Renowned playback singer Uma Ramanan, who predominantly sang in Tamil, passed away at 72 in Chennai on Wednesday. She is survived by her singer-husband AV Ramanan and her son, Vignesh Ramanan.Ramanan was a trained classical singer and appeared in more than 6,000 concerts in 35 years. Song Poongathave Thalthiravai in the Nizhalgal film catapulted her to fame.
Some of her famous songs for Ilaiyaraaja include 'Bhoopalam Isaikkum' from 'Thooral Ninnu Pochchu', 'Aanandha Raagam' from 'Panner Pushpangal, 'Kanmani Nee Vara' from 'Thendrale Ennai Thodu', 'Ponn Maanae' from 'Oru Kaidhiyin Dairy', 'Aagaya Vennilave' from 'Arangetra Velai' and 'Sri Ranga Ranganathanin' from 'Mahanadi', among others.Her last song was 'Kannum Kannumthan Kalandaachu' for Vijay's 'Thirupaachi'.However, the song Poongathave Chocha Thakavai from the musical in Nizhalgal, by Ilaiyaraaja, earned her massive popularity in the Tamil film industry.
The late singer has collaborated with many composers, such as MSV, Shankar-Ganesh, T Rajender, Deva, SA Rajkumar, Chili, Mani Sharma, Srikanth Deva, and Vidyasagar. Uma and AV Ramanan also sang a song for the Hindi film Playboy. Uma and Illayaraja teamed up on several memorable songs, including “Aagava Vennilave” from Arangetra Velai, “Oru Jeevan Alaithathu” from Geetanjali, “Poongathave Thal Thiravai” from Nilalgal, “Poopalam Isaikum” from Thambikku Entha Ooru, “Nee Padhi Naan Padhi Kanne” from Keladi Kanmani, and more.