Kavita Krishnamurthy

During the '80s and especially the '90s, Kavita Krishnamurthy (or Krishnamurti, depending on who Anglicizes the spelling) rocketed to stardom as one of the most versatile and technically gifted female singers in the music-reliant Indian film industry. Krishnamurthy was equally at home singing romantic ballads and popular tunes, or artier, more complex fare; her skill at the latter eventually drew her into a creative -- and romantic -- partnership with violin virtuoso L. Subramaniam by the close of the '90s. Born Sharda Krishnamurthy in the South Indian city of Delhi, she came from an artistic background: Her father worked for the Education and Cultural Affairs Ministry, and her mother loved classical Indian music and dance, making sure that Kavita began taking lessons at a young age. Although it would have made more sense for Kavita to begin training in the Carnatic style, her mother knew of no high-quality Carnatic teachers nearby, so Kavita started out by learning Hindustani classical music. Her Bengali aunt and uncle -- with whom young Kavita spent a great deal of time, to the point where she looked upon them as second parents -- influenced her to learn the Bengali style Rabindra Sangeet as well. In 1971, still a child, Kavita made her first film recording, a Bengali duet with the legendary Lata Mangeshkar that was conducted by singer/composer Hemant Kumar. Kavita moved with her aunt to Mumbai (Bombay), not only to attend college (where she received a degree in economics), but to attempt to break into the film industry as a singer. While at college, she met Ranu Mukherjee, Hemant Kumar's daughter, who reintroduced Krishnamurthy to her father. Kumar began using Krishnamurthy as a vocalist for his live performances; soon, Krishnamurthy was performing with music...