Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan
(24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian
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 ...
ian and a
playback singer
A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...
in
Tamil cinema
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' ...
for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 films, including devotional, semi-classical, Carnatic, classical and light music songs. He gave classical concerts starting in 1943.
He lent his voice to actors and thespians in the Tamil film industry such as
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
,
Sivaji Ganesan
Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...
,
N. T. Rama Rao
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...
,
Gemini Ganesan
Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...
,
S. S. Rajendran
Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema.
Film career
Rajendran made his acting de ...
,
Jaishankar
Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...
,
Ravichandran Ravichandran is an Indian name. Notable people with the name include:
* Ravichandran (Tamil actor) (1942–2011)
* Ravichandran (Tamil film director) (born 1971)
* N. Ravichandran (professor) (1955), professor at IIM Ahmedabad
* N. Ravichandran, ...
,
A. V. M. Rajan
Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is a former Indian actor in Tamil cinema who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Pudukottai, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachel ...
,
R. Muthuraman
Muthuraman Radhakrishnan (4 July 1929 – 16 October 1981) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. He was a leading actor during the 1960s and 1970s and was fondly called as ''Navarasa Thilagam''. He had paired w ...
,
Nagesh
Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 film ...
,
Sivakumar
Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...
, Kantha Rao,
Rajkumar,
Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...
and
A. Nageswara Rao
Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...
. He also gave his voice to many new generation actors like
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...
,
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
, Vijayakanth, Satyaraj, Rajesh, Prabhu, and Vijaya Kumar, in addition to other known and unknown heroes and supporting actors like M.R. Radha, K R Ramaswami, T. Rajendar, V.K. Ramaswami, Thengai Sreenivasan, M.N. Nambiar, Thangavelu, Y.G. Mahendran, R.S. Manohar, S.V. Ashokan, Ranjan, Narasimha Bharathi, Sahasra Namam, T S Balayya, Jagayya, Nagayya, Thyagarajan, Sreenath, Shankar etc.
In a career spanning over six and half decades, he rode like a colossus and dominated Tamil music for decades. Besides primarily Tamil, he also sang in other languages including
Sourashtra
Saurashtra (Saurashtra script: , Tamil script: சௌராட்டிர மொழி, Devanagari script: सौराष्ट्र भाषा) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily by the Saurashtrians of Southern India who migrated ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
,
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 ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, and
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
. He was a lyricist and music composer for many devotional songs. He was the music director for the film ''Bala Parikshai''. His peak period as a male playback singer in the South Indian film industry was from 1955 to 1985. His first film song was in 1946, at the age of 24, and his last was with
P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...
during 2010 at the age of 88. TMS died on 25 May 2013 at his residence in
Mandaveli
Mandaveli (also known as Mandavelli or Mandavelipakkam) is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is also termed usually as Mandavelipakkam which in the Tamil language "Mandhai" is 'herd of cattle' and "Veli" is 'grassland'.
Location
Mandaveli is ...
,
Chennai
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 ...
due to illness. He was 90 years old.
Early life
Soundararajan was born in
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
, the second son of Meenakshi Iyengar and Venkatammaa on 24 March 1923. He was born in a prominent
Saurashtra Brahmin
The Saurashtra people, or Saurashtrians, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic Hindu Brahmin community of South India who speak the Saurashtra language, an Indo-Aryan language, and predominantly reside in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Keral ...
family
and his elder brother was a scholar.
He trained his voice starting at age seven. He first studied Carnatic music from Chinnakonda Sarangapani Bhagavathar, a music teacher from Sourashtra High School, Madurai. Later, he learned Carnatic music from Arayakkudi Rajamani Iyer and started giving stage concerts at the age of 23. His first Carnatic musical concert was at SathGuru Samajam, Madurai in 1945 with violinist C. R. Mani and Mridangist S. S. Vijaya Ratnam accompanying him on the instruments. He started singing in stage concerts in the voice of the then-famous classical singer and actor
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 music, Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actor ...
.
