P. Madhuri is a renowned South Indian playback singer

Playback singer

A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...

. She has sung songs in Malayalam, Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

, and Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

. She has twice won Kerala State Film Award

Kerala State Film Award

The Kerala State Film Awards are the most prestigious film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy since 1998 on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala, India....

 for best playback singer.

Early life

Madhuri was born in Tiruchirappalli in a Tamil

Tamil people

Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 family. She got married to V. Jayaram at the age of 13 and became a mother by 16. She was a part of an amateur drama troupe when Malayalam music director G. Devarajan

G. Devarajan

Paravoor Govindan Devarajan , popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was a noted Malayalam music composer, died on March 15, 2006 in Chennai, at the age of 80....

 happened to watch one of her performances at Madras. She was introduced to films by Devarajan through Kadalppalam (1969), in which she sang the famous Mappila song

Mappila Songs

Mappila Paattu or Mappila Song is a folklore Muslim song genre rendered to lyrics in colloquial Mappila dialect of Malayalam laced with Arabic, by the Mappilas of Malabar. Mappila songs have a distinct cultural identity, while at the same time, remain closely linked to the cultural practices of...

"Kasthuri Thailamittu Mudi Minukki". Devarajan handpicked her and groomed her into one of the most successful Malayalam playback singers of all time.

Some of hit songs of Madhuri

• Innenikku Pottukuthan
• Himashaila Saikatha
• Kasturi Thailamittu
• Priyasakhi Gange
• Prananathan Enikku
• Kalyani Kalavani
• Thambran Thoduthathu
• Chakravarthini Ninakku
• Chandrakalabham Charthi
• Bhoomiye Snehicha