Born in Kochi, K. J. Yesudas became Kerala’s most beloved voice via an extraordinary career spanning six decades. The star, who has crooned on more than 50,000 songs across multiple languages, began his journey in 1961 with his first film track for 1962 Malayalam-language flick Kalpadukal. This marked the dawn of a prolific body of work that would define Malayalam cinema’s golden age. His tender vocals bring life to compositions by maestros like G. Devarajan, Raveendran and M. G. Radhakrishnan, and his graceful duets alongside K. S. Chithra remain timeless treasures in Malayali music lore.