Remembering the Legendary Panju Arunachallam
Panju Arunachallam was born on 18 June 1941. He apprenticed under his uncle, the famous poet and lyricist, Kannadasan. In 1962, he penned his first lyric – Manamagalle Marumagalla from the S.S. Rajendran-Vijayakumarie starrer Sarada which marked the directorial debut of K.S. Gopalakrishnan. He produced his first film – the Sivaji Ganesan-Savitri Ganesan starrer, Ratha […]
History of Tamil Cinema – Episode 11
In this episode, we digress briefly to recap the highlights of the first 10 episodes in this series. For further details on what is presented in this summary, readers are advised to read the full article by clicking on the link. The beginning: 1897 to 1936 1897 – Films first screened in South India. 1905 […]
Exploring the Enigma Called Illaiyaraja – Episode 11
We return to this series on the genius of Maestro Illaiyaraja and, as has been evident from Episode 1, there is an intense focus on the songs and music produced in his first ten years in the film music industry. The reason for this particular focus would be outlined later in this series. Illaiyaraja was […]
Nakkhul turns 41 today
Nakkhul, the younger brother of actress Devayaani, made his acting debut at the age of 19 in Shankar’s Boys. The lukewarm response to the film did not open many doors for him and he sang a few playback songs that came his way – including songs from Anniyan, Ghajini and vettaiyaadu Villaiyaadu. Four years after […]
Sigaram Fathers’ Day Special
The relationship between children and fathers can be likened to oxygen. We know they are there, we know how important they are in our lives but we also tend to take them for granted, feeling their love most when they are no longer around. The following selection of songs shows the different emotions associated with […]
Remembering Malaysia Vasudevan on his 81st Birth Anniversary
Vasudevan was born on 15 June 1944 to a Malayalee family in Kuala Selangor in present day Malaysia. He chose to study Tamil at school and took an early interest in drama. He began singing on stage at the age of eight but showed greater affinity to acting. One of his successful plays was Ratha […]
G.V. Prakash Kumar – An Eventful Musical Journey from 16 to 37
G.V. Prakash Kumar, born on 13 June 1987, is the son of G. Venkatesh and A.R. Reihana (sister of A.R. Rahman). His first foray into the film industry was when he sang the opening lines of the hit song Chikku Bukku Chikku Bukku Rayilu from Gentleman which had music scored by his uncle, A.R. Rahman. […]
Remembering Master Director A.C. Thirulokachander on his 95th Birth Anniversary
A.C. Thirulokachander was born on 11 June in 1930. He began his film career as an assistant director in MGR’s 1952 film, Kumari. After working on the story and script for Vijayapuri Veeran and Paarthaal Pasi Theerum, he made his directorial debut in the hit film Veerathirumagan. His second directorial, Naanum oru Penn, released on […]
Justin Prabhakaran – Carving his own musical path
Justin Prabhakaran was born in Madurai on 10 June 1986 to Christian parents. He showed an early interest in music and dabbled with music composition while he was still in college. He began his film music career in 2010 as an assistant to music composer Harris Jayaraj, assisting in soundtracks like Nanban, Thuppaki, Ko, 7aum […]
Pandiraj – A Director with Fresh Perspectives
Pandiraj was born on 7 June 1976. He began his working career as an office assistant in K. Bhagyaraj’s weekly publication, Bhagya. He soon moved up to writing articles for the publication. Afer showing a keen interest in Tamil cinema, he was appointed first as an assistant to director Cheran, and then to Thangar Bachchan […]