Congratulations to Mannada on a thoroughly well-deserved Datasaheb Phalke award. The list of musical personalities who have been conferred the award have been a handful - Pankaj Mallick, R.C.Boral, Naushad, Lata Mangeshkar, Bhupen Hazarika and Asha Bhosle. Manna Dey is an illustrious addition to that list.
Apart from his sublime singing abilities, Mannada was also a competent music director. Like Kishore Kumar however, that facet he did not expand on. He assisted the great Khemchand Prakash for a few years and also composed some memorable songs in films like "Tamaashaa", "Chamkee" and "Sukh rambhaa". In fact, the Geeta solo "raat mohe miiThaa miiThaa" from "Tamaashaa" (which is credited to him in HFGK) is one of my personal all-time favorite Geeta songs.
There is little I can contribute new to the vast literature that has already been written about him and his singing abilities. Suffice to say that Mannada was in my opinion the most versatile singer of our films - superior to even Rafi in this regard.
While on Dadasaheb Phalke awards, I am saddened to see not a single South Indian musical personality in the list of Phalke award winners. That such legends as G.Ramanathan, M.S.Viswanathan, Ghantasala, P.B.Srinivas and P.Suseela have been ignored is beyond explanation. These great artistes have achieved as much, if not more, than their North Indian couterparts. G.Ramanathan was as much of a trend-setter and father-figure in Tamil cinema as R.C.Boral was in Calcutta. P.B.Srinivas is as much a multi-faceted genius as Bhupen Hazarika and almost as great a singer as Manna Dey. P.Suseela has sung as many memorable and popular melodies as Lata or Asha. In fact, considering that she ruled the roost in all South Indian languages, even more so. And M.S.Viswanathan - there are very very few music directors who can match up to the quality of his music. Naushad comes nowhere enar. I am sorry that there appears to be such an ignorance of South Indian film music in the Awards committee. I only hope things change..
