Group Dancer to Supporting Actress to Leading Lady and Super Star in 161 Movies on an Unbroken Stretch! Six Decades of Continuous Success and Stardom!

Saroja Devi made her debut in Tamil Movies as a group dancer in the movie Thanga Malai Ragasiyam which had Sivaji and T R Rajakumari in the lead roles in the year 1957. Earlier she had made her debut in the Kannada movie industry in the year 1955 as a supporting actress. It was MGR who gave her a major break and a grand entry into the Tamil Movie industry as the second heroine in the super hit movie Nadodi Mannan along with Bhanumathi as the other heroine. From then on Saroja Devi went on to star in 161 Movies as heroine and leading actress in a continuous and unbroken stretch. She had 28 back to back hits with MGR till the time Jayalalitha replaced her as MGR's favourite Leading Lady and Co-Star. During this prolific and extremely successful stretch, she had several hits with Sivaji and Gemini as well. This particular song is from the super hit movie Puthiya Paravai starring Sivaji, Sowcar Janaki, M R Radha, V K Ramasami, Nagesh, Manorama and others along with Saroja Devi. Music by Viswanathan Ramamoorthi and Lyrics by Kannadasan. P Susheela who has sung this song had once mentioned during a stage performance that this song was one of her favourite songs from among the 15000 or so songs sung by her till date! Saroja Devi went to perform supporting roles in several movies during the 90s and till recent times.

Super Hit And Most Successful On Screen Pair! Twenty Six Back to Back Hit Movies During the Golden Era of Tamil Cinema!

This is a hit song from the movie Thaai Sollai Thattaathey starring MGR, Saroja Devi and others. This song has been sung by the inimitable pair of TMS and P Susheela. The music has been composed by K V Mahadevan and the lyrics have been penned by Kannadhasan. Year of release 1962. After making a successful and super hit start together in the Mega Hit movie Nadodi Mannan, the pair of MGR-Saroja Devi gave 26 back to back hit films together during the Golden Era of Tamil cinema. The list of hit movies included Thirudathey, Thai Sollai Thattathey (Song Featured Here is from this movie), Paasam, Thaayaikaatha Thanayan, Asai Mugam, Periya Idathu Penn, Dharmam Thalaikkakkum, Neethikku Pin Pasam, Pannakkara Kudumbam, Padakoti, Nadodi, Thali Bhagyam, Naan Anayittaal, Petraalthaan Pillaiya, Arasa Kattalai and Kudumba Thalaivan. Some of Saroja Devi's best performances opposite MGR were the 'rich girl' roles in Anbe Vaa, Enga Veettu Pillai, En Kadamai, Deiva Thaai, Kalangarai Vilakkam, Pana Thottam, Parrakkum Paavai, Thayin Madiyil, etc., well the list is almost an endless one. Enjoy the song!

Don't Be Scared of Poverty! Don't Forget that You Have the Talent to Overcome any Adversity!

Don't Be Scared of Poverty! Don't Forget that You Have the Talent to Overcome any Adversity! This is the rough translation and meaning of the first couple of lines of this super hit song from the 1961 movie Thirudathe starring MGR, Saroja Devi, M N Nambiar, K A Thangavelu, M N Rajam and others. The movie was directed by P Neelakantan. After the phenomenal success of Nadodi Mannan this is the movie that established MGR's status as a super star who can do equally well in period films as well as social dramas. He needed a talented writer to come up with the story and screenplay for a successful social drama and Kannadasan did exactly that for this movie. The movie was a super hit and ran for more than 150 days in most places. Kannadasan also wrote the lyrics of all the songs in this movie except for this one. The lyrics for this famous song was written by the legendary poet with prodigious talent, Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram. He wrote some of the most inspirational and motivational songs for MGR such as Thoongathe Thambi Thoongathe in Nadodi Mannan, Chinna Payale Chinna Payale in Arasilangumari apart from this one. The essence of this song is to motivate one to fearlessly face life and overcome life's adversities with the help of the innate character and talent which god has blessed each one of us with. We sometimes tend to forget our talent and get bogged down by adversities and self doubt. This song serves as a tonic to wake one up to use one's talent and realize one's true potential without looking for shortcuts to success. Be inspired! Realize your potential! Music by S M Subbaiah Naidu.

