"There can be no composer in the Tamil film industry today, who has never been influenced or inspired by the music of 'Mellisai Mannar'," could be best compliment (by A.R. Rahman) to describe legendary music director M.S. Viswanathan, popularly known as 'Mellisai Mannar' (King of Light Music).
Of Malayalee origin, M.S. Viswanathan became a prolific music composer in the Tamil film industry during the 1960s and 1970s, composing scores for over 1000 films. He celebrates his birthday on July 16. Happy birthday to the King of light music!
Viswanathan was born in 1928 to Subramanian and Narayani Kutti in Ilappulli village in Kerala. He learned music from Neelakanda Bhagavathar and gave his first stage performance in Trivandrum when he was 13 years old. Even though his major works are in Tamil and Telugu films, he has set music for songs in around 80 Malayalam films.
His achievements include introducing fresher melodies, style and orchestration that incorporate various genres of world music into Indian cinema music. He has sung over 500 of his own songs, as well as those of other music directors like V. Kumar, Shankar Ganesh, Ilayaraaja, Gangai Amaran, Deva and A.R. Rahman. He often worked with the well-known Tamil poet and lyricist Kannadasan. In recent times, Viswanathan has focused on composing devotional music. He also acted in many films and television series.
This remarkable genius, who is often described as "University of Music" by the media, was conferred a Doctorate by Sathyabama University in 2006. He has won several awards, including 'Sangeetha Saraswathi' title in 2008 and Paramacharya Award in 2006.
