The king of melody : Mellisai Mannar- M.S.Viswanathan

If anyone wants an example to understand how illogical and biased the so-called national awards given for artists towards their contribution in the film industry  are , they  just have to  look at the gross injustice meted out to one of the greatest music composers in Indian film industry: Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), popularly known as MSV and more by the affectionate title conferred on him –“ Mellisai Mannar”-king of light music.

In spite of being one of the most successful, adored  and versatile  music composers in the Tamil film industry ( and also for few other languages like Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films), he didn’t get even a single national award for best music direction and none of the Padma awards. Many of his tunes fetched best playback singer awards for those who lent their vocals to his great melodies like  P Susheela for the song “ Naalai Indha Velai Paarthu Odi Va Nila” ( Year :1968 film : Uyarntha Manithan), Vani  Jayaram for various songs of the 1975 film Aboorva Ragangal , which no doubt they well deserved. But somehow MSV was always  ignored. However, he has been awarded by the people who love his music to this day and have permanently kept him in their hearts. In You Tube there are many channels dedicated to his music and I have learnt about the interesting stories behind many of his creations.

Born on 24 June 1928 to Manayangath Subramanian and Narayaniammal in Elappully village in Palakkad, Kerala, India (erstwhile  Malabar district, Madras province, British India). His childhood was spent in abject poverty as his father died when he was just four years old. His mother had decided to end their miseries and was about to commit suicide along with him but was  rescued by his grandfather , Krishnan Nair just in time .  As a young boy , he was more interested in music rather than studies. But as the family couldn’t afford any formal training in music, he used to  secretly  listen to a music teacher Shri Neelakanda Bhagawathar who used to conduct music classes . One day the teacher found out how well the boy could grasp the nuances of Bhairavi raagam as compared to his regular students and took the young MSV into his fold. He even organized a concert for the young MSV at Kannur, Kerala. Later on, MSV gave his stage performance in Thiruvananthapuram at the age of 13.

To survive , he started selling refreshments at cinema theatres and this would enable him to listen to the music of the films . He started working as an office boy for Jupiter pictures at a salary of Rs 3 per month! The childhood spent in such difficult conditions would make MSV  a benevolent man in his later years and he took care of his guru S M Subbiah Naidu -a well-known composer and  the comedian-singer J P Chandrababu when they were in difficult days.

MSV like many in those days , wanted to be an actor and singer, but was not successful. He had a few small roles in stage dramas in the 1940s. The composer and violinist T. R. Papa met Viswanathan, took a liking to him and arranged a job for him as an errand boy for S. V. Venkatraman’s musical troupe in 1942. In that company of musicians, Viswanathan realized that he had the inclination and the potential for composing music. He thereafter joined the composer S. M. Subbaiah Naidu and at times assisted him. Later on, he then joined another composer C. R. Subburaman‘s musical troupe as a harmonium player. Here, he met T. K. Ramamoorthy and T. G. Lingappa, the two leading violinists at that time.  T. G. Lingappa also became a renowned music composer on his own in the 1950s.

In the year 1952 , when the music composer  C R Subburaman passed away suddenly , MSV & T K Ramamoorthy came together and completed the background music for the unfinished films. Also, MSV independently composed music along with two other music composers M S Gnanamani & T S Kalyanam for the 1953 film Genoa that had MG Ramachandran as hero. Later on, the association of MGR & MSV went on to be a great success till the time the former quit films completely.

As the musical journey of MSV started with his partner, T K Ramamoorthy, it would be an injustice if I  do not mention about the equally illustrious TKR. For the first twelve years , i.e., till 1964 they composed music as duo Viswanathan-Ramamurthy ( as per MSV’s own proposal to TKR in their initial days to join together as a team similar to the very successful duo of Shankar-Jaikishan of Hindi film music ).  Tiruchirapalli Krishnaswamy Ramamoorthy was born in a family of musicians with both his grandfather Govindaswamy and father Krishnaswamy being well known violinists. TKR was very proficient with the violin and it is said that many-a-times he would play out the notes in his violin complementing MSV’s ideas. Also, most of the solo violins played in the duo’s compositions were played by TKR.

Although TKR was senior to MSV in age by 6 years, it was the legendary comedian N S Krishnan’s suggestion that Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy sounds better than Ramamoorthy-Vishwanathan. MSV was naturally talented , dynamic and the public face of the duo , whereas TKR was more of an introvert, classically well versed and avoided being in limelight. But he had an immense talent of picking up even a small error of a player in their orchestra.

