Vidhu Prathap
| Vidhu Prathap | |
|---|---|
 Vidhu Prathap at the Devarajan Master 7th Death Anniversary Concert, 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vidhu Prathap |
| Born |
September 1, 1980 Thrissur, Kerala, India |
| Genres | Malayalam |
| Occupation(s) | Playback singer |
| Years active | 1999–present |
Biography
Vidhu Prathap (born September 1, 1980) is an Indian playback singer.[1] He has sung many songs in over a hundred and fifty films in mostly Malayalam and a few in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. He is an accomplished singer with several hit songs in several landmark movies and is a regular part of the biggest stage shows in Malayalam both in India and abroad.
Biography
Early life
Vidhu Prathap was born in 1980 in Kaithamukku in Trivandrum, Kerala. He did his early education from Holy Angels and then completed his schooling at Christ Nagar. During his school days in Christ Nagar, he used to participate in mono-acts and mimicry and had a real penchant for singing. Vidhu was the Arts Club Secretary in Mar Ivanios college where he did his graduation. In 1997-98, at the age of 17, he won the 'Voice of the Year Award' in a music competition conducted by Asianet, a leading private channel. It was after this that he seriously thought about becoming a singer.
Vidhu started taking music lessons when he was three years old and has won many competitions in several musical categories.
Playback singing
He first sang for a movie called Paadamudra, when he was in class IV. But his real break was in 1999 in a movie Devadasi rendering 'Pon Vasantham', a difficult song with a classical touch.
His rendering of the fast number 'Sukriya' in Niram (1999) made him a favourite with the masses, especially the youth. Besides, with a generation shift in Malayalam films, younger actors like Dileep, Kunchakko Boban and Prithviraj needed a young voice to suit their style. That was where Vidhu fitted in. His depth and range were once again evident in 'Sayahnam', directed by R. Sarath, which won Vidhu the Kerala State Film award in 2001 for the song 'Kalame Kaikolluka née'. His sensitive rendition of Mohan Sithara's 'Sukhamani Nilavu' a romantic song in the movie 'Nammal' won him the Lux-Asianet best male singer award in 2002. The credit for his 'mood rendition' should go to Devarajan, the famous music director, with whom he trained for four years. He has also trained under Music director Perumbavoor G Ravindranath. Vidhu renders his songs especially emotional ones with a pathos and feeling that only he can.
Ilayaraja introduced him in Tamil in a movie 'Solla Marantha Kathai' (2002). Later he sang many Tamil songs, most of them became hits. In 2003, he got another hit song 'Valeduthal Angakali' in 'Meesa Madhavan'. He also sang a song for the Malayalam musical album Chempakame, the song Melemanathu got many positive reviews from critics. Some movies that featured songs by him are 'Meesa Madhavan', 'Nammal', 'Swapnakoodu', 'Pattalam', 'Runway', 'Pandippada', 'Ravanan', 'Vargam', 'Out of Syllabus', 'Chathikatha Chanthu', 'Thanmatra', 'Vasthavam', 'Kadha', 'Kangaroo', 'In Ghosthouse Inn', 'Lollipop', 'Pazhassi raja','Orunal Varum','Violin', '180' etc. He has sung the most number of songs for music director Alex Paul. He has completed songs in over a 150 movies, and hundreds of music albums. Vidhu is also an active performer in many stage shows in India as well as abroad.
Personal life
He married Deepthi Prasad, a TV anchor and a professional classical dancer in August 2008.
He also tried his hands at acting for a time. He stars in a serial directed by the yester-years musician-lyricist-director Srikumaran Thampy. It is called 'Paattukalude Paattu', and the story revolves around a struggling but upcoming stage singer.[2]
Awards
He has several awards to his credit, most important being the first Asianet Voice of the Year Award (1997), Kerala State Best Male Playback Singer Award for the song 'Kalame Kaikolluka née' (Sayahnam, year 2001), Lux-Asianet Best Male Singer Award for 'Sukhamani Nilavu' (Nammal, year 2002), Sathyan Foundations Award, GMMA Award, Krystal Symphony Young Achiever's Award, and Film Critics Award (2012).
| Title | Role | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idea star singer 2006 | Host | Asianet | |
| Idea star singer season 4 | Team captain | Asianet | |
| Paatukalude paattu | Vinayan | Surya TV | Debut as an actor |
| Surya Challenge | Host | Surya TV |