First Part of the Song is 400 Years Old! The Final Part is 300 Years Old! Masterfully Blended with Contemporary Lyrics! Divine Music! Magical Song!

This is a divinely magical song from the movie Aadhi Paraasakthi written masterfully by Kannadasan, composed by the legendary music director K V Mahadevan and sung by the inimitable TMS. PBS the famous singer paying his tributes to Kannadasan had referred to him as having been the most well read person he had ever met. He said Kannadasan is not someone who has merely read several books but he is someone who has acquired and assimilated the knowledge from several libraries. This song is a best example of this fact and showcases Kannadasan's genius. This song begins with a bit from Abhirami Anthathi (Maniye Maniyin..) from 400 years ago written by the ardent devotee of Goddess Shakthi Abhirami Pattar. The last bit of the song is from 300 years ago taken from Kutraala Kuravanji (Sengaiyil Vandu..) written by Thirikooda Rasappa Kavirayar an ardent devotee of Kutraala Naathar in Kuttraalam. The rest of the lyrics have been written to fit this particular scene in this movie and ingeniously blended with these two bits from classical literature by the legendary genius Kannadasan! K V Mahadevan for his part has injected energy into these divinely crafted lyrics and brought them to life in a scintillating fashion through his magical music.  M V Subbaiah has played the role of Abhirami Pattar originally known as Subramaniya Iyer. In this particular context, using the clichéd expression, M V Subbaiah has literraly lived in the character and not just acted out the role, is surely not an exaggeration and befits the occasion!  This song is a scene depicting a real life incident in the life of Subramaniya Iyer also known as Abhirami Pattar. M V Subbaiah's portrayal of this historical character is ample proof of his supreme talent for bringing to life some of the most powerful legends that history has ever witnessed! What an amazing amalgamation of wonderful talent! End result is a magical song that is a timeless classic!

Correlation Between Intelligence and Success, Wealth and Compassion, Love and Marriage, Dreams and Reality - All in Just One Song!

Is there any correlation between intelligence and success? If at all there is a correlation, according to the lyrics of this song of Kannadasan from the movie Annai, there is an inversely proportional correlation rather than a direct relationship! The song goes on to establish a similar inverse proportion between various other aspects of life's realities that we face in our day to day living and societal experiences.  Kannadasan's phenomenal success is due to his gift and ability to present simple and subtle niceties of life on the one end and on the other end of the spectrum the harsh and painful realities of life, with equal clarity using a clever arrangement of tastefully poetic words without compromising the greatness of Tamil Poetry's Classical Grammar! While we are with this song it makes sense to discuss a bit about what success really is. Is success money? Is success good relationships? Is success good health and fitness or as Martin Seligman says is it Good Character? All the above aspects (except health) which we assume to be elements of success are basically components related to physical pleasure and our perceptions of externally oriented societal interactions. The truth is every human being wants to be happy! But none of the above can make you happy. The richest person can be unhappy! A person surrounded by friends and relations can be unhappy. The person with best fitness, health and character can be unhappy. So the most successful person is one who can be truly happy in spite of and irrespective of all these components of life! There is a saying, 'An artist is never poor'. The logic behind this saying is that the constant creative process the artist experiences is so rich that he doesn't need other things to be happy! So live a rich and creative life! Be Happy! Thereby Be Successful! You don't have to prove anything to anyone! It's your life! As Shakespeare says, Live it "As You Like It"! Enjoy this song from the movie Annai, sung by the great Chandrababu (A Deserved Separate Post about Him Will Follow Soon), written by Kannadasan and Composed by R Sudharsanam.

Tamil Movie Industry's True Gentleman, People's Artist and Popular Super Star! James Bond of South India!