This team went on to give hits after hits for around 100 films till 1964, when they had some differences and the musical super hit film Ayirathil Oruvan turned out to be their last work together. Many years later, in 1995,  they did join together in a film called “ Engirindo Vandaan” but the old magic had vanished and the music of this film was just about average .

Unlike the duo music composers of Hindi films like Shankar-Jaikishan, Laxmikant -Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji , when people talk about MSV-TKR, it is more about MSV than TKR. Reason could be that all the Hindi film pairs always worked together. Even in the case of  Shankar-Jaikishan, although they  had major differences in later years  , but till the  untimely death of Jaikishan, the official credits were always as a duo , whereas in case of MSV-TKR , after the split MSV did the work alone. And one very important point to note that even after the split, MSV went on to become a very successful music composer and so in this blog I am focusing more on MSV , with all due respects to his equally illustrious senior partner.  Before I bid goodbye to TKR, I would like to mention about few popular songs he had composed individually like “ Sattai Kaiyil Kondu ” song from the 1970 film Kadhal Jothi ( a very unusual song by Seerkazhi Govindarajan), “ Ammano Samiyo “  & “Vandhal ennodu inge vaa” ( inspired by the English Come September tune) songs from the  1967 film  “ Naan”  etc. For around 20 films TKR  battled alone , but MSV became the more popular composer with his  brilliant tunes  and his adaptability  to changing music tastes. Even after tough competition from Ilayaraja ( the tsunami in Tamil music scene that swept in 1976) , MSV gave a musical bumper hit in 1979 with his “Ninathale Inikkum” with  a total change-over in his style.

One great personality cannot be left out whenever we talk about MSV and that is his great partner & friend Kannadasan -the lyricist without any parallel. One of these days, I will try to gather enough information  to write about him and also another great contemporary , Vaali , together with whom MSV had given us so many priceless songs to cherish. But for now, this blog cannot be complete without me saying that it was the exquisite poetry that these two complemented  , that made  1950’s,  60’s & early 70’s the golden era of Tamil film music.

The perennial dilemma of a music blog writer is to choose few songs from the vast repertoire  artists like MSV had created. I had  to very reluctantly leave out some songs in order to stick to a readable 25 top songs. I have tried  my best to include almost all the main  singers, genres in this list and also bring out the subtle nuances of MSV’s genius. These also include songs that were composed along with TKR .  Also, some of the great songs that were composed for TMS as solos / duets are skipped here as those were discussed in my blog on TMS to avoid repetition . I am mentioning those as a footnote at the end of the blog so that readers don’t get the idea that I have missed certain iconic songs of MSV like Malarnadum malaradha or Yenge Nimmadhi etc.

Top 25 songs listing in alphabetical order of the year of film with following sequence: Song/Film/Year/Lyricist/Singer(s)