Personal life
He married Sumithra in 1946 with whom he had three sons and three daughters. He lived in his home at
Mandaveli
Mandaveli (also known as Mandavelli or Mandavelipakkam) is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is also termed usually as Mandavelipakkam which in the Tamil language "Mandhai" is 'herd of cattle' and "Veli" is 'grassland'.
Location
Mandaveli is ...
,
Chennai
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 ...
, Tamil Nadu until his death.
Early work
Soundararajan was initially rejected by music composers and recording technicians because his voice was cracking and showed variation in higher pitches. He started working in the house of
Sundar Rao Nadkarni
Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer, producer and director. He was the director of the first hit film for AVM productions Bhookails in Telugu in the year 1940, and later the record-creating Tamil film '' Haridas ...
, a director in the
Central Studios
Central Studios was an Indian film studio in the neighbourhood of Singanallur, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, started by B.Rangaswamy Naidu (a.k.a. B. R. Naidu) and other prominent industrialists like Swamikannu Vincent of Coimbatore in 1935 to ma ...
, hoping to get a chance to sing in movies. The director recommended him to
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 ...
. In 1946, Naidu gave TMS an opportunity to sing five songs in the style of
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 music, Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actor ...
for a film of
P. V. Narasimha Bharathi
P. V. Narasimha Bharathi (24 March 1924 - 11 May 1978) was an Indian actor. He acted in ''Ponmudi'', directed by Ellis R. Dungan. TMS was searching for cine playback singer to enter. P. V. Narasimha Bharathi who was a friend of T. M. Soundarara ...
: ''
Krishna Vijayam
''Krishna Vijayam'' () is a 1950 Indian Tamil language film written and directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni. The film featured Carnatic music singer N. C. Vasanthakokilam in the role of Narada. The film, based on the Epic story of Krishna avatar, fe ...
''. Though the songs were noted since 1946, the film was released in 1950. One of his songs in that movie, "Raathey Ennai Vittu Pogathedi," became a hit and he was paid Rs 625. In the same year (1950),
G. Ramanathan had him sing "Annamitta Veettiley" for an unknown actor in the film ''
Manthiri Kumari
''Manthiri Kumari'' () is a 1950 Indian Tamil-language historical fiction film directed by Ellis R. Dungan and starring M. G. Ramachandran, M. N. Nambiar.
Plot
The King of Mullai Nadu is dominated by his Raja guru (head priest) ( M. N. Nam ...
''. In 1951, TMS acted and sang "Theeraatha Thuyaralley" in the film ''Devagi'' again by G. Ramanathan.
In 1952,
S. Dakshinamurthi
Susarla Dakshinamurthi Jr. (Telugu: సుసర్ల దక్షిణామూర్తి; 1921 – 2012) was an Indian music composer, playback singer, record producer, Carnatic musician, multi-instrumentalist,Ilavelpu in Naati 101 Chitralu ...
gave TMS two duet songs in the movie ''
Valaiyapathi'' – "Kulir Thaamarai Poigaiyai Kanden" and "Kulungidum Poovilellaam" – both with singer
K. Jamuna Rani
K. Jamuna Rani (born 17 May 1938 in Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian playback singer who has sung over 6,000 songs in Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam lnguages.
Life and career
Rani was born to K. Varadarajulu and violinist K ...
where TMS had an opportunity to sing songs written by the renowned Tamil poet
Bharathidasan
Bharathidasan Birth name: K. Subburathinam, the person's given name: Subburathinam, father's given name: Kanagasabai. (K. Subburathinam by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subburathinam Kanag ...
. G. Ramanathan had TMS and K. Rani sing for ''
Kalyani''. In 1953, when ''
Albela'' was dubbed into Tamil, the music director
C. Ramchandra
Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer.[K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...]
recorded two devotional songs for which he was paid just Rs 80. Mahadevan told TMS to seek a chance with
AVM Productions
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...
which was looking for new voices. TMS sang two songs for the film ''Chella Pillai''. One was a solo ("Podanum Kulla Podanum") and the other was a duet with M.S. Rajeswari ("Naadu Nadakkira Nadayiley") under R. Sudarsanam's composition. The film was released in 1955. These music composers helped and trained the determined and ambitious TMS, who was able to overcome his voice problems to a good degree with time.
