''Kothamangalam Seenu'' (17 February 1910 - 30 August 2001) was a

Tamil Stage Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, Cinema actor and a

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...

singer.

Early life

Kothamangalam Seenu whose birth name is V. S. Srinivasan, was born in Vathirairuppu (anglicised as ‘Watrap'), a village in

Virudhunagar district Virudhunagar District is a district (an administrative district) of Tamil Nadu state in south India. Virudhunagar is the district headquarters of Virudhunagar district. Virudhunagar district was formed by the separation of Old Ramanathapuram D ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. His parents were Subramaniya Iyer and Narayani Ammal. Not much is known about his early life at his birth place except that he was well trained in Carnatic music. He went to Kothamangalam, a village in Pudukottai district in search of employment.

Career

He started his career as a singer and recorded some

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts ne ...

s. He gave concerts and also trained students in

. Later he joined with Kothamangalam Subbu and began acting in dramas with him.Kothamangalam Seenu
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Film career

His melodious voice and expertise in

attracted film producers. Soon, he began to act in films. The first film that he acted was

Sarangadhara ''Sarangadhara'' is an epic story during the reign of Rajaraja Narendra. Gurajada Apparao wrote the story in long poetic form in English and published in "Indian Leisure Hour" in 1883. It was a favourite Telugu drama and made into South Indian f ...

, released in 1937. He acted in the main character. During the early years of Tamil Cinema, music and songs dominated the films. In some cases there were as many as 50, 60 songs in one film. Therefore, there was much scope for singers to act in films and Seenu had good opportunities. However, there were already two big 'guns' who mesmerized people with their golden voice and acting skill.

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor, producer and Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actors in Tamil cine ...

and P. U. Chinnappa were considered 'Super Stars' and held by the people in high esteem. But Kothamangalam Seenu established a place for himself as a singer actor. After

, he acted in Pattinathar and Vipra Narayana. His songs in Shantha Sakkubai, released in 1939, became very popular. He delivered a musical discourse (கதா காலட்சேபம்) that was a hit. He acted in the main role as

Thirumangai Alvar Thirumangai Alvar (IAST: ), also referred to as Thirumangai Mannan is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvar ...

in the film with the same name and was released in 1940. His songs in this film were popular. He acted in several films during the 1940s. His last film 'Thulasi Jalandar' was released in 1947. Thereafter, though he lived for more 50 years, he did not act in any films. But he was performing Carnatic music concerts on Radio.

Filmography

The following list of films is based on information in Tamil Movie Database.

References

External links

Map of Kothamangalamநடிப்பும் பாடலும் இவரின் தனிமுத்திரை
திருமலை மூர்த்தி, சிறப்பு ஒலிபரப்புச் சேவை, 1 ஏப்ரல் 2015
கொத்தமங்கலம் சீனுKatcha Devayani (1941)
Some of his songs on YouTube * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IKpWbffZio * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gBnoUfgRp8 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bG70TRGKA4 {{DEFAULTSORT:Seenu, Kothamangalam Tamil male actors Tamil singers Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Indian Tamil people 1910 births 2001 deaths People from Virudhunagar district Indian male stage actors Male actors in Tamil cinema 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers