Pulapaka Suseela is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades and is referred to as Evergreen Nightingale of Indian cinema. She is one of the greatest and best-known playback singers in India. She has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as well as by the Asia Book of Records for performing a record number of songs in different Indian languages. She is also the recipient of five National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer and numerous state awards. Susheela is widely acclaimed as a singer who defined feminism in South Indian cinema and is well known for her mellifluous vocal performances for over 50,000 film and devotional songs across South Indian languages.
Susheela in 2014
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from soundtracks within the Indian film industry. The National Film Awards were called the "State Awards for Films" when established in 1954. The State Awards instituted the "Best Female Playback Singer" category in 1968. Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the Government of India has presented a total of 53 Best Female Playback Singer awards to 30 different female playback singers.
The 2021 recipient: Shreya Ghoshal
P. Susheela has won the award five times. She is the first-ever recipient of the award.
With six wins in three distinct languages, K. S. Chithra is the most awarded recipient in this category.
Shreya Ghoshal has won the award five times in five distinct languages. She is the only recipient to be honoured for two renditions from two different films of different languages in a same year.