In 1954,
A. Maruthakasi
A. Maruthakasi (13 February 1920 – 29 November 1989) was an Indian poet and film lyricist who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He penned more than 4000 lyrics in more than 250 Tamil films.
Early life
Born in Melakudikadu in Tiruchirappal ...
recommended TMS to sing in Aruna Pictures' ''
Thookku Thookki
''Thookku Thookki'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film directed by R. M. Krishnaswami. Based on the play of the same name by Udumalai Narayana Kavi, it stars Sivaji Ganesan, Lalitha and Padmini. The film revolves around a ...
''. Till then
C. S. Jayaraman
Chidambaram Sundaram Jayaraman or C. S. Jayaraman (Tamil: சி. எஸ். ஜெயராமன்) (January 6, 1917 – January 29, 1995) was a noted actor, music director and a successful playback singer, whose numerous songs were fea ...
used to sing playback for
Sivaji Ganesan
Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...
and Sivaji doubted the suitability of his voice. TMS offered to sing three songs free. TMS and Sivaji Ganesan were introduced to each other and, in the short conversation that followed, TMS studied the voice of Sivaji Ganesan. TMS sang "Sundari Soundari" and "Eraatha Malaithanile", closely imitating Sivaji Ganesan.
G. Ramanathan, who was the music director for that film, was so pleased that he gave TMS the chance to sing all the Sivaji Ganesan songs in that production.
In the same year,
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 ...
and
T. R. Rajakumari started
RR Films. As the film
Koondukkili
''Koondukkili'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and co-produced by T. R. Ramanna. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan and B. S. Saroja. Although a commercial failure, it gained historical reputation over t ...
was under production stage, TMS had originally been given a chance to sing only in a chorus. ''
Koondukkili
''Koondukkili'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and co-produced by T. R. Ramanna. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan and B. S. Saroja. Although a commercial failure, it gained historical reputation over t ...
'' was the only film where
MGR M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
MGR may also refer to:
* ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system
* Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design
Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for:
* Manager ...
and Sivaji acted together.
Tanjai Ramayah Dass was very impressed with the golden voice of TMS and asked the story and dialogue writer Vindhan to give a chance to TMS to sing a full solo. TMS sang "Konjum Kiliyana Pennai" under
K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...
's composition for Sivaji Ganesan.
When the song was recorded,
MGR M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
MGR may also refer to:
* ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system
* Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design
Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for:
* Manager ...
heard it and was so impressed that he wanted TMS to become his permanent playback singer. TMS was used in MGR's next movie ''
Malaikkallan
''Malaikkallan'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language action film starring P. Bhanumathi and M. G. Ramachandran. The film was released on 22 July 1954, and was an astounding success and highest collection of the year. It ran more than 140 days in ...
''. Though he first recorded a song for the film ''
Manthiri Kumari
''Manthiri Kumari'' () is a 1950 Indian Tamil-language historical fiction film directed by Ellis R. Dungan and starring M. G. Ramachandran, M. N. Nambiar.
Plot
The King of Mullai Nadu is dominated by his Raja guru (head priest) ( M. N. Nam ...
'' starring M. G. Ramachandran (
MGR M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
MGR may also refer to:
* ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system
* Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design
Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for:
* Manager ...
) in 1950, the song that announced the arrival of TMS on the big screen was "Ethanai Kaalamthaan Ematruvaar Indha Naattile" written by
Tanjai Ramaiyah Dass and composed by
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 ...
.
for M.G.R. During this period, TMS got an opportunity to sing in films like ''
Kalvanin Kadhali'', ''
Vedan Kannappa'', ''Rishi Sringer'' and ''Neela Malai Thirudan''. TMS was the beneficiary of the first stereo recording in South India for a Tamil devotional song titled "Mannanalum Thiruchenthooril Mannaven".
From 1955 onward Sivaji insisted that TMS sing for him. Since then, TMS was mainly singing playback for the superstars MGR and Sivaji till the end of 1978 and 1995 respectively. He adopted styles while singing for each actor that synchronized very well with their voices.
