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Business News/ Industry / M.S. Viswanathan, king of light music, dies at 87
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M.S. Viswanathan, king of light music, dies at 87

Over a career spanning almost 60 years, Viswanathan composed music for more than 1,200 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada

M.S. Viswanathan worked with three Tamil Nadu chief ministers, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, and collaborated with both A.R. Rahman and Ilayaraja. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsPremium
M.S. Viswanathan worked with three Tamil Nadu chief ministers, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, and collaborated with both A.R. Rahman and Ilayaraja. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In an event straight out of one of the Tamil melodramas he composed music for, when he was four years old, Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan and his mother decided to end their lives by jumping into the village pond.

In his biography, MSV, as he was popularly known, recalls that this act was prompted by abject poverty and the fact that his larger family thought he was a harbinger of bad luck.

His grandfather pulled them both out. Soon, the young boy was selling snacks at a local theatre, where he would listen to the music.

In 1940, at the age of 12, he went on to work as an office boy at Jupiter Films, before landing a job as a harmonium player in music director C.R. Subburaman’s troupe. It was there that he met T.S. Ramamurthy, a violinist.

When Subburaman passed away, MSV and Ramamurthy decided to step in and compose music for the films that he was working on, including Devdas and Kaathal. Their first official film together was the Sivaji Ganesan starrer Panam in 1952. MSV was 24 at the time. The duo went on to compose music for many films, before they moved apart and started doing individual compositions. They reunited in 1995 after 30 years for Engirundho Vandhaan, which was a box office failure.

Over a career spanning almost six decades, MSV, popularly called Mellissai Mannar (king of light music), composed the music for more than 1,200 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

MSV worked with three Tamil Nadu chief ministers—M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa—and collaborated with both A.R. Rahman and Ilayaraja.

In 2012, MSV, along with his friend and former team member Ramamurthy, was awarded the title Thirai Isai Chakravarthy (emperor of cine music) and presented with 60 gold coins and a car by chief minister Jayalalithaa.

At the function, the chief minister is reported to have said that the two musicians had the ability to appeal to both the music connoisseur and the layman.

MSV died at a private hospital in Chennai on Tuesday morning of general age-related ailments. He was 87. He is survived by seven children—four sons and three daughters; he lost his wife Janaki in 2012.

Srimathumitha Ashwin, a playback singer based in Chennai, said, “It is a big loss to the music fraternity. I have some particularly special memories of MSV sir. He launched my first album for me and was also one of the judges in a reality show on Raj TV that I participated in and won."

Ananthu, another playback singer, who worked closely with MSV for nearly 25 years, recalled, “He made sure that the lyrics of a song were given as much importance as the music. He could come up with a variety of tunes in a short span of time. I have seen MSV compose 10 songs in as little as 15 minutes."

“He was the first to use western instruments with Indian ragas," said actor and film historian Mohan Raman.

Some of the biggest names in films, music and politics, including actors Rajinikanth and Prabhu, lyricist Vairamuthu, singers S. Janaki and K.J. Yesudas, music director Ilayaraja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Karunanidhi and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa, expressed grief at the maestro’s death.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Preeti Zachariah
"Preeti Zachariah is a National Writer with Lounge and edits its health section. She holds a degree in journalism from Columbia University, New York. When she isn't reading fiction or worrying about her own writing, you will find her lifting weights, cuddling a cat, meandering through a park, obsessing over Leonard Cohen or catching up with friends over coffee (or ice cream, if feeling particularly decadent). "
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Published: 14 Jul 2015, 04:05 PM IST
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