Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He composed songs for more than 800 Indian films and various albums. across languages primarily in Tamil, Malayalam and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

films. He has also acted and sung in a few Tamil films. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

J Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

conferred the ''Thirai Isai Chakravarthy'' (Tamil for "The Emperor of Cine Music") title on him in August 2012 and presented him with 60 gold coins and a new car. Viswanathan composed film music together with composer and violinist

T. K. Ramamoorthy Trichirappalli Krishnasamy Ramamoorthy (15 May 1922 – 17 April 2013) was an Indian Tamil music composer and violinist. Ramamoorthy was known as ''Mellisai Mannar'' ( ta, மெல்லிசை மன்னர்; "The King of Light Music") ...

from the 1950s to 1965, as Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy for 100 Films. He independently composed for 700 films from 1965 to 2015.

Life

M S Viswanathan hailing from a Malayali family was born on 24 June 1928 to Manayangath Subramanian and Narayaniammal in Elappully village in Palakkad, Kerala, India (Then in Malabar district, Madras province, British India). His father died when Viswanathan was four years old, and his mother decided to kill him, his sister and herself as an escape from abject poverty and lack of support. He was saved at the last minute by his grandfather. His grandfather Krishnan Nair was a

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

at the central jail of Kannur. After death of his father, his family moved from Palakkad to Kannur to stay with his jailor uncle. As a child, he sold refreshments in a movie theatre without any pay, so he could listen to the music in the films. He had a part in the film ''Kannagi'' produced by Jupiter Pictures. His primary education was at Pallikunnu, Kannur. He would often play truant from school and stand outside the house of Neelakanta Bhagavathar, a local music teacher, and listen to his teaching other students. He learnt to play the harmonium, and Neelakanta Bhagavathar, who heard him play and sing on a Vijayadasami Day, was impressed and organised a three-hour concert at the Kannur town hall. He later gave his first stage performance in Trivandrum at the age of 13. He worked as an office boy for Jupiter Pictures in the 1940s, earning Rs 3 per month. Viswanathan was married to Janaki and they have four sons and three daughters. His wife, Janaki, died on 14 May 2012. She was 77 when she died. He is known to have looked after his original Guru,

S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a. SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was an Indian composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was one of the oldest music directors. He worked as an in-house music composer for Central Studios an ...

, when the latter fell into financial difficulties and then continued to look after his wife until her death.As a rare human approach, M. S. Viswanathan, looked after his friend J. P. Chandrababu, the great Comedian and Singer of Tamil films, when the latter fell into financial ruins. Chandrababu stayed the last few years of his life in the house of M. S. Viswanathan, and as per the request of Chandrababu, MSV arranged his last rites when he died in March 1974.

Career

Viswanathan had always wanted to be an actor and singer, but was not successful. He had a few small roles in stage dramas in the 1940s. The composer and violinist

T. R. Papa Thiruthuraipoondi Radhakrishnan Sivasankaran (T. R. Pappa) (3 July 1922 – 15 October 2004) was an Indian music director of Tamil, Telugu and Sinhalese films. He was born in 1923 at Thiruthuraipoondi, Madras Presidency, British India. Early ...

met Viswanathan, took a liking to him and arranged a job for him as an errand boy for S. V. Venkatraman's musical troupe in 1942. In that company of musicians, Viswanathan realised that he had the inclination and the potential for composing music. He thereafter joined

and at times assisted him. He then joined C. R. Subburaman's musical troupe as a harmonium player. Here, he met

and

T. G. Lingappa Thiruchirappalli Govindarajulu Lingappa (22 August 1927 – 5 February 2000) was an Indian music director who worked predominantly in Kannada language films. He also worked in Tamil and Telugu movies. He was the son of G. Govindarajulu Naidu wh ...

, the two leading violinists at that time. T. G. Lingappa also became a renowned music composer on his own in the 1950s.

Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy

In 1952, C. R. Subburaman died unexpectedly. Ramamoorthy and Viswanathan joined and completed the background music for the films Subburaman was working on, including '' Devadas'', ''

Chandirani ''Chandirani'' is a 1953 Indian swashbuckler film directed by Bhanumathi and produced by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under the Bharani Studios banner. The film is shot simultaneously in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi languages. It stars Bhanumathi, N. T. R ...