His first musical concert abroad was in Malaysia in 1957. He continued to perform all over the world for almost 50 years till 2007, after which he restricted singing live on stage due to health reasons. He has two sons who have voices similar to their father and have sung songs of TMS all over the world in concerts since 1980 till 2012, often with their father. The sons continue to do TMS concerts after the death of their father.
Though he has worked with all music directors of South India, most of his hit songs were composed by music directors
M. S. Viswanathan
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 compose ...
,
K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...
, and the
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...
duo.
TMS starred as an actor in a few Tamil films such as ''Pattinathar, Arunagirinathar, Kallum Kaniyagum'' and ''Kaviraja Kalamegam''. He produced the movie ''Kallum Kaniyagum'' with singer
A. L. Raghavan
A. L. Raghavan (1933 – 19 June 2020) was an Indian playback singer, who sang many songs in Tamil-language films.
Biography
Raghavan was born to a Saurashtra Brahmin family in Ayyampettai near Thanjavur to Lakshmana Bhagavathar, Raghavan ...
. TMS appeared in guest roles in movies such as ''Devaki, Navagraha Nayaki, Pennarasi, Server Sundaram, Thiru Neelakandar, Swami Ayyappan, Shanmugapriya'' and ''Deivam''.
After the release ''Thai Nadu'' and ''Ghana Paravai'', he concentrated more on live concerts and sang in very few films. He was not happy with the lyrics and music style in the films and gave opportunities for newcomers. The film song, "Paatu Ondu Ketaal", performed by him for a Sri Lankan Tamil film named ''Sooriyan'', was recorded in 2007 though it is yet to be released. He sang a song for an album in 2008 "Netrichutti" at the age of 86 and a song named "Kutraalam Aruvi" for the album ''Song for Daughter'', under the music of L.Sakthinathan, which was very well recognized in the industry in 2008. The last film song during October 2010 with P. Susheela, composed by MSV for a film "Valibum Sutrum Ulagam" was well recognized irrespective of his 88 years of age. In 2010, he rendered his voice for the song "Pirapokum ella yuyirukum" in the ''
Tamil Semmozhi Meet Anthem'', which was composed by
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
. He worked with 74 music directors ranging from
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 ...
to
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
.
Famous Kannada/Telugu songs
TMS has sung many
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
film songs, but the fun-filled song "Baare baare nanna hinde hinde" from the 1956 movie ''Sadaarame'' is still popular in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. He also had a lot of popular film songs in Telugu.
Collaborations
Playback singers
He sang with other male singers, such as Ghantasala,
Seerkazhi Govindarajan
Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema.
Early life
Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day May ...
,
P. B. Sreenivas
Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollyw ...
,
Balamurali Krishna
Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in ...
,
S. C. Krishnan
S. C. Krishnan (1929-1983) was an Indian actor and playback singer who worked mainly in Tamil dramas and films.
Early life
He was born into a Saurashtra family as the fourth son of a jeweller ''Chelvam Achary'' in Sivaganga that was part of ...
,
C. S. Jayaraman
Chidambaram Sundaram Jayaraman or C. S. Jayaraman (Tamil: சி. எஸ். ஜெயராமன்) (January 6, 1917 – January 29, 1995) was a noted actor, music director and a successful playback singer, whose numerous songs were fea ...
, Tharapuram Sundarajan,
P. Jayachandran
Paliyath Jayachandrakuttan is an Indian playback singer and actor from Kerala. Jayachandran is best known for his captivating voice which gave him the title ''Bhava Gayakan'' by the music fraternity of South India. He has worked with many comp ...
,
Thiruchi Loganathan
Thiruchi Loganathan (24 July 1924 – 17 November 1989) was a playback singer of the Tamil film industry. He is known for his work in movies such as ''Manthiri Kumari'' (1950) and '' Parasakthi'' (1952). He was married to Rajalakshmi, daughter ...
,
V. N. Sundaram
V. N. Sundaram (1918-2009) was an Indian Stage and Film actor, Carnatic singer and Playback singer who sang mostly in Tamil-language films.
Early life
Born in 1918 in Visalur - a village in Kumbakonam Taluk of Thanjavur district, he was named ...
