Sudharsanam who? Will be the question from today’s youth but old song lovers will stop for a minute to remember and say oh Sudharsanam . But in reality we’ve forgotten this amazing composer who was once synonymous with AVM. Sudharsanam was born on 26’th April 1914. Irony that we don’t have much information about his birth place or his early days. AVM both the company and the producer –director AVMeyyappan was setting foot in the tinsel world was making good movies like Alli arjuna, Vaayadi. AVM made a huge comical hit movie Sabapathy. Next he produced another comical “En Manaivi” for which Sudharsanam master joined hands. From then on he became the in house composer for AVM. He was the one who approved all the vocal artists in AVM. He was the one who approved Isayarasi P.Susheela , S.Janaki and many more. Like Devarajan Master for Kerala, Ghantasala master for Andhra it’s our Sudharsanam master for our Tamil nadu. He was the only one who was referred as Master. I got introduced to his music in my childhood when I listened to songs like “Mahan Gandhi mahan”, Azhagiya mithilai nagarinile, Aadatha manamum aaduthe ? many more songs which made me his instant fan. Coming to En manaivi the song Sangadamana samayalai vittu sangeetham paada poren became quite popular.. Credit Sudharsanam master’s nice tune was the main reason. Next big venture of AVM was Sri Valli. New comers T.R.Mahalingam & Kumari Rukmini were the lead pair. Sudharsanam master along with Rajagopal sarma composed melodious songs. T.R.Mahalingam’s Kayatha kanagathe is popular even now. This was the first film where Rukmini’s voice was