Vaikom Vijayalakshmi : She Chose Music Over Limitations, Now India Honours Vaikom Vijayalakshmi With a National Award

For Vaikom Vijayalakshmi, this National Film Award is much more than a career milestone. 

At the 72nd National Film Awards, the acclaimed singer received her first-ever National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her soulful rendition of Angu Vaana Konilile from the Malayalam film Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM).

The recognition is especially significant as it comes more than a decade after she first entered Malayalam cinema and established herself as one of its most distinctive voices.

The award becomes even more remarkable considering the competition. Feature Film Jury chairman Jayaraj revealed that the category included several celebrated singers, including Shreya Ghoshal, making Vijayalakshmi's victory more meaningful.

Speaking after the announcement, Vijayalakshmi said she never expected the honour. She recalled the famous dialogue from the Malayalam classic Nadodikkattu, saying, "Everything has its own time."

According to her, the award arrived exactly when it was meant to. The singer also shared that the team behind ARM had always believed the lullaby deserved national recognition, even after it missed out at the Kerala State Film Awards.

From the very first time she heard the composition, Vijayalakshmi felt an emotional connection with it. Music director Dhibu Ninan Thomas explained the story behind the song before inviting her to record it.

"It was written like a grandmother narrating a story to a child. I loved it the moment I heard it," she recalled.

After practising the song at home, she completed the recording at a studio in Ernakulam the very next day. The entire session took only about an hour.

"The tune suited my voice perfectly, so I didn't have to struggle much during the recording," she said.

Soon after its release, the lullaby resonated deeply with audiences across Kerala and beyond. She received overwhelming appreciation from listeners, newspapers, and music lovers, and was invited to perform the song on stages across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and several other states.

One memory continues to stay with her. A relative confidently predicted that the song would one day win a National Award the very first time he heard it. Her spiritual gurus echoed the same belief.

"Today, their words have come true," she said, expressing gratitude to composer Dhibu Ninan Thomas, the film's cast and crew, and the audiences who embraced the song with so much love.

But Vijayalakshmi's story began long before awards and accolades. Born visually impaired, due to damage to her optic nerves, she never had the opportunity to see the world around her.

Instead, she learnt to experience it through sound. Guided by her father, who was also a musician, she mastered more than 100 ragas simply by listening. At just six years old, she performed on stage for the first time, revealing a rare musical gift that would eventually captivate audiences across India.

Her breakthrough came with the Malayalam film Celluloid, where the song Katte Katte introduced her remarkable voice to the industry.

Over the years, she built an impressive body of work with memorable songs such as Parudaya Mariyame, Kaikottum Kandittilla, and Ottaykku Paadunna, the latter earning her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.

Introduced to film music by director Kamal and composer M. Jayachandran, Vijayalakshmi gradually carved a unique place for herself in Malayalam cinema through sincerity, emotion, and effortless musical expression.

Today, with a National Award finally in her hands, her journey shows that true talent needs no perfect circumstances.

She may have never seen the stage, but through her voice, she has touched millions of hearts. Sometimes, the brightest light doesn't come from what we see it comes from what we feel. For Vaikom Vijayalakshmi, that light has always been music.

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