Jaishankar was known as the James Bond of South India primarily because of his portrayal of the character CID Shankar in the movie of the same name and in the movie Vallavan Oruvan. In the 60s, an era that was dominated by MGR and Sivaji along with Gemini, Jaishankar managed to create a niche for himself and had his own group of ardent fans and the fan following continues to this day going by the number of positive comments on YouTube. He was loved by everyone in the Tamil Movie Industry as a person known for his kindness and compassion - A true gentleman! He was also know as People's Artist (Makkal Kalaingar). Action movies as a genre was rare in those days. Jaishankar was a pioneer in the sense that he was the first true action hero of the Tamil Movie Industry. He had a flair for comedy too as showcased by such movies as Bommalaattam, Aayiram Poi, etc. This song is from the movie Vallavan Oruvan that features Jaishankar and L Vijayalakshmi. The Plot of the movie is as follows: On an investigation regarding arson crimes, a C.I.D officer is shot dead. C.I.D Shankar(Jaishankar) is brought into the investigation of the death of his colleague. He quickly unravels the mystery behind his colleague's death and the mastermind behind the incendiary crimes. C.I.D Shankar's efforts to wipe out these miscreants and arrest them is the rest of the story. This film is loosely based on the 1964 classic French movie Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 and some scenes were based on 1962 James Bond Movie and Sean Connery starrer, 'From Russia with Love' and Dr. No with a few songs and romantic interludes. This film was a box office hit and earned Jaishankar a nickname Thenagathu (South Indian) James Bond. Due to the success of this movie, a sequel was made by the name CID Shankar in 1970. An interesting tidbit is that the heroine of this movie L Vijayalakshmi went on to become the Finance Director of a leading University in the USA, Virginia Polytechnic Institute in her later life! This song was written by Kannadasan and music was composed by Vedha.

Direct Face-Off Between Two All-Time Great Lyricists! Great Song from A Record Breaking Box Office Hit from 1973!

This is a great song from the movie Ulagam Suttrum Vaaliban, starring MGR in a double role, Manjula, Latha, Nambiar, Nagesh, Asokan and others. This was the first movie for which an acronym was used popularly by the audience 'USUVAA', a concept which is widely prevalent today and is almost a norm for almost all movies. This movie was produced and directed by MGR himself. The movie was one of the biggest blockbuster hits of Tamil Cinema and ran for more than 200 days in some centres and crossed 150 days in almost all main cities in Tamil Nadu. It ran for 203 days in Colombo and is one of those rare movies where in both Kannadasan and Vaali have written the lyrics for various songs. Kannadasan has written the lyrics for the three songs Aval Oru Navarasa, Lily Malarukku and Ulagam Ulagam. Pulamai Pithaan has written the song Sirithu Vaazha Vendum and the rest of the songs have been written by Vaali. It is difficult to pick out a clear winner since all the songs in this movie were super hits. This is one movie in which TMS, SPB and Yesudas (for the first time) have all sung playback for MGR! The music for this movie was composed by MSV and this song featuring MGR and Manjula, written by Vaali, was sung by TMS. This song is no doubt one of Vaali's outstanding creations. Having been in a direct face-off with Kannadasan, Vaali has truly excelled himself and seems to have come out on top with this particular song! Even the single song by Pulamaipithan, 'Sirithu Vaazha Vendum' is an exceptional song! Credit goes to MGR the director, to have brought together such a galaxy of talented people and to have brought out the best in each of them!

He is One! He is Everything! Divine Explanation and Symbolic Representation of the Concept of Marriage!

