Porayath Leela was an Indian playback singer and Carnatic vocalist born on May
19, 1934, in Chittur, Kerala. Trained by masters such as Thiribuvana
Manibhagavadhar and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, she moved to Madras in
1944. Leela made her professional debut in 1947 and gained prominence with the
1948 Tamil film Kangkanam, performing the song “Sree Varalakshmi”. Her
breakthrough came in 1949 with the Telugu production Gunasundari katha. Over a
career spanning five decades, she recorded more than 5,000 songs across multiple
languages and collaborated with prominent artists li...