The heroine had desired to have a different singer to render the song, but the producer did not relent and stuck to his choice. And ultimately it became one of the most popular classical film songs both in Tamil and Telugu.
The adamant producer-director was MV Raman, a prodigy of the AVM Studios, who made his directorial debut with AVM’s Bahar in 1951. Bahar was also AVM’s first Hindi movie and marked the entry of Vyjayanthimala into Bollywood. With the success of Bahar Raman settled down in Bombay, occasionally returning to Madras to direct films in Tamil and Telugu. His Telugu directorials include Jeevitham and Sangham with NTR in the lead and the ANR-Savitri starrer, Vadina. And the movie that earned him kudos in Tamil was Konjum Salangai (1962). When dubbed in Telugu titled, Muripinche Muvvalu, it also won him loads of accolades, thanks to its music composed by SM Subbaiah Naidu.
In this historical fiction movie, Savitri played the female lead with Gemini Ganesan as the hero. In a scene at a temple, the heroine had to sing a song in praise of the presiding deity. In those days the first choice of music composers to render such devotional numbers was P Leela. At the suggestion of Subbaiah Naidu, Raman approached the veteran singer to sing the song penned by Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam. After going through the lyric and the tune, P Leela politely declined the offer, saying that she could not sing at such high pitch and suggested the name of S Janaki. Raman then signed Janaki to render the song, Singaara Velane Deva… in Tamil and Nee leela Paadeda Deva in Telugu. Both songs later turned out to be Janaki's all time greats.Since the story was set in Tiruchendur and the presiding deity is Kumaraswamy, scholarly Tamil writer, Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam started the Tamil song with the lines:
Singaara Velane Deva (which means: ‘manoharamu, soolapaani ayina Deva’) / Arul seeradum marbodu vaa vaa (means: ‘karunatho nindina hrudayamtho raa… raa’).Arudra, who was chosen to write the Telugu version, followed the Tamil song's meter but penned an original lyric when she sings in the temple accompanied by his nadaswaram:
Nee leela paadeda Deva/ Manavi aalincha vededa Deva/ Nanu laalinchu maa muddhu Deva/ Nee leela…
And for Balasubramaniam’s Senduril nindradum Deva, (which means: ‘Chendurulo koluvaina Deva’), Arudra wrote: Sindoora raagampu Deva
As she sings, Bala Kumaraswamy makes an appearance.
Divya Srungaara bhaavampu Deva / Valli cheluvaaru ninukoru neevu raavaa/ Yelami nee leela…/Anupama varadaana seela/ Vega kanupinchu karunaalavaala/ Nee leela paadeda Deva
Her rendition is recreated on the nadaswaram and as the song progresses it becomes a perfect confluence of ‘naadam’ and ‘gaanam.’ Famed musician Karukurichi Arunachalam played the nadaswaram, while Janaki, whose voice could rise to any pitch, rendered the song.
The scene
Born to a King (SV Ramdas) and a dancer (Madhuri), Amarendra (Gemini Ganesan) is brought up by a temple priest. Amarendra is an expert in playing Nadaswaram. He offers shelter in the temple precincts to a singer Santha (Savitri) and her mother (Rushyendramani). When Santha stops her song, saying she cannot match her voice with his nadaswaram, Amarendra encourages her to sing and she continues with her rendition.
Interestingly, off the screen players, S. Janaki and Karukurichi Arunachalam never met during the song recording. While Janaki rendered the song at the Raman Studio in Bombay, Arunachalam’s nadaswaram was recorded at Madras. Later in a first in the South, Raman got them mixed to give the impression that the entire recording was done at one place.
After listening to the song, Savitri asked MV Raman to get the song recorded again in P. Susheela’s voice as she had been singing for her all along. She argued that even her admirers would not accept a new voice singing for her. But Raman stood his ground and told her that if she refused to shoot, then he would have no other option except to change the situation and picturise the song on the second lead, Kumari Kamala (later popular as Kamala Laxman). Savitri had to relent and perform.