This is an all-time great hit song from the movie Thiruvilayadal starring Sivaji Ganesan, Savithri, Nagesh, Muthuraman, Devika, Manorama and others. This song has been monumentalized by K B Sundarambal through her profound rendition of the lyrics in her unique and dazzling voice! If there ever is a voice that could be called dazzling it is surely hers without any doubt! If the rendition is brilliant, the lyrics by Kannadasan is nothing short of an illustration of  outstanding intellectual and creative accomplishment! The song begins with Avvaiyaar singing in praise of Lord Shiva. At the behest of Goddess Parashakthi, Avvaiyaar sings the praise of Lord Shiva in numbers, describing Him as the One and Everything in this Universe. He is the One, The Duality of Matter and Energy as Ardhanaareeshwara, Three Forms of Tamil (Iyal, Isai and Naatakam), The Four Vedas, The Five Elements, The Six Different Types of Tastes, Seven Svaras (Musical Notes), Eight Siddhis (Ashtamaa Siddhi), Nine Emotions (Navarasa Vithaanavan), He is Timeless (Mutraadhavan), He is the Core, He is Limitless, Boundless and the Beginning (Moola Mudhalaanavan), He the Mahaa Kaalaa is Timeless and Neutral to the Past, Present and the Future, (Munnaikkum Pinnaikum Naduvaanavan).

Now comes the part of the divine explanation of marriage. He stands tall as man and woman in unison (Aanaahi Pennaahi Nindraanavan) symbolically implying that both man and woman become one when married (Avai Ondru Thaan Endru Sonnaanavan) He stood as the Ardhanareeshwara, the symbolic representation of marriage. This it to indicate that marriage is an institution that is built on the foundation of the intricate and inseparably interwoven fabric,  in equal measure of Binding Feminine Energy and Substantial Manhood Materiality! (Saripaathi Penmaikku Thanthaanavan). Matter and energy are one and are meant to stay that way. So is the single entity of the Married Couple wherein man and woman are one and are meant to stay that way in the lifelong journey! Kudos to Kannadasan to have brought out this profound concept in such simple words! One can notice the glow of warmth and comfort as an aura in couples who have been united blissfully for long in a marriage based on this kind of oneness and an intricately interwoven relationship based on affection, faith and trust! (Anbin Oliyaaghi Nindraanavan). Divine composition as usual by KVM. The acting part deserves a separate post! Truly!

Quit Films after her Debut Movie and Became an Air Hostess! Re-Entred Films after 7 Years and Ruled the South Indian Film Industry for more than Two Decades!

This is a hit song from the movie "Sivantha Mann", starring Sivaji, Kanchana, Nagesh, Nambiar, Ranga Rao and others. Contrary to the popular belief that Kanchana was introduced by Sridhar in the earlier block buster of his "Kaadhalikka Naeramillai" in the year 1964, Kanchana's debut movie was the 1957 super hit movie Mannaalane Mangaiyin Bhaghiyam, in which she had played a small but important role of 'Naaga Kanni'. Originally from a well to do family in Chennai, due to some financial difficulties faced by her family during that period, she took up a job of an Air-Hostess to support her family. She was reintroduced to the film industry by C V Sridhar in the year 1963 and then went on to do extremely well, having starred successfully in several movies in all four South Indian Languages. Being an ardent devotee of Lord Balaji she donated her property valued at more than Rupees 15 Crores to the Tirumala Thirupathi Devasasthanam in the year 2010.

This movie was directed by Sridhar and had not done very well at the box office. The songs were a hit, in particular this one. The songs are bound to be hits when you have a combination of the likes of MSV, TMS, P Susheela, Kannadasan and Sivaji. This particular song was sung by L R Eashwari whose performance in this song had been praised by MSV in several interviews during his life time, for her having performed the song live with out the help of any special effects! According to C. V. Sridhar's autobiography, Sivantha Mann had evolved from Andru Sinthiya Rattam, a script originally written for MGR. It was the first Tamil film to have been shot extensively in foreign locations – a "great novelty in those days". Filming took place largely in Europe in countries like Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany and in the Alps region. The rest of the film was shot back in India. A set that included an entire river had been created at Vauhini Studios for shooting some of the main sequences in the movie. Before filming had begun it gave way, leading to the entire studio being flooded. An unfazed Sridhar decided to have the entire riverbed set rebuilt with concrete. After the film's release, thee directors of many subsequent Tamil and Telugu films were inspired to choose locations in France and other parts of Europe. The story was an off-beat one and had not been not received very well by the audience. This particular song showcases the acting skills of Sivaji and Nambiyar who impress with their expressions and reactions and the dancing and acting skills of Kanchana who had been at the receiving end of the whip in Sivaji's hands which had occasionally stung Kanchana, since Sivaji's only concern had always been to make any scene look as real as possible as said by Sacchu her co-artist in a recent TV interview! Enjoy the song!