1. Yennai yaar endru yenni: Paalum Pazhamum/1961/Kannadasan/ T M Soundararajan & P Susheela. Eight evergreen songs in this movie so beautifully composed by MSV-TKR that even the great Naushad felt he wouldn’t be able to do justice in the Hindi version  ‘Saathi’ . In my personal opinion the best use of the predominantly north Indian instrument Shehnai was done  by MSV and this song is a classic example of that. Morsing & flute in the interludes are complemented with a unique rhythm pattern.
2. Sonnathu Neethana: Nenjil Or Aalayam/1962/Kannadasan/ P Susheela. This one song is enough to say that MSV was a genius music composer . Set in the Hindustani raag Jaunpuri ,with masterly use of sarangi, sitar and tabla, and with the other two great players -Kannadasan & Susheela giving out their best, makes this song one of the greatest ever in Tamil film music. We can only  say that as long as the earth exists , this song will be there. There is a line in this song : oru kodiyil oru murai than malarum malar allava. Artists  like MSV, Kannadasan , Susheela are also born only once in centuries.
3. Kallellam manikka kal aaguma : Aalayamani/ 1962/ Kannadasan/TMS, L R Eshwari. The songs of Aalyamani are outstanding like Satti Suttadha, Ponnai Virumbum bhoomiyile etc. It is very rare to listen to a song in which humming is used so beautifully . This is a classic example of usage of humming …by L R Eshwari throughout the song . The expressive singing with  flawless Tamil diction  by TMS is what he is so good at. TMS is known for emoting a song so well that even by just listening , one can feel the song’s soul.
4. Ponnenben Sirupoovenben : Policekaran Magal/1962/Kannadasan/ P B Sreenivas & S Janaki. Set in the Darbari Kanada ragam this is a classic example of the many excellent duets by the combination of PBS and S Janaki. The way MSV had arranged the simultaneous singing and humming by PBS & SJ,  with the characteristic low notes of PBS  contrasting the high notes of S Janaki is something only he could visualize.
5. Ninjam marapathillai: Ninjam marapathillai /1963/Kannadasan/P B Sreenivas & P Susheela. A masterly composition by MSV , with a haunting tune that syncs with  the theme of the  film that is about re-birth. The title song exists in four different versions: a male version, a female version, and two duet versions – one happy and one sad.  It is said that it  took five months to compose the song. This is also one of P Susheela’s best ever songs. In my very personal opinion, there are only two female playback singers who, even at the higher octaves , maintain the melody and emotion of the song-Lata & Susheela.
6. Ullathil Nalla ullam urangathenbadhu : Karnan/ 1964/Kannadasan/Seerkazhi Govindarajan. One can say this is  Seerkazhi Govindarajan’s career best film song, set in the  Carnatic Chakravaham raagam ( Hindustani equivalent-Ahir Bhairav). The way Seerkazhi elaborates the alaap in “Karnaaaaaa” is really the touch of his genius. MSV’s orchestration is minimal , that just conveys the pathos of the scene where Bhagwan Krishna is singing this to the fatally wounded Karnan.
7. Siruppu varudhu siruppu varudhu: Aandavan Kattalai/1964/Kannadasan/J P Chandrababu). The singer-comedian J P Chandrababu was well known for a strange combination of out and out comical songs and also sad/philosophical ones. And like  , Kishore Kumar , he was too good in  yodeling.  This song has all the elements of a typical Chandrababu song with life’s philosophy conveyed in a breezy style. The way MSV merges the laughter of J P Chandrababu into the tune of the song is amazing.
8. Nilave yennidam nerungathe : Ramu/1966/Kannadasan/P B Sreenivas. The one instrument that defines this song is the shehnai…arguably the best ever use of this instrument in any film song, it is also one among the career best songs of P B Sreenivas’, the singer with a velvet voice.
9. Rajavin Paarvai Raniyin pakkam: Anbe Vaa/ 1966/Vaali/TMS & P Susheela

Whenever a song is set on the horse beat rhythm pattern it is invariably a super hit. May be something to do with it being nature’s sound!! We have many  such evergreen melodies in Hindi film songs with O P Nayyar being a master in this . In Tamil , I may be limited by my own knowledge , but the numbers could be lesser, but this one song can sweep across many! If it MSV even the horse has a majestic , thundering beat! and what a great composition! From the very popular MGR film Anbe Vaa which was an exquisite  musical feast, with  TMS and PS taking  this song to an even  greater  height.1

10.Poomalaiyil or malligai : Ooty varai oravu/ 1967/Kannadasan/ TMS & P Susheela. If MSV himself had not revealed that he got inspired from a small flute interlude in the Hindi song  “ Tu mera chand , mein teri chandini ” by Naushad ( incidentally Naushad & MSV   admired each other’s  music)  no one would have found this out. That was the greatness and humility of MSV. That special burst of the rhythm after TMS croons the line ‘poomalayil’ has always been a very prominent MSV signature that makes his songs so charming .

11.Nalai indha velai paarthu/Paal Polave: Uyarntha Manithan/1968/Vaali/P Susheela. The song that fetched a well-deserved national award for P Susheela but not for the maestro who composed. Set in the  pitch only P Susheela can sing so effortlessly . This has the  trademark percussion of MSV, the beautifully placed flute at the end of each charanam. Each charanam ascends so steeply aided by the remarkable pitch at which PS sings , maintaining the sweetness so nicely and then descends at the end of the charanam with that flute chipping in. The orchestration and arrangement can give the Burmans & Shankar -Jaikishans a run for their money!

12.Pattathu raani paarkum paarvai: Sivantha Mann/1969/Kannadasan/LR Eshwari. One of L R Eshwaris’ best song ever, with not even the combination of  Lata Mangeshkar  & Shankar-Jaikishan being unable to do justice in the Hindi version -Dharti. Composed in an Arabian-Persian style , with the sound of whip lash blending in so beautifully with the tune, MSV ‘s orchestration & L R Eshwari’s singing were at their peak.

13.Sollathan Ninaikiren : Sollathan Ninaikiren/ 1973/ Vaali/  MSV & S Janaki.

When MSV himself lends his unique vocals to the songs composed by him, it becomes “ vera level” as the popular catch phrase in TN goes…!! A tune that is  so modern & far ahead of its times , that even if we keep listening to it continuously , we will not get bored. There is some ‘unexplained ‘ tinge of pain in this song…maybe that’s why this song , that talks about the inability to express one’s love ( vayirindum solvardarku vaarthai indri thavikkiren!) always touches a raw nerve inside you. Although MSV had relatively lesser songs for S Janaki , but whatever she sang for him were simply superb. Guitar, Violin, flute and at the end of the second charanam and  the whistle all goes in  making the song so melodious.

