayalalam film, P Jayachandran’s work with composers like as Suresh Peters, V Dakshinamoorthy, MS Baburaj, Devarajan, MB Sreenivasan, Vidyasagar, Ouseppachan, and Devarajan has endured. In addition, he performed a few songs for AR Rahman’s father, composer RK Sekhar, before going on to sing well-known songs for the Oscar winner.
In Manipayal, Jayachandran debuted in Tamil with “Thanga Chimil Pol,” directed by MS Viswanathan. Ilaiyaraaja wrote some of his iconic Tamil songs, including “Raasathi Unna,” “Poova Eduthu Oru,” and “Thaalaattudhey Vaanam.” His debut song with Rahman, “Kaththaazha Kaatu Vazhi,” earned him his first Tamil Nadu State Film Award. By the way, Rahman was the one who first presented Jayachandran in Hindi.
Apart from his film works, Jayachandran also made a lasting mark in the devotional album space where he sang in both Tamil and Malayalam. The lasting legacy of Jayachandran lies in his strong voice being celebrated not just in the 70s but till 2020s. He is survived by his wife Lalitha, son Dinanathan, and daughter Lakshmi.