Simple Lyrics! Profound Lessons for the Journey of Life! Truly Blessed Lyricist! One Outstanding Composer! Great Song!

Kannadasan through the simple lyrics of this song has delivered to the world some great advice and profound lessons for accepting and facing the Journey of Life with calmness and courage. The journey of life begins with your birth which is definitely not in your control. (Aarambathil Pirappum Un Kaiyil Illai). The sequence of events that follow in your life too are absolutely not in your control, though one likes to believe it is otherwise! (Pin Aduthadutha Nadappum Un Kaiyil Illai). The entire course of your life has been designed, pre-destined and laid out before you at the time of your birth. This being the case there is no point in being scared of the future. (Paadhai Vahutha Pinbu Bhayanthenna Laabham). Just look life in its face and live it out with out any fears, guilt or regret, hence this was what you were destined to do during this life time! (Payanam Nadathividu Marainthidum Paavam). These four lines are a perfect and simple extract of the great Bhagavadh Gita! Kannadasan is truly a blessed lyricist! The last part of the song is about hope and faith and belief in the fact that today was a good day and tomorrow will be better day! Apparently when Kannadasan came up with the lyrics of the other song Kelviyin Nayahane, K Balachander had literally fallen at his feet and thanked him for having visualized the climax of the movie in such a lucid manner through the words of the song thereby simplifying the process of shooting the last part of the movie for him! (As told by actor Mohan Ram in a recent TV Interview).

This outstanding composition by the Great MSV is from the movie Apoorva Raagangal (1975) directed by K. Balachander. The film features Kamal Haasan & Srividya in lead roles with Rajinikanth, Jayasudha, Nagesh, Major Sundar Rajan and others in supporting roles. The Kannadasan - MSV pairing is truly an act of God done in order to give the world innumerable timeless classics. There are so many stories behind this song and this movie. This is Rajnikanth's first movie. Srividhya plays the role of a Character inspired by her mother the Great Carnatic Vocalist M L Vasanthakumari. This story is inspired by the 25th story of the legend of Baital Pachisi from 2500 years back.Two creative geniuses have come together to create this timeless classic. Incidentally this song has been sung by Vani Jayaram who came to the Tamil Movie Industry after an initial stint in Bollywood.

Man's Meaningless Lifelong External Quest! - Super Hit Song Featuring The Two Great Ganesans of Tamil Cinema

Man's eternal and endless quest for happiness, love, affection, success (without ever being able to comprehend what success really is) and everything else has always been external. An existence  fraught with extreme mental stress, mainly due to self-imposed standards based on unrealistic societal pressures and expectations, limited by a myriad assortment of complex imaginary fears, is often characterized by the futile quest for 'illusory' success, meaning and purpose in life. This song mocks at this foolish and lifelong quest of human beings who are completely at a loss as to where they need to look for, not knowing what is it they are looking for in the first place! It makes absolute sense to look inside and within oneself for happiness and to live life successfully with a firmly established internal locus of control. This song features the two great Ganesans of Tamil Cinema Sivaji and Gemini - Movie Thiruvarutchelvar. Direction A P Nagarajan. Music K V Mahadevan. Truly Profound Words that are Lyrical in the classical sense with such Depth and Meaning can be from the one and only Kannadasan!