,
A. L. Raghavan
A. L. Raghavan (1933 – 19 June 2020) was an Indian playback singer, who sang many songs in Tamil-language films.
Biography
Raghavan was born to a Saurashtra Brahmin family in Ayyampettai near Thanjavur to Lakshmana Bhagavathar, Raghavan ...
,
K. J. Yesudas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...
, Kovai Soundarrajan,
Nagore E. M. Hanifa
Nagore Esmail Mohammed Hanifa (25 December 1925 – 8 April 2015) was a Tamil Muslim lyricist, playback singer and politician. He was known as ''Isai Murasu'' for his deep stentorian voice.
His signature song was "Iraivanidam Kaiyendungal". It ...
,
Malaysia Vasudevan
Vasudevan (15 June 1944 – 20 February 2011), known as Malaysia Vasudevan, was a Malaysian-Indian playback singer and actor in Tamil cinema.
Early life
Malaysia Vasudevan's parents were from Palakkad. Chattu Nair of Ottappalam and Ammalu ...
, U. R. Chandra, T. R. Mahalingam, T. A. Mothi, M. M. Muthu, Suguna Kumar, V. R. Rajagopalan, V. T. Rajagopalan, S. S. Mani Bhagavathar, G. K. Venkatesh, Sai Baba, S. V. Ponnuswami, J. V. Raghavalu, M. Raju, and Master Maharajan.
He sang duets with many female singers such as
P. Suseela
Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...
,
P. Leela
Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...
,
Jikki
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese languag ...
,
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 ...
,
S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in ...
,
Vani Jairam
Vani Jairam (born as Kalaivani on 30 November 1945), also credited as Vani Jayaram, is an Indian singer. She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She has do ...
,
M. S. Rajeswari
M. S. Rajeswari ( ta, எம். எஸ். ராஜேஸ்வரி; 24 February 1932 – 25 April 2018) was an Indian playback singer who has recorded over 500 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language films.
Early life
She ...
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K. Jamuna Rani
K. Jamuna Rani (born 17 May 1938 in Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian playback singer who has sung over 6,000 songs in Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam lnguages.
Life and career
Rani was born to K. Varadarajulu and violinist K ...
,
M. L. Vasanthakumari
Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari (popularly referred to as MLV) (3 July 1928 – 31 October 1990) was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulak ...
,
U. R. Jeevarathinam
Unjalur Ramayamma Jeevaratnam was an Indian actress, singer, producer and playback singer. Most of her works are in Telugu and Tamil languages.
Early life
Born in Unjalur, Erode, Madras Presidency in British India to Subramaniam and Kunjammaal ...
,
N. L. Ganasaraswathi
N. L. Ganasaraswathi was an Indian playback singer who sang mainly in Tamil films and some Telugu and Malayalam films. She was active in the field during the 1950s and early 60s. She sang many songs based on Carnatic music ragas. Most of her so ...
,
T. V. Rathnam
Tenkasi Vallinayagam Rathnam ( ta, தென்காசி வள்ளிநாயகம் (டி.வி.) ரத்தினம்) (1930 - 17 October 1984) hailed from Tenkasi, Madras Presidency, British India. She was a playback singe ...
, K.B.Sundarambal,
Radha Jayalakshmi
Radha (born 1932) and Jayalakshmi (1932 - 2014), popularly known as Radha Jayalakshmi ( ta, ராதா ஜெயலட்சுமி), were an Indian Carnatic music vocalist duo as well as playback singers in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Th ...
,
Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi,
Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi
Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் ஜெயலட்சுமி) and Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் ராஜலட்சுமி), popularly known as Soolamangalam Sisters ( ta, ...
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R. Balasaraswathi Devi
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 ...
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A. P. Komala
Arkadu Parthasarathy Komala (born 28 August 1934), commonly known as A. P. Komala, is an Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada languages.
Career life
She was a much sought after playback singer from t ...
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P. Madhuri
Shivagnanam, known by the stage name P. Madhuri, is a South Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. She has twice won Kerala State Film Award for best playback singer.
Early life
Shivagnanam was born in Tiru ...
