T.M. Soundararajan – Redefining the style of Devotional Songs
In 1953, seven years after TM Soundararajan entered the film recording industry, he recorded his first two devotional songs for the HMV label under the music of KV Mahadevan. His salary for these two songs was Rs 80. Being a devotee of Sai Baba and Lord Murugan, he decided to record his own devotional songs […]
T.M. Soundararajan – The irreplaceable and unequalled Legend
TM Soundararajan was born in Madurai on 24 March 1922. He began his formal training in Carnatic music at the age of 7 and participated in his first concert at the age of 23. A year later, after many rejections, he received his first playback singing assignment under the music of S.M. Subbaiah Naidu for […]
Vijay Yesudas birthday special
Vijay Yesudas, son of the legendary KJ Yesudas, was born on 23 March 1979. He made his debut in the 2000 Malayalam film, Millenium Stars under the music of Vidhyasagar. He made his debut to Tamil through the 2000 film, Krodham 2 which had music by Deva. He has thus far sang more than 1000 […]
Remembering Gemini Ganesan on his death anniversary
Ramasamy Ganesan – better known by his screen name, Gemini Ganesan – was born on 17 November 1920. He was one of the college graduates to enter the Tamil film industry at the time and was one of the “Big 3” of Tamil cinema – after Sivaji Ganesan and MG Ramachandran. Gemini Ganesan was also […]
Srikanth – Versatility personified
Venkatraman was born on 19 March 1940. After starting a job at the American Consulate in Chennai, he moved there where he found himself sharing lodging with Nagesh, Vaali, Vennirai Aadai Moorthy and Vietnam Veedu Sundaram. He then joined various drama groups to perform stage plays, the most famous of which was K. Balachander’s play […]
KV Mahadevan – Everyone’s mama
KV Mahadevan, the maternal uncle of MS Viswanathan was born on 14 March 1918 in Nagercoil in the Kanyakumarie district. He made his debut as a music composer in the 1942 film, Manonmani and slowly worked his way to the top, helped by his humility and simplicity. Although he was Mama to MS Viswanathan, he […]
CV Rajendran – The people’s director
Writer, director and producer CV Rajendran was born on 12 March 1937 in a rural area close to Madurantakam. His first cousin was maverick producer and director CV Sridhar, the director of hit films like Kalyana Parisu, Kaadhalikka Neramillai and Vennira Aadai. He made his film debut as an assistant director in the Hindi remake […]
Madhan Karky – More than just a lyricist
Lyricist Madhan Karky is yet to complete his 15th year in the film industry, but has already written hundreds of songs, scripted numerous films and continues to push the boundaries of the Tamil language in poetry and lyrics. The son of multi-award winning lyricist, Vairamuthu, Madhan Karky was born on 10 March 1980. Although not […]
M N Nambiar – the legend behind Tamil cinema’s most famous “villain”
The face of villainy in Tamil cinema was, for several decades, M.N. Nambiar. With over eight decades in the film industry, M.N. Nambiar was an institution who stood alongside greats like Sivaji Ganesan and MG Ramachandran. He was born in Kerala on 07 March 1919 and made his debut in 1935 at the age of […]
Some surprising facts about Charlie who turns 65 today
Velmurugan Thangasany Manohar is better known to audiences as Charlie, a name given to him by K.Balachander, the director who introduced him to films through the 1982 film, Poikaal Kuthirai. Balachander told him that he would have a remarkable career like Charlie Chaplin and, out of respect to K. Balachander, he retains the name to […]