A Super Hit Tamil Movie Inspired by Alladdin's Lamp and the Magical Genie! Adapted from the Hit Hollywood Movie 'The Brass Bottle'

This is a rarely played song from the hit movie Pattinathil Bhootham starring Jaishankar, K R Vijaya, Nagesh, Balaji and others. The music for this song had been scored by R Govardhanam and sung by P Susheela and T M Soundararajan. The song has been written by Kannadasan. This movie had been a remake of the hit Hollywood film 'The Brass Bottle' (which had also done well in India), by ‘Javer’ Seetharaman, a lawyer-turned-film person, who had been an expert in adapting foreign novels and movies. He had also played the role of the ‘Bhootham’ (based on the Alladin's Lamp and his Magical Genie) himself! The movie had been extremely popular with children those days, mainly because of the Genie and the magic tricks played by him. The magical phrase "Zee Boom Bhaa" uttered by the Genie everytime he performs a magic trick had been extremely popular with kids those days and is used by children even today. Nagesh had been his brilliant self, as usual in the supporting role as Jaishankar's friend.

Entered the Film Industry After Marriage! Actress with the Longest Career Span in the South Indian Movie Industry!

Sowcar Janaki entered the movie industry in the year 1949 at the age of 18 after she was married, in order to overcome the financial constraints faced by her family. She went on to act in nearly 400 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. She was a favorite co-star of Sivaji and in her own words Sivaji had praised her acting several times during her performance on the sets. Known for her performances in melancholic roles she has also done well in negative and comic roles. It was K Balachander who had used her in comic roles in a few of his movies. Along with a few North Indian actors she has been one of the most longstanding actors of all time with a career span of almost seven decades! she was also a renowned stage artist with hundreds of stage performances to her credit. This is a song from the super hit movie Puthiya Paravai starring Sivaji, Saroja Devi, M R Radha, V K Ramasami, Nagesh, Manorama, and others along with Sowcar Janaki. The movie was directed by Dada Mirasi who had not been convinced that Sowcar Janaki was ideally suited for the character of Chithra. But after having seen Sowcar Janaki's performance in this song he was truly convinced that Sowcar Janaki was the ideal choice for this particular role. The songs for the movie were written by Kannadasan and music was composed by Viswanathan Ramamoorthi. This movie was based on a super hit British movie 'Chase a Crooked Shadow'. This song sung by P Susheela with outstanding performances by Sivaji and Sowcar Janaki, is rated as one of the most popular Tamil songs of all time. 

Two Great Legends of Comedy Together in a Comical Song from a Super Hit Movie with Award Winning Performances!

Two great legends of Comedy Chandrababu and Nagesh have featured in this rare appearance together in this comical song from the super hit movie Annai released in the year 1962. The movie was based on a Bengali Play and film which was in turn based on the 1938 Hollywood movie 'The Old Maid' which had been a turning point in the career of one of the most acclaimed actresses of Hollywood, Bette Davis. Both Chandrababu and Nagesh were great legends and had their own rightful place in the history of Tamil Cinema. Both actors had somewhat similar personal lives filled with sorrow due to personal and financial problems. Both were great friends of Sivaji and had acted in several movies with him. Though Chandrababu had acted in a few movies with MGR during the early stages of his career, it was Nagesh who had been MGR's favourite and Nagesh had virtually been part of almost all MGR movies during the 1960s and a few during the 70s. The movie Annai saw Chandrababu and Nagesh working together in this comical song, though Nagesh had just played a small cameo in the movie. Apparently Bhanumathi had been reluctant to play the role initially since the original character in the Bengali Play and the Hollywood movie had had a negative undertone to it. When AV Meiappan and the directors Krishnan Panchu had made suitable changes to the Tamil adaptation, Bhanumathi had accepted to play the role and she eventually ended up receiving the President's award for this movie. Incidentally her co-star S V Rangarao had also received the President's award for his performance in the movie. The music for the movie had been composed by R Sudharsanam and lyrics were written by both Kannadasan and Koththamangalam Subbu. This particular song was written by Koththamangalam Subbu. The song was sung by TMS, A L Raghavan and L R Easwari.

Haunting Melody! Spellbinding Lyrics! Adapted Song! Underrated Actor! A Timeless Classic Better than the Original!