, K. Rani,
B. S. Sasirekha,
S. P. Sailaja, Lalitha, T. S. Bhagavathi, Suvarna, Vasantha, Sobha Chandrasekhar, L. R. Anjala, Kausalya,
T. K. Kala, A. G. Ratnamala, Athmasha, Udutha Sarojam and R. Parvathi. Among them, he had the greatest collaboration with P. Susheela, with whom he sang 727 duets in Tamil.
He sang duets with singing actors such as
J. P. Chandrababu,
K. R. Ramasamy,
V. Nagayya
V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. ...
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P. Bhanumathi
P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the ...
,
S. Varalakshmi
Saridey Varalakshmi (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2009) was an Indian actress and singer who worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like ''Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam'' (1960) and '' ...
,
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 ...
, Manorama and
Bharathi.
Awards and honours
![TM Soundararajan 2016 postcard of India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/TM_Soundararajan_2016_postcard_of_India.jpg)
* Mathiyakathin Gana Thalaivar
* Kala Ratnam
* Gana Ratnam
* Arul Isai Sidhar
* Navarasa Bhava Nalina Gana Varshini
* Ganamritha Varshini
* Sathanai Chakravarhti
* Bharathiya Isai Kanal
* Bharathiya Isia Megham
* Gana Kuralon
* Then Isai Thendral
*
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
(2003)
* Kalaimamani
* Padakar Thilakam
* Singha Kuralon
* Bharat Kalachar award
* Isai Chakravarthi
* Gnanakala Bharathi title
* Geethavaari title
* Karpagath Tharu Mannar
* Geetharanjana Vaarithi
* Arutpa Isaimani title
* Honorary Doctorate from Belgium.
* Kural Arasar Pattam
* EzhilIsai Mannar award from former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi (1970)
* IsaiKadal Pattam from Kavi Arasar Kannadasan (1969)
* MGR Gold Medal award
* Former Chief Minister Arignar Annadurai Recognition Award (1964)
* Former Chief Minister Tamil Nadu Kamaraj Nadar Recognition Award
* Chief Minister Jayalalitha recognition award
* M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Lifetime Achievement Award, Tamil Nadu
* Tamil Nadu Musical Artist Lifetime Achievements Award (2005)
* Tamil Film Fans Award, 23 times in the early 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
* P. Susheela Award
* Mega TV Amutha Ghanam Recognition Award (2004)
* Lifetime achievement for MGR Memorial Award
* Lifetime achievement for Shivaji Memorial Award
* Sourashtra Community Recognition Award
* Karuppai Muppanar recognition award (1992)
* Periyar RamaSwami Naikkor recognition (1959)
* Raj TV for Raja Geetham Recognition Award (2006)
* Malaysian Tamil Fans Recognition Award
* Singapore Tamil Fans Recognition Award
* France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria Tamil Fans recognition award
* United Kingdom Tamil fans recognition award
* 20th Century Top Playback Singer from South African city mayor through Tamil fans, 1995
* USA Tamil fans from states recognition award
* Tamil Nadu Chief minister M. Karunanidhi recognition award at Madurai, Alagiri, 2010
* SriLankan awards from President, Prime Minister level through Tamil Group more than several times
* Tamil Fans recognition award from Canada
* Australian Tamil Fans appreciation awards in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth
* Kairali Swaralaya Yesudas Lifetime Achievement Award, 2012
*
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
released memorial stamp for 10 legendary singers of India, including TMS from south India
TMS and others honoured by Indian Government – Indiaglitz
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* Tamil Nadu State Awards, many many years continuously in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s'
* Pesum Padam, award over 24 times, including consecutive annual awards from 1954 to 1969
* Former Chief Minister Tamil Nadu M.D. Bhakthavalsalam Recognition Award (1963)
* Tamil Nadu Iyal, Isai Nadaka Manthram, First Chairman.
Discography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soundararajan T. M.
1922 births
2013 deaths
Musicians from Madurai
Indian male playback singers
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Tamil singers
Tamil playback singers
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners
20th-century Indian male classical singers
Singers from Tamil Nadu
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors from Madurai
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors