James Vasanthan is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Television (Tamil) host, a film music

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and a

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and a motivational speaker. For more than two decades, he has worked as an anchor in popular Tamil satellite television channels like Sun TV and

Vijay TV Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

before debuting as a film music composer in the

Tamil Film Industry Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood ...

in the year 2008, and a filmmaker in 2015.

Biography

James Vasanthan was born in

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

(Trichy), Tamil Nadu, India, to Brownie Sophia and George Theophilus, a police officer, who died in service, due to cancer. James was just 12 then. His mom used to tell him that her father Antony who was an engineer in the

ropeway Ropeway may refer to: Cable transport * Cableway, or cable transport, a broad class of transport modes that have cables * Aerial lift, a means of cable transport in which cabins, cars, gondolas, or open chairs are hauled above the ground by mean ...

services in Anamalai Hills, Pollachi, erected and maintained by the Brits in the colonial times, was a meticulous person known for his discipline and strictness. James could see all of those traits in her. She was known to be a disciplinarian and perfectionist, excelling in every aspect of home-making. James owes every skill and craft that he possesses today, to her. Losing her when he was 21 was a turning point of his life. He studied first at YWCA Primary School (Presently

BHEL Matriculation Higher Secondary School Kailasapuram is a township located from Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It contains the manufacturing and housing of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) as part of BHEL's Tiruchirapalli Complex. The township is maintained by civil to ...

) and later at Bishop Heber Higher Secondary School (Teppakulam) and then graduated in English literature from

Bishop Heber College Bishop Heber College is a religious minority educational institution in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1966, although the school has historical roots extending through various earlier local religious schools to about the m ...

, Trichy, though his desire was to pursue a science degree. Being a single mother, she couldn't afford the high fee structure of a science course, which made him a literature student. Then he did his master's degree in English in

Jamal Mohamed College Jamal Mohamed College is a Government-aided and self-financed institution founded in 1951 by M. Jamal Mohamed Sahib and N.M. Khajamian Rowther. The college campus is located in Tiruchirappalli, India and is affiliated to Bharathidasan Universi ...

. Later, he educated himself in

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, 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, an ...

from

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. It was his mentor Dr Uma Maheswari (former principal of Government College of Music, Thiruvaiyaru) who advised him to do this course and paid all his fees and provided every course material and resource, being a scholar in the subject. He looks up to her gratefully for all that she did to him. He also holds diplomas in Pianoforte, Guitar and ''Theory of Music'' in Western music from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, London. After his studies he went to Kodaikanal and was working as the restaurant musician in Carlton Hotel, until he moved on to teach music in the residential school, St. Peter's School, Kodaikanal, formerly known as St. Peter's Public School. After a six-year stint as music teacher, he migrated to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to fulfill his long-term desire and dream of making as a film composer. Though music was his "first love", he forayed into television as an anchor in SUN TV. He has composed music for

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

audio albums numbering around 400. He still continues to arrange music for many gospel productions. In 2008, he eventually entered the Chennai film industry as a music director by composing the songs and score for the Tamil film ''

Subramaniyapuram ''Subramaniapuram'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language period action film produced, written, and directed by Sasikumar. The low-budget film received critical acclaim for its original script, expert direction, screenplay, editing, fresh music, accu ...

'', directed by

M. Sasikumar Mahalingam Sasikumar (born 28 September 1974) is an Indian film director, actor, singer and producer. He worked as an assistant director for director Bala in '' Sethu'' (1999), also worked for director Ameer in his first two films ''Mounam Pe ...

, who was a student at St. Peter's Public School in Kodaikanal, where James Vasanthan went to teach music after his post-graduation. This film 'Subramaniyapuram' which went on to become a blockbuster brought him into prominence with the film's songs and background score gaining fame and being praised. and the song "Kangal Irandal" topping the charts and being cited as the "anthem of the year among the youth".

Discography

;As composer ;As lyricist ;As singer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasanthan, James Tamil film score composers Living people Musicians from Tiruchirappalli Television personalities from Tamil Nadu Year of birth missing (living people)