S A Asokan was born in Trichy as Anthony and joined the Tamil Movie industry in the year 1953 after having graduated from St. Joseph's college in Trichy. Asokan had acted in hundreds of movies during a career that spanned over four decades. He started his career playing lead roles in a few movies and went on to succeed in playing negative, comic and supporting roles in several movies till the early 1980s. Asokan has acted in more than 50 movies with MGR alone. In fact MGR produced a film Idhu Satthiyam in 1963 with Asokan in the lead role, the movie that also saw the introduction of the Hindi Superstar Hemamalini to movies in a small dance role. He has also acted in several movies with Sivaji who had spoken about Asokan's acting ability and preferred to work with him in spite his personal differences with Asokan. Through his memorable performances in mythical roles of Soora Padhman in Kandan Karunai and Duryodhanan in the movie Karnan etched himself in the history of Tamil Cinema. Asokan was instrumental in bringing the famous director A C Thirulokachander into the Tamil Movie Industry. Asokan was great friends with Jai Shankar and partnered with him in producing and staging several plays and stage shows touring extensively across the state. This is a superhit song from the movie Vallavanukku Vallavan featuring Asokan in the lead role along with Manimala, Manohar, Gemini Ganesan, Thangavelu, Manorama and others. Savithri had made a special appearance in an other song in this movie. The movie had been produced and directed by R Sundaram of Modern Theatres. The music for this movie (and all other Modern Theatres' movies) has been composed by Veda. The music has been adapted from the original hit Hindi song Sau Baar Jananm Lenge from the movie Ustadon Ke Ustad sung by Mohammed Rafi.  The Tamil version has been sung by TMS and lyrics have been written by Kannadhasan. Gemini had played a negative role in the movie. Yet another song in the list of timeless classics with a hauntingly melodious music. TMS, Kannadasan, Veda combination has produced a song that is better than the original!

MGR's Prophetic Advice to His Followers in the Year 1963! Fits the Prevailing Situation Perfectly Like a Bespoke Savile Row Suit Even Today After a Gap of 54 Years!

MGR made it a habit to get completely involved in the process of creation of all the songs in his movies and always sat in during the discussion between the lyricist and the music director during a song's composition. Vaali had mentioned this as a positive influence and had given examples of MGR's positive contribution to the development of lyrics of several songs in several movies in his interviews. Though Kannadasan had not always taken these incidents on a positive note, during the early 60s when the personal relations between MGR and Kannadasan had been on friendlier terms, several super hit songs had been created and composed by this extremely talented team and remain popular till today! This particular song is one such creation by this popular team along with the famous Music Director Duo Viswanathan Ramamoorthy in the movie Panathottam released in the year 1963. Several songs of MGR had proven to be prophetic and had literally predicted the future events and happenings with uncanny accuracy. This song seems to fit the prevailing situation today after the passing away of Jayalalitha, MGR's protégé and the sequence of events that have followed resulting in the current situation fraught with uncertainty. Just listen to the lyrics which seem to reflect the mindset of MGR's followers 30 years after he passed away and offer them some hope and consolation during these uncertain times. The movie was directed by K Sankar and the song was sung by TMS. 

Hundreds of Popular Songs! Thousands of Successful Stage Shows! A Career Spanning More than Six Decades! The Unsung Singer with a Unique Voice!

A L Raghavan began his playback singing career in the year 1950 with the movie 'Vijayakumari' under the music direction of C R Subburaman. But he became popular much later with the song "Hello My Dear Raami" which he sang along with the actor/singer J P Chndrababu for the movie "Pudhayal" in the year 1957 under the music direction of Viswanathan Ramamoorthy. He has sung a song in a movie recently in the year 2014 at the ripe old age of 79! He has sung hundreds of songs as a solo singer as well as duets with all the leading Playback Singers of the 50s, 60s and 70s and for all the leading music directors. He was also very successful in conducting musical stage shows along with his popular orchestra, across the globe for over 50 years. He was the playback voice of the famous comedy actor Nagesh and has sung many songs for him in several movies. He is married to the famous actress M N Rajam. This super hit song in which he has sung playback for the superstar Gemini Ganesan is from the movie Paarthaal Pasi Theerum. The movie was a super hit and was released on Pongal Day in the year 1962. The movie had a stellar cast with Sivaji and Saroja Devi as one lead pair and Gemini and Savithri as the other lead pair. The leading pairs were supported by Sowcar Janaki, K A Thangavelu, C K Saraswathi and Kamal Hassan the child artiste in a dual role. With great performances from the entire cast and super hit songs composed by Viswananthan Ramamoorthy,  written by Kannadasan, the movie was bound to succeed at the box office, which it did in great style! The song has been sung so well by P Susheela and A L Raghavan but the fact is no one ever credits A L Raghavan with this song! The general assumption is it was sung by PBS who normally sings for Gemini! A L Raghavan is truy an underrated and unsung singer with a very unique voice!