'' and '' Marumagal''. N. S. Krishnan knew them both fairly intimately and also their respective talents by then because of his close relationship with C.R.Subburaman, with whom he had worked earlier in several films. Meanwhile, Viswanathan also worked as the third composer for the film '' Genova'' where the other composers were M.S Gnanamani and T.K.Kalyanam. M.G.Ramachandran, the hero of the film Genova, had reservations about the 'raw, young music director' but the reservations lasted only until he listened to the songs. M.G.Ramachandran instantly recognised the arrival of a genius and the relationship lasted until the end of his career as a hero in 1977. Viswanathan and Ramamoorthy were asked to write the music for ''

Panam Panam may refer to: * ''Panam'' (film), a 1952 Tamil film *Panam (money), a type of currency issued in South India *Pan Am, a former American airline * ''Pan Am'' (TV series), a 2011 television series * University of Texas–Pan American, an Ameri ...

'', a 1952 film produced by ''A. L. Seenivasan'' and directed by N. S. Krishnan. Later the duo was asked to do the background score for the film '' Ratha Kanneer'' by its music composer C. S. Jayaraman. The duo composed music for over 100 films, and they worked together from 1952 to 1965. On 16 June 1963 at a special function M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy were each given the title of ''Mellisai Mannar''(Kings of the Light Music). It was granted by Sivaji Ganesan at the Madras Triplicane Cultural Academy. The function was supported and facilitated by the Hindu Group of Publications, especially Mr. T. M. Ramachandran, Director

C. V. Sridhar Chitthamoor Vijayaraghavalu Sridhar (22 July 1933 – 20 October 2008) was an Indian screenwriter and film director. He has directed nearly 60 films in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi language, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu Languages. Ea ...

and Chitralaya Gopu. The duo parted in 1965 after release of '' Ayirathil Oruvan'' and since then they composed for films individually. After 29 years, they rejoined in 1995 for the Tamil film ''Engirundho Vanthan'' starring

Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who has predominantly appeares in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema, Telugu Cinema. His 240 films also includ ...

. P. Susheela received her first National Award as Best Singer in 1969 for the song "Paal Polave" composed by MSV in the film Uyarndha Manidhan. Immediately after recording the song, MSV was so happy, he said to P. Susheela that she would be acclaimed as the Best Singer for the National Award for this song. The duo Viswanathan Ramamoorthy were awarded an honorary doctorate by the Sathyabama Deemed University in September 2006.

J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, conferred the title ''Thirai Isai Chakravarthy'' (Emperors of the Cine Music) on Viswanathan and Ramamoorthy in August 2012 and presented them with 60 gold coins and a new car. Viswanathan Ramamoorthy duo were the first musicians to arrange a stage performance of the film singers and live orchestra in India. Until then only traditional Carnatic music and Hindustani classical music was performed live in any function. This became a trend setter and paved the way not only for the birth of many musical troops, but also for knowing, understanding and learning about the western instruments among millions of Indians.

Independent music director

M. S. Viswanathan began his solo career in 1965. Viswanathan is known for having incorporated various genres of world music into Indian cinema music. He used elements such as humming and whistling in his songs, and blended new trends such as western music and disco with Indian classical tunes. Some of his films as solo music composer include ''Idhayakani'', ''Gallatta Kalyanam'', ''Chandrodhyam'', ''Kannan En Kadhalan'', ''Dheiva Magan'', ''Nimrundhu Nil'', ''Rickshakaran'', ''Ulagam Sutrum Vaaliban'', and ''Urumai Kural''. M. S. Viswanathan also scored music for many non-film albums and for political campaigns. He also did playback singing, including 500 songs composed by himself and over 200 songs composed by music directors. He performed songs such as Sollathan Ninaikiren, Inbathilum Thunbathilun Sirithidu Magaley, Yenakkoru Kaathalai Irukindral, Sangamam and Vidaikodu Engal Nadey. Viswanathan worked with many different film directors, including B. R. Panthulu, S. S. Vasan, B. S. Ranga, and Krishnan–Panju in the 1950s, and in later decades with

, A. Bhimsingh, Madhavan,

T. R. Ramanna Thanjavur Radhakrishnan Ramachandran (T.R.Ramanna) (1923–1997) was an Indian film director and producer. Film career Ramanna started his life as a sound recordist in a city studio and then made his way to film direction. He started the prod ...

A. C. Trilogchander A. C. Thirulokachandar (11 June 1930 – 15 June 2016), also known as A. C. Tirulokchandar, was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked mainly in Tamil films from the 1960s to 1988. He also directed a few films in Hindi and Telugu. ...

, K. Shankar,

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

, Muktha Srinivasan,

Chitralaya Gopu Sadagopan (better known as Chitralaya Gopu) is an Indian screenwriter and director who works in the Tamil cinema. He has written nearly 60 films, and directed 27 of them. He scripted dramatic films such as ''Moondru Dheivangal'' and ''Shanti Nil ...

Cho Ramaswamy Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known as Cho Ramaswamy (5 October 1934 – 7 December 2016), was an Indian actor, comedian, character actor, editor, political satirist, playwright, film director and lawyer from Tamil Nadu. He was a p ...

, and K. S. Gopalakrishnan from the 1960s. From the 1970s directors such as

S. P. Muthuraman S. P. Muthuraman, also referred to as SPM, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He has directed 72 films in Tamil. He was one of the most successful commercial directors in Tamil cinema. Initially he worked mainly wi ...

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

, Bhagyaraj, D. Yoganand,

C. V. Rajendran C. V. Rajendran (12 March 1937 – 1 April 2018) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi film industries. He was a cousin of famous director C. V. Sridhar. Film career He worked ...

P. Madhavan Palakrishnan Madhavan (1 January 1928 – 6 December 2003) was an Indian film director and producer in Tamil cinema in the 1960s and 1970s. Madhavan has directed 49 films and produced 39 films under the banner ''Arun Prasad Movies''. Career ...

K. S. Prakash Rao Kovelamudi Surya Prakash Rao (1914–1996) was an Indian film director, producer, actor and cinematographer known for his works in Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. In 1977 he won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada for ''Ganda Hendt ...

, Vietnam Veedu Sundaram, N. T. Rama Rao, and

I. V. Sasi Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1947 – 24 October 2017), better known as I. V. Sasi, was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. ...

frequently worked with Viswanathan; later, in the 1980s and 1990s, new directors such as Visu, Mouli,

Komal Swaminathan Komal Swaminathan (born 27 January 1935 in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India, died 1995) was a congressional activist in his early years, a Tamil theater personality, film director and journalist. Early life Swaminathan joined the school of S. ...

, and

K. Raghunath Krishnan Raghunath is an Indian diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of India in the late 1990s. He previously served as the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh as well as Ambassador to Russia, Nigeria and the Philippines. Krishnan, R ...

collaborated with Viswanathan regularly. He worked with a number of singers, both younger artists and more established ones, including P Leela, P. Susheela,

L. R. Eswari Lourde-Mary Rajeswari, better known as L. R. Eswari, is an Indian playback singer who has sung several songs in Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi language, Hindi, Tulu language, Tulu, and English. She wa ...

T. M. Soundararajan Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan (24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 fi ...

, and the Malayalam singer Jayachandran. He is also considered responsible for making singers like S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Vani Jairam,

R. Balasaraswathi Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi (born 28 August 1928) is an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She was the first light music singer on All India Radio and the first playback singer in the Telu ...

, S. Janaki, A. L. Raghavan, Sirkazhi Govindarajan and

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian Music and also as a ...

popular names. He gave

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her first job as a playback singer when she was 14 years old. MSV has given great life by giving opportunity and support for many musicians, lyricists, singers etc. Lyricist Vaali quoted in 1984, "Until I met Viswanathan Sir, I had no money to have any food. But from the moment I met Viswanathan Sir I had no time to have food". His notable musical works from 1980s to 1990s included - Polladhavan, Avan Aval Adhu, Billa, Mazhalai Pattalam, Varumayin Niram Sigappu (1980), Antha Ezhu Natkal (1981), Kizhvanam Sivakkam (1981), Thaneer Thaneer (1981), Thillu Mullu (1981), Sathyam Sundaram (1981), Simla Special (1982), Pokkiri Raja (1982), Saranalayam (1983), Mridanga Chakravarthi (1983), Puyalkadantha Boomi (1984),Idanilangal (1985), Sugamana Ragangal, Vasantha Ragam (1986), Sattam Oru Vilayattu (1987),Samrat Ashok (1992),Manikantana Mahime (1993), Vetri Vinayagar (1996), Amma Ammayiamma (1998) M. S. Viswanathan went on to act in Tamil feature films after 1995, notably appearing in Kaadhal Mannan after being convinced to do so by actor Vivek and Director Saran while he also starred in Kamal Haasan's ''Kaathala Kaathala'' and Karthik's ''Rojavanam''. He also made appearances in other films and television series like Kalki, since 1995. Since 1996, Viswanathan focused on composing devotional music and serving as a judge in Malayalam and Tamil TV reality shows. He collaborated with

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

in 'Mella Thiranthathu Kathathavu', 'Senthamizh Paatu' 'Vishwa Thulsi' and 'Senthamizh Selvan' starring Prashanth. He sang the song "Vidai Kodu Engal Naadae" for 2002 Tamil film "Kannathil Muthamittal" composed by A.R.Rahman. Then in 2013 he sang for the film Neelam – the song called 'Alayae o Alayae' and it was recorded in the supervision of music composer

Satish Chakravarthy Satish Chakravarthy is an Indian music composer, who mainly produces film scores and soundtracks in the Tamil film industry. He composed music for the films, ''Leelai'' and ''Kanimozhi''. Career Satish Chakravarthy graduated from the National ...

. According to director

Kumar G. Venkatesh Venkatesh Kumar. G ( ta, வெங்கடேஷ் குமார் .ஜி;born 25 June 1981) is an Indian Film director and screenwriter working in Tamil cinema. His first project was the short film "White Dirt". He made his debut in the ...

, this was the last song sung by M S V. He in 2013 composed music for the film '' Thillu Mullu'', with Yuvan Shankar Raja While M. S. Viswanathan composed the tunes in the 2013 Thillu Mullu film, Yuvan Shankar Raja orchestrated and recorded them. He sang the song 'Saami Namba saami' penned by Snehan for the film "Mannar Valaikuda", composed by S.Siva Pragasam. Rajnikanth said in an interview about M. S. Viswanathan, "You will rarely find someone like MSV in any industry. He lived life like a selfless saint, free from jealousy and lies. He was behind the success of legends like MGR and Sivaji. If not for MSV, the careers of filmmaker Balachander, lyricists Vaali and Kannadasan wouldn't have tasted huge success."

Discography

Death

On 27 June 2015, Viswanathan was admitted to Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai with breathing difficulties. He had been undergoing a treatment at the hospital for some time. He died at on 14 July 2015 due to age-related ailments, three weeks after he had turned 87. He was cremated with full state honours at Besant Nagar Electric Crematorium.

Awards

M. S. Viswanathan has won many awards include the following: * Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South * PBS Puraskar Award presented by Aruna Nithya Gopal Foundation awarded on 29 September 2013 at Ravindra Bharati * Honorary doctorate from Tirunelveli-based Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) on 3 January 2013 * Paramacharya Award, meaning 'The Ultimate Guru' in 2006. * Doctorate conferred by Sathyabama University in 2006. * Won Gold Remi Award for the best music score for movie '' Vishwa Thulasi'' in 2005. * Isai Sangam honoured him with Isai Peraringnar, meaning "Great Scholar in Music", in 2004. * Kalaimamani – A jewel for art – from State Govt of Tamil Nadu 1970-71 * Seventh Kamukura Award – given by Kerala Cultural Ministry. * 'Sangeetha Saraswathi' by Poojya Sri Guruji Viswanath of Manava Seva Kendra. * 2013 - Asiavision Awards - Lifetime Achievement Award * 1968 - Lakshmi Kalyanam - Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director * '' Nandi Award for Best Music Director'' for

Naalaga Endaro Naalaaga Endaro (''Many Are Like Me'') is 1978 Telugu-language film directed by Eeranki Sharma. The film won seven Nandi Awards. Soundtrack * ''Anubhavalaku Adikavyam Aadadani Jeevitam'' (Lyrics: Acharya Aatreya) * ''Kalyanini... Kanulunna Mana ...

(1978)(in

) * Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award - Kannadasan Award in 2002. * Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director - '' Chandrakantham'', ''

Jeevikkan Marannupoya Sthree ''Jeevikkan Marannupoya Sthree'' is a 1974 Indian Malayalam film, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by K. S. R. Moorthy. The film stars Sheela, Vijayasree, Mohan Sharma and Sankaradi in the lead roles. The film had musical score by M ...

'' in 1974 * Gnana Kala Bharathi by Bharat Kalachar 1999 * Lifetime achievement award by Soorya Film and stage Association Kerala 2002 *Dr.Sivaji Ganesan Memorial award by Sivaji Prabhu Charitable trust 2005 *SICA Lifetime achievement award by SICA South India Cinematographers association 2008 * Isai Nayagan by Bharathi Abu Dhabi 2009

References

Elappully Mourns - MSV's early Life - The Hindu

External links

M. S. Viswanathan's official website

*
MSV as BalaMurugan in "Kannagi (1942)
See him at 00:20 and 00:45 {{DEFAULTSORT:Viswanathan 1928 births Indian male film actors Telugu film score composers Kerala State Film Award winners 2015 deaths Malayalam film score composers Tamil film score composers Tamil musicians Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Musicians from Palakkad Singers from Kerala Malayali people Indian male playback singers 20th-century Indian composers Film musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian singers