14.Malligai yen mannan mayangum : Deerga Sumangali/1974/ Vaali/Vani Jayaram. If Vasant Desai introduced Vani Jayaram to the Hindi Film Music through his Bole Re Papihara and made her an overnight sensation, it was MSV ‘s turn to give a break through song in Tamil for her with this very unique melody. While researching for  this blog, I came across a very well-studied article in another blog “ www.msvtimes.com” where one gentleman had analyzed this song so beautifully. MSV had composed it so brilliantly with a combination of karaharapriya raagam and some westernized chords , with a masterly rendition by Vani Jayaram. Seems many classical artists were wondering how MSV could compose such a song that  sounds deceptively   based on a classical raagam, but couldn’t exactly place it!

15.Athisaya raagam , anandha raagam: Aboorva Ragangal/1975/K J Yesudas.

The song that set KJ Yesudas into the big league in Tamil film music with his classical rendition in full flow. When  MSV wanted a raagam that was very rare as the  theme of the film was  about rare relationships, he took the noted classical singer M Balamuralikrishna’s inputs. The song starts off with the Mahati ragam   and ends with Bhairavi in the last charanam ‘Oru puram paarthal mithilayin maithili’.

16.Ezhu swarangalukkul : Aboorva Ragangal/1975/ Kannadasan /Vani Jayaram.

 Aboorva Ragangal was a musical treat for us, with the K J Yesudas number as mentioned earlier , and two of Vani Jayaram’s career best songs-Ezhu Swarangalukkul and Kelviyin Nayagane ( with B S Shashirekha). It is said that Kannadasan dashed off an astounding 18-20 charanam and asked the director K Balachandar and MSV to choose from them. What great lyrics in this song and what a masterly composition and rendition!! This song is set in four different raagam:  Panthuvarali, Kambhoji, Sindhu Bhairavi and Ranjani.

Again, Vani Jayaram got the well-deserved National Award for best female playback singer , but the great maestro who composed this , MSV, was just  like that ignored!! God only knows  what goes into the minds of those deciding these awards.

17.Yenakkoru kadali irukkinral :Muthana Muthallavo/ 1976/Vaali/MSV & S P Balasubrahmanyam.

Is this a duet song of MSV & SPB or between piano & violin? One of the very rare male duets of MSV and SPB . Not much is known about this film , but this difficult composition has been sung so nicely by both MSV & SPB. The way SPB renders  the extended alaap in the word “Thamizhosai” is something that he does so effortlessly and went on to be his trademark in thousands of of his songs. Till Ilayaraja made SPB the top most singer in Tamil films , he got lesser chances with MSV but , again  like S Janaki , whatever he sang for MSV were too good.

18.Vasantha kaala nadigalile: Moondru Mudichu/1976/Kannadasan/P Jayachandran,Vani Jayarm, MSV.

Kannadasan composed this in “anthathi ”style with the  ending word of each verse becoming the first word of the next verse. Masterly composed by MSV, sung equally well by Jayachandran & Vani Jayaram, this is a song that will remain in one’s mind hours after listening to. Picturized on Rajinikanth  , Kamal Hassan and Sreedevi , with Rajini emoting his villainy so well in the scene . MSV comes in at that point with a menacing voice that perfectly matches the expressions in Rajini’s face. The composition that starts with a pleasing mouth organ note and ends with a dramatic orchestration. Classic!

19.Vaan Nila Alla: Pattina Pravesam/1977/Kannadasan/ SPB. Ideally one should include the violin also a co-singer!! This is a delightful  duet of  SPB and violin. Kannadasan just  freaks out with all his lines ending in “la” . It is when we hear such songs the beauty of Tamil language is understood even by a common man. Like I mentioned earlier whenever MSV &  SPB joined together , the songs were epic. And what to say about the violin!! Words fail….

20.Kaatrukku enna veli : Avargal/1977/Kannadasan/ S Janaki

One of the best ever songs of S Janaki, composed by MSV with a fast-paced orchestration complemented by the unique sound of mridangam. Personally, I like this song so much among all Janaki’s songs mainly because the effortless way she brings out the exact mood of the heroine’s mind that wants to break free from all shackles…”mangai nenjam pongumbodhu , vilangugal yedhu”…Note the way in which MSV had composed this song that really gives the feel of ebullience or exuberance.

