S. Balakrishnan (8 November 1948 – 17 January 2019) was an Indian film score composer and

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

who worked mainly in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. Best known for his association with the director duo Siddique-Lal, he has scored some of the all-time hit songs in late 1980s and early 1990s.

Biography

S. Balakrishnan was born and brought up in Chittlancherry in Palakkad district. He did a bachelor's degree in Economic History from

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

and later moved to

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

pursuing a career in films. He received Best Student Award in the western classical music test conducted by

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity Colleg ...

in 1975. His musical career began in 1975 as an assistant music director to Guna Singh and to

Rajan–Nagendra Rajan–Nagendra was an Indian musical duo who were prominent composers of film music in Kannada and Telugu cinema from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, created a niche for themselves for nearly four dec ...

. He also played the western instrument Recorder and the western

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

for eminent music directors such as Ilayaraja. Under the suggestion of director and producer Fazil, his film scoring career began in late 1980s with Siddique-Lal's comedy film '' Ramji Rao Speaking'' (1989). The songs of this film were a notable success, which made Balakrishnan's route easy. Siddique-Lal signed him in all of their future ventures till '' Vietnam Colony'' (1992). He did music for 14 films including four with Siddique-Lal. His other notable films include '' Kilukkampetti'' (1991), ''Grihaprevesam'' (1992), and '' Ishtamanu Nooru Vattam'' (1996). After ''Vietnam Colony'', Balakrishnan took a break and did only rerecording for a few films. He made a comeback through East Coast Vijayan's 2011 musical romance film '' Mohabbath''. He served as a faculty for recorder and western flute at KM Music Conservatory, a music institution founded by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

. He died on 17 January 2019 at his home in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. He was 70 and is survived by his wife Rajalakshmi and two sons - Sreevalsan and Vimal Shankar.

Filmography

* '' Ramji Rao Speaking'' (1989) * ''

In Harihar Nagar ''In Harihar Nagar'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film written and directed by Siddique-Lal. The film, set in the fictional locality of Harihar Nagar the story revolves around follows four unemployed bachelors and frien ...

'' (1990) * '' Godfather'' (1991) * '' Kilukkampetti'' (1991) * ''

MGR Nagaril ''MGR Nagaril'' () is a 1991 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language comedy film directed by Alleppey Ashraf, starring Anand Babu and Sukanya (actress), Sukanya, with Vivek (actor), Vivek, Charle, Supergood Kannan, Pandiyan (actor), Pandiyan, Shan ...

'' (1991; Tamil) *'' Madhura Nagarilo'' (1991; Telugu) * ''Grihaprevesam'' (1992) * '' Mr. & Mrs.'' (1992) * '' Nakshathrakoodaram'' (1992) * '' Vietnam Colony'' (1992) * '' Mazhavilkoodaram'' (1995) * '' Ishtamanu Nooru Vattam'' (1996) * ''Sneha Saamraajyam (Punnaaram Kuyil)'' (1999) * '' Varavaay'' (2000) * '' Akashathile Paravakal'' (2001) * '' Mayakazhcha'' (2008) * '' Mohabbath'' (2011) * '' Manthrikan'' (2012)

References

S. Balakrishnan touch again
''

Malayala Manorama '' Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a rea ...

''. (In

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

). Retrieved 2011-02-06.
S. Balakrishnan - MMDB profile
Malayalam Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-02-06.

External links

*
List of songs at the Malayalam Movie & Music Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakrishnan, S. Malayalam film score composers People from Palakkad district Film musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian composers 1948 births 2019 deaths Indian male film score composers Deaths from cancer in India 20th-century male composers Tamil film score composers