'Raja sir is like my father, his opinion affected me deeply, I lost my voice'

Renowned singer Minmini has opened up about the incident that led to her losing her voice at the peak of her career. She revealed that the shock she experienced after receiving a harsh comment from music legend Ilaiyaraja triggered her condition.

Minmini's words

"If you want to know how much Raja sir's words affected me, you should also know the previous state of my home. I have three siblings. My father was a company employee who retired when I was in 10th grade. After that, my singing became the sole source of income for my family. That's how our family managed to get by. While the earnings weren't substantial, I had concerts every day. However, I had never received a payment of more than Rs 300 from my hometown. It was during that struggling phase that I decided to move to Chennai.

I got a chance to work with Raja sir, and from then on, I earned Rs 1500 per day for as long as I sang for him. That helped me settle some debts after my sister's wedding. However, I had bigger responsibilities and I had to sing for more studios to take care of that. Around that time, I also sang for Deva sir, Vidyasagar sir, and Keeravani sir. Raja sir wasn't aware of these projects. He came to know this only when I sang 'Chinna Chinna Aasai'.

When my song was becoming a hit, the recording for Raja sir's Thalattu film was happening at AVM RR Studio. Before going for the take, sir came to give some corrections. Singer Mano was also there. After giving the corrections, sir left. However, he soon returned from the door and said, 'Why are you singing everywhere? Just sing here, it's enough.'

That was a big shock for me. I started crying. The mic was on. Mano Anna tried to console me. Late Vijay Manuel, who handled the keyboard, came to me and said, 'Don't worry, he might not have said it seriously.' I don't know if this incident affected me psychologically, causing my voice loss. After that incident, Ilaiyaraaja never called me to sing again.

I hold no grudge or hatred towards Raja sir. He may not have understood the state I was in. When he says 'You must not sing for others,' what can a burdened person like me do? Raja sir is like my father. His opinion affected me deeply, causing immense distress in my mind."