INFORMATION
| Artist Birtday : | 09/07/1966 (Age 59) |
| Occupation(s) : | Playback Singer, Classical Singer & Judge (Idea Star Singer, Airtel Super Singer 2008, Surya Singer 2013) |
| Genres : | Indian classical music |
Unnikrishnan was born to K. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Harini Radhakrishnan in Palakkad, Kerala. The family home, Kesari Kuteeram, was a well-known landmark of Madras city, with great grandfather Dr. K. N. Kesari, an Ayurvedic physician and the promoter of the Telugu women’s magazine Gruhalakshmi.
Unnikrishnan was initiated into Carnatic music aged 12 by V. L. Seshadri. He was inspired by Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan. Later, under the tutelage of Savithri Sathyamurthy, a student of Dr. S Ramanathan herself, helped Unnikrishnan polish his craft and become the singer he is now regarded as. He attended a special workshop for six months on “Veena Dhanammal Bhani” under Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. Brinda and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. T. Vishwa Nathan.
He won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for his debut film songs “Ennavale Adi Ennavale” and “Uyirum Neeye”. These songs were composed by A. R. Rahman, with whom Unnikrishnan gave most of his memorable songs. He is the first male playback singer to be awarded the national award for a Tamil song. He was one of the permanent judges in the reality television show AIRTEL Super Singer on Vijay TV in seasons (2006, 2008, 2010–2011, 2013, 2015–2016, 2018) and 2008 Idea Star Singer on Asianet.
Unnikrishnan is also becoming known for his experimental work. In 2008, he presented a novel jazz concert in Thiruvananthapuram with the Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet and pianist Anil Srinivasan.
He prefers singing classical songs over pop music. He is the recipient of many awards like Tamil Nadu’s Kalaimamani, Nada Bhushanam, Isai Peroli, Yuva Kala Bharathi, Isayin Punnagai, Isai Selvam, Sangeetha Kalasarathy, Sangeetha Chakravarthy. In 2014, he received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for Classical Music.