Freedom Fighter, Journalist, Thespian, Composer, Playback Singer, Writer, Director - Successful in Every Pursuit! One of the Legendary Doyens of South Indian Film Industry!

Nagaiah was an active participant in the Freedom struggle and movement during the 1930's. He was a legend in the history of the evolution of Telegu Stage, Drama and Theatre having written, produced and directed several successful Telugu plays during the late 30's. He also acted in these plays apart from composing music and singing in these plays! He was the first Superstar of the Telugu Movie Industry due to his phenomenal success with his first few movies produced by Nagi Reddy under the Rohini Pictures Banner. He was later instrumental in the setting up of the famous Vauhini Studios. He acted in more than 350 movies in all the major South Indian languages. He acted in several super hit Tamil Movies as a character artist. Sivaji had great respect for him and he featured in several super hit movies of Sivaji Ganesan such as Motor Sundaram Pillai, Shanthi, Deiva Magan, Iru Malargal, Thillaanaa Mohanaambal to name a few. This song is from the movie Ramu a 1966 release, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film features Gemini Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya and Master Rajkumar in lead roles. The film was produced by AVM Productions and music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan. All the songs were written by Kannadasan. The film was a super hit. The film was a remake of Hindi film Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Main. During the filming of the climax scene apparently the child artiste Master Rajkumar got caught in the fire and it was the director A C Tirulokchandar who jumped into the fire and rescued the child! One can see the involvement with which Nagaiah has performed this song. Two great voices, Seergazhi and TMS, complete this fantastic team of legends who have come together to create this song. No wonder the song is such a classic, never failing to strike a chord every single time we listen to it even after 50 years since its creation!

Can See a Bright Future Ahead! Two Great Geniuses at Work Again!

This is a hit song from the movie Pachai Villakku, starring Sivaji, SSR, Vijayakumari, Nagesh, SV Ranga Rao and others. It is yet again the classic combination of Sivaji, TMS, Kannadasan and Viswanathan - Ramamoorthy. Though Nagesh is not singing the song, watching his reactions to Sivaji's singing and actions one can truly understand his clalibre! The same is true for another song from the same movie Kelvi Piranthathu Andru. If you listen carefully you can hear the sound of the train whenever you see the train in the visual! That is the kind of involvement of the entire team in the making of a film that was the norm and what you got in that Golden Era of Tamil Cinema and hence you were never disappointed with the quality of any film after watching it. The movie was directed by A Bhim Singh and was released in the year 1964. The famous Editor B. Lenin is Bhim Singh's son.

Birds of Several Kinds! A Movie Gone Missing Earlier! Miraculously Available to Every One Now!

This is the 'Title Song' of the movie Iruvar Ullam starring Sivaji, Saroja Devi, MR Radha, TR Ramachandran, SV Ranga Rao and others. The movie was directed by L V Prasad and was written by M Karunanidhi. Music by the Great K V Mahadevan, Sung by the Great TMS and Lyrics by the Great Kannadasan. The best clip for this song on Youtube happened to be from the beginning of the first part of the full movie upload and hence used here instead of a clip of just the song. There was a time some time back when this movie was not available anywhere and now it is miraculously available for everyone to enjoy as multiple versions on Youtube! Several actresses appear in this song along with Sivaji and the final one to appear is the famous actress Jayanthi whose debut film was in the same year Jeenu Goodu (Kannada).