Kollangudi Karuppayee Biography 
Kollangudi Karuppayee is a folk singer and actress from Tamil Nadu, known to be pioneer in the field of Tamil folk music. She has been a professional folk singer in the 1980s and has also made brief appearances in Tamil movies at the same time. She started her career as a performer on All India Radio, and made her debut to film industry three decades later. She is a recipient of Kalaimamani award and many more honours dedicated to the world of arts. Kollangudi Karuppayee is regarded as an iconic artist of the field of Tamil folk music, and many singers regard her as their inspiration. She lost both her husband and daughter in road accidents at two different occasions, which made her stay away from the world of singing.
Kollangudi Karuppayee, a living legend of Tamil folk music was first one among the group to join film industry, and created a new benchmark in Tamil films. This iconic figure was fully active in Tamil film industry in the 1980s till a tragic incident gave her a major shock. She raised the scale of the finest folk music that one can produce and is an inspiration to many. She now lives in a Dalit colony of Kollangudi village in Sivaganga district.
1985 flick; “Aan Paavam” was her debut Tamil film. She appeared as an actress and also rendered her voice for a few folk songs of the movie. The music of the film was phenomenal, and the music lovers appreciated it. In fact she stunned `Kollywood' with her `songs of the soil' from Kollangudi. In 1996, she acted in Gopala. While she was active in filmy career, her husband died in a road accident before her eyes when the couple were going to Madurai for an AIR programme. This tragedic incident made her bedridden, and she was not interested in singing anymore. Tragedy struck her once again when she lost her daughter also in a road accident.
During her younger days she and her husband struggled through as farm workers. Her husband respected her and never called her with name. Instead, he used to call her `amma'. She started grasping folk songs since teens, sung by those who worked in the fields to forget the rigours of toil. Later she became an expert in folk singing, and people from her neighbourhood started recognizing her with her voice.
Published: February 18, 2019
Updated: February 18, 2019