21. Kamban Yemanthan Nizhal Nijamagirathu / 1978/ Kannadasan/SPB. SPB became a force to reckon with in the south Indian music scene after initial years of struggle . Having become popular after his “ Ayiram Nilave Vaa” composed by KV Mahadevan that was released in 1969, it was MSV with whom he first debuted , the song being Iyarkai ennum ilaya kanni in the film Shanti Nilayam. Due to delayed release of Shanti Nilayam, Aayiram Nialave vaa became his first popular song. Kamban yemanthan has all the special touches for which SPB came to be known-the  way he gives out a very  subtle laugh “Ada”  Naanum Yemanthen that is typical SPB  style.

22. Sambho shivasambho : Ninaithale Inikkum/1979/ MSV. Iconic, funky, jazzy, far ahead of its time…these are some of the adjectives that come to my mind about this song. When he had sung this, MSV would have been 51 years old…can anyone believe this? What an energy…that was the time when Ilayaraja had stormed into the Tamil music scene like a hurricane and was creating great waves. But MSV , the old war horse took up the challenge of composing the musical film ‘Ninaithale Inikkum’ and all the  14 songs remain evergreen to this day.

23. Kandathai sollugiren: Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidargal/1979/ Jayakantan/ MSV. Not a famous or much talked about song, but among the many songs for which  MSV lent his voice , this is one of my  favorites. Breaking the myth that MSV’s songs get famous  only due to the lyrics of Kannadasan, this one , written by the novelist Jayakantan has a feel of modern -ness with the rustic voice of MSV making it sound even better.

24. Nee varuvai yena naan irunthen :Sujatha/ 1980/ Kalyani Menon & P Jayachandran. Many wouldn’t have listened to this song or might have forgotten. This is a rare gem that MSV composed in an altogether different style. By 1980 , Ilayaraja had firmly established himself as the leading music director , but MSV’s spark had  still not died and he gave this outstanding number that has a modern feel even when you listen to this in 2022.  

25. Kannana poomagane kannurangu : Thanneer Thanneer/ 1981/ Vairamuthu /P Susheela. I discovered this song after ages while surfing through the Net for this blog. One can really understand and appreciate the genius of MSV in this song that proves he was equally adept with later day lyricists like Varimuthu and not only Kannadasan or Vaali . The entire song is composed with only a ghatam ( percussion instrument) accompanying. P Susheela must have been around 48 years when she sang this and like few things in the world, she is ageless! It is said that when Vairamuthu pointed out that at the end of the song, there is a comma after the word ‘Kanneer” , MSV said then in that case the tune also should have it.When you listen to that you can hear that “ comma” in the pause that Susheela takes. That was the class of MSV !!

“ Veettu Vilakkerivadharku kanneeer, ……

Yennai Illaiyada”

Note: Songs composed by  MSV as solo / duet for  TMS already discussed in my blog on TMS and hence not repeated here though they are all classics:

1. Vantha naal muthal; Film- Paava Mannippu;  Lyrics -Kannadasan
2. Satti suttadada, kai vittadhada; Film Aalayamani;  Lyrics – Kannadasan
3. Malarndum malaraadha paadhi malar pola: Film-Pasa Malar; Lyrics-Kannadasan
4. Yenge Nimmadhi, yenge nimmadhi: Film: Pudiya Paravai;  Lyrics-Kannadasan.
5. Neeye unakku endrum (popular as “Mama-Mapillai” song); Film -Bale Pandiya;  Lyrics- Kannadasan
6. Yaar andha nilavu, yen indha kanavu; Film -Shanthi; Lyrics- Kannadasan
7. Enna than nadakkum nadakattume; Film -Panathottam;  Lyrics- Kannadasan.
8. Oru pennai paarthu nilavai paarthen: Film-Deiva Thai;  Lyrics- Vaali
9. Pavalakodiyile muthukkal poothal punnagai endre: Film: Panam Padaithavan;  Lyrics-Vaali
10. Tharai mel pirakka vaithan: Film: Padagotti; Lyrics- Vaali
11. Kan pone pokkile kaal pogalama: Film: Panam Padaithavan;  Lyrics-Vaali
12. Naan aanaittal adhu nadanduvittal: Film: Enga Veetu Pillai; Lyrics- Vaali
13. Andha naal gnyabagam nenjile: Film: Uyarntha Manithan;  Lyrics-Vaali.
14. Ennadi rakamma pallaku nelippu: Film: Pattikada Pataanama?  Lyrics- Kannadasan.

Special Acknowledgements:  I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources  for the information that I could gather for this article:

1. http://www.msvtimes.com
2. You Tube
3. Wikipedia

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been mentioned here   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights. I would also like to thank various blogs/articles published in the Internet from which I had obtained many information while writing this.