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!

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!

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. 

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!

Child Artiste to Supporting Actress, Negative Roles to Heroine - She Has Done it All! Most Prolific Supporting Actress of All time!

M N Rajam started her acting career a  child artist at the age of seven in stage plays and entered the world of movies at the age of nine in the year 1949 through the movie Nalla Thambi starring NSK and Bhanumathi. Her role as a vamp at the young age of 14, in the super hit M R Radha starrer Ratha Kanneer in the year 1954, proved to be the turning point in her Tamil Movie career. She has mentioned in several interviews that she had hesitated and had been reluctant to perform a scene in the movie in which she was supposed to kick M R Radha who was already a Super Star and senior actor then. But it was M R Radha who had given her the confidence to perform the scene and the movie had gone on to become a super hit movie. After that she had acted with all leading actors of the era, MGR, Sivaji, Gemini, SSR and others. Though she had acted in various roles it is only the negative roles which she had played in hundreds of movies that had got her a name in the industry. This particular song is from the movie Paavai Vilakku starring Sivaji Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, Pandari Bai, Kumari Kamala along with M N Rajam in lead roles. The film was based on the popular Tamil novel "Paavai Vilakku" by Akilan. The story was known for its twists and turns and complex characters, which were brought out on screen in brilliant fashion by A.P. Nagarajan through his screenplay and by the fine performances Sivaji, Sowcar Janaki, Rajam, and Kumari Kamala and others. But the film had not done well at the box office. This song was the last song that was shot inside the famous Taj Mahal after which permission to shoot movies inside the Taj Mahal has not been given (to other movies) till date. The song was written by Maruthakasi. Music by K V Mahadevan and sung my C S Jeyaraman and P Susheela. This wonderful composition by K V Mahadevan based on Hindustani Classical music is truly a timeless classic!

The Greatest Legend of Tamil Cinema! A Life Characterized by Phenomenal Success and an Endless List of Episodes of his Compassion and Kindness!

MGR is undoubtedly the greatest Legend of Tamil Cinema! On the occasion of his 100th birthday this song serves as a true tribute to him and his legendary kindness, compassion and amazing philanthropy. His life and career in the Tamil Movie industry is filled with phenomenal successes and in equal measure if not more, of episodes of his kindness in which he has helped innumerable individuals both from with in and outside the Tamil Film Industry. Every single person who has talked about him during various interviews has narrated at least one unique incident of  his kindness and big hearted nature with out fail. From legends such as Nagesh to Ranga Rao to the lyricist Muthulingam who has written just a few songs in comparison to the other great lyricists, there is no end to the list of people all of whom MGR has helped financially. His act of kindness in which he had helped Ranga Rao is similar to Lord Krishna having helped Kusela! Apparently Ranga Rao who had been facing financial difficulties during the later part of his career was finding it difficult to conduct his daughter's wedding. Though Ranga Rao had not been in good terms with MGR during that period, based on the advice of his friends he had visited MGR's residence, with an intent to ask MGR for his help. But due to his hesitancy because of his strained relation ship with MGR and fearing that MGR might turn down his request for help, Ranga Rao had returned home with out asking for help. But MGR being the great human being he was (is) had sent the required jewels and money for the proper conduct of the wedding to Ranga Rao's house, having come to know the actual reason for Ranga Rao's visit to his residence from his associates!  MGR had helped so may individuals in need with out their having even asked for help just by sensing and understanding their needs and difficulties! Truly amazing! This song from the movie Engal Thangam was written by Vaali. In Vaali's own words, after having written the first line of this song Vaali had been toying with several words and phrases to express this great quality of MGR in the second line of the song. As a coincidence Karunanidhi who was MGR's greatest political adversary during the later stages of his career, had visited the sets of the movie and Vaali had mentioned his inability to come up with the words of a second line, which would correctly express the great philanthropic quality of MGR. It was Karunanidhi who came up instantly with the second line, 'Ethaiyum Alavindri Koduppavan', which when translated literally means, "There is no limit to the quantum of his philanthropy"! Words are not sufficient to pay tribute to this great Legend! Music by MSV and sung by TMS and P Susheela.

A Comical Song from A Hilarious Comedy Movie Inspired by a Classic Novel from the Greatest English Comic Writer of All Time!

This is a hit song from the super hit Comedy Movie Kaasethaan Kadavulladaa starring Muthuraman, Manorama, Srikanth, Lakshmi, Vennira Aadai Murthy, Sasi Kumar, MRR Vasu and others. The movie had been directed by Gopu who had once said in an interview it was Jayalalitha who had introduced him to the works of the great comic genius P G Wodehouse. This particular movie which is his directorial debut is loosely based on the famous novel 'Leave it to PSmith' by P G Wodehouse. The music for the movie had been composed by MSV. The lyrics had been penned by the ever youthful Vaali. The plot of the movie is as follows: Parvathi (Manorama) is an extremely domineering second wife of Sivaswamy (Vennira Aadai Moorthy) and controls all his money treating him with scorn and disdain. When Sivaswamy's son Ramu (Muthuraman) (son of his first wife) requires a sum of Rs. 3000 for his Sister's husband, she refuses instantly. With all round need for money for various different needs, Ramu and his cousin Shekar (Srikanth) hatch a plot with their childhood friend Appaswamy (Thengai Sreenivasan) who pretends to be a fake swamiji in order to get to Manorama's Secret safety locker and steal a sum of Rs. 50,000. Meanwhile Rama (Lakshmi) is an orphan whose Guardian is the doctor of a mental institution. When Rama wants a conduct certificate, the doctor bungles and hands over the certificate of Rama Prabha who is still recovering from a mental condition. Rama arrives at Parvathi's house to work as a secretary and Parvathi sees the certificate and decides to keep Rama at her house to humour her fearing her insanity (Courtesy Wikepedia). With great performances by all the actors the movie is very watchable and truly a family entertainer. This song is sort of the title song of the movie and is hilarious like most of the other songs in this movie.

The Greatest Playback Singing Pair of All Time! Complete Dominance Over a Period of Two Decades!

The Greatest Playback Singing Pair of All Time, TMS and P Susheela dominated the Tamil Movie Industry for more than two decades, having sung hundreds of super hit songs together. This is a hit song from the 1970s movie Vasantha Maaligai starring Sivaji Ganesan, Vanishree, Balaji, Nagesh and others. This song features Sivaji and Vanishree. Sivaji and Vanishree had paired up for several movies during that period. This is one of K V Mahadevan's hit songs featuring the most successful playback singing pair of TMS and P Susheela, supremely dominant, starting from the late 1950s to the 1960s and well into the 1970s, as is the case with this song.. While everyone in India is a fan of Latha Mangeshkar she herself is a fan of P Susheela. P Susheela and TMS are two of the greatest ever original voices (never will they resort to a falsetto) to have graced this planet no doubt!

Comical Song from an All-Time Great Tamil Comedy Movie featuring the Sivaji-Nagesh Team! Year - 1968

This is a comical song from the super hit comedy movie Galaattaa Kalyaanam (1968) starring Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalitha, Nagesh, K. A. Thangavelu, Cho Ramaswamy, A. V. M. Rajan, V. Gopalakrishnan, VS Raghavan, Senthamarai, Sachu, Manorama, Jothi Lakshmi and others. The movie brought Sivaji and Jayalalitha together for the first time. This movie showcased Jayalalitha's flair for comedy. The Sivaji-Nagesh Team having produced some of the most popular and remembered sequences in Tamil Cinema, has excelled in comedy, producing one of the most enjoyable comical movies of all time.  Gopu had once said in an interview that it was Jayalalitha who had introduced him to the works of the great comical genius P G Wodehouse whose works were the inspiration for some of of Gopu's directorial successes such as his debut movie as director Kaasedhaan Kadavuladaa (Leave it to PSmith). This movie Galaattaa Kalyaanam was written by Gopu, working for the first time on his own, away from his long-term successful partnership with Sridhar. Incidentally this movie was directed by C V Sridhar's brother and the very successful director C V Rajendran. Music for this peppy number was composed by MSV, Lyrics Vaali, Singers, TMS, PBS, P Susheela and L R Eashwari.

The Greatest Female Voice of Indian Cinema! Acknowledged by The Great Legendary Singer of Hindi Cinema Lata Mangeshkar!

The Great Legendary Singer of Hindi Cinema Lata Mangeshkar used to visit Chennai often during the 1960s and usually stayed at Sivaji's residence 'Annai Illam'  in T Nagar. During one such visit, while discussing about her favourite singers apparently she had mentioned P Susheela's name and credited her to be the greatest voice that Indian Cinema has ever seen.  Can there be any better tribute to Susheela than this? Skill can be developed and honed by everyone but the level to which one can raise is limited by individual abilities. But talent is god given and there is no limit to which a person can be gifted by god in any particular art form. 17,695 songs in 6 languages as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records is a true recognition of P Susheela's achievements. The truly gifted P Susheela, an epitome of singing talent, has rendered this evergreen song in her own effortless and inimitable style. Telugu being her mother tongue her stunningly perfect diction of Tamil is incredible. There is or never will be anyone quite remotely close to her is the truth as mentioned in an earlier post. This song is from the movie Paalum Pazhamum starring Sivaji, Sarojadevi, Sowcar Janaki and others. Vairamuthu the lyricist had once mentioned in an interview he wished to hear this particular song, as and when the time comes for him to breathe his last and pass away from this world while listening to it. This is as good a tribute to P Susheela as anything can ever be! MSV, Kannadhasan, TMS, P Susheela with all the great actors, actresses and directors had created such timeless classics. Music for this song was composed by Viswanathan - Ramamoorthy.

Rare Song from 1968

This is a rare song from the 1968 movie Uyiraa Maanamaa starring Jaishankar, Vijaya Nirmala, Nagesh and others. This particular song features Jaishankar and Vijaya Nirmala and has been sung by the famous duo of TMS and P Susheela. MSV and Kannadasan round off the unbeatable combination which created innumerable, melodious, timeless classics from the 1960s. The movie was directed by KS Gopalakrishnan. Enjoy the song!
 

Evergreen Romantic Song from the 1960s

This is an evergreen romantic song from the 1960s. The movie is Selvamagal starring Jaishankar, Rajashree and others and the music has been composed by the one and only MSV. Recently the entire Tamil Movie Industry came together and honoured the octogenarian (Thank God!). Excellent rendition as usual by the two greats TMS and P Susheela has made the song a Timeless Classic! Contrary to the popular belief, this meaningful and well crafted song has been written by Vaali and not Kannadasan. But Kannadasn has written two other songs in this movie. Enjoy the song.

Classic Song by a Great Poet! - 1961

This is a classic song by the Great Tamil Poet Mahakavi Bharathi. The details of the song are as follows. Kaatru Veliyidal Kannamma Lyrics by Subramanya Bharathi from the Patriotic movie Kappallotiya Tamizhan - 1961 starring Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savithri, Muthulakshmi, Asokan, Sarangapani, S.V. Ranga Rao & S.V. Subbiah. Music G Ramanathan, Sung by P Susheela and PBS.

Super Hit Song - Super Hit Pair - Year 1965

This is a super hit song from the movie Naan Aanaiyittaal featuring the super hit pair of the 1960s MGR and Saroja Devi. MSV, Vaali, TMS and P Susheela nicely round off the evergreen hit combination of the MGR camp which was the one half of the Tamil Movie Industry, the other being the Sivaji camp which was equally successful. Most of the timeless classics of the Industry is from this era. Enjoy the song!

Classic from the 1950's

This is a classic song frm the 1950's featuring the husband and wife pair (later separated) of SS Rajendran and Vijayakumari from the 1958 movie Petra Maganai Vitra Annai. Music is by the great musical duo Viswanathan Ramamoorthy. P Susheela's voice melts your heart as usual and in this duet she sings in a rare combination with A M Raja. Lyrics by A Maruthakasi.

Another yester year Kamal Movie Song from "Manmadha Leelai"

Manmadha Leelai is a Tamil-language film starring Kamal Haasan in the lead role, Madhu. The film directed by K Balachander also has Halam (Rekha) as Madhu's wife. A number of women actors debuted through this film, including Jayaprada as Kannagi, Y. Vijaya as Miss. Wrong Number, among others. The film also marked the debut of actor Radha Ravi, son of popular actor M. R. Radha. The film explores the life journey of a womaniser (Kamal Hassan) and his affairs with various women, including those who are married, and tells finally that nothing will last forever except one's own wife's love and others are passing clouds.

Balachander's directorial finesse shows in most of the scenes in the film. Even though it stirred up controversies, when it was released, later it became a cult classic. Controversies arose during the release, only because of the reason that Balachander was at least 10 years ahead of the film-makers who were making movies during those periods and tended to say whatever he wanted to say through his movies in a bold and straight-forward manner.

This song has been sung by P Susheela and SPB. Music is by M S Viswanathan and Lyrics by Kannadasan.

A Melodious Song from the Movie "Shanthi"

This song is from the 1965 movie "Shanthi". This song features Shivaji Ganesan and Devika. Devika is one other heroine apart form Padmini and K R Vijaya who co-starred with Shivaji in plenty of movies. The song has been penned by Kannadasan and music is by M S viswanathan. The song has been ofcourse rendered by P Susheela. The movie also stars Vijayakumari and S.S.R in which Vijayakumari plays a blind girl.

Muthuraman Hits - Engal Veetu Thangatheril

This rare to hear song is from the movie Arunodayam. The cast includes Sivaji Ganesan, Saroja Devi, Muthuraman and Lakshmi. The song has been penned by Kannadasan and sung by S P Balasubramaniam and P Susheela. The music has been scored by K V Mahadevan. This song is supposedly a lift from ‘Gun gunaa rahen hain bhavre’ –Aradhana. Wonder why KVM did this!

A Romantic Song from the 1960s

This rare song is from the classic 1968 Tamil movie Panama Pasama starring Gemini Ganesh, Saroja Devi, Nagesh, TK Bhagwati, K. Sarangapani, Shivakumar and others. Music by KV Mahadevan & Lyrics by Kannadasan. The song is sung by TMS (which is rare for Gemini) and P Susheela and the film is directed by K S Gopalakrishnan.

Famous Song from a 1960 Movie

This song is from the movie Kaathiruntha Kangal. This movie was released in 1962. Gemini Ganesan and Savithri in a double role were the lead stars in the movie. The music was composed by the famour duo Viswanathan Ramamurthy. Lyrics were penned by Kannadasan and the song was sung by P B Srinivas and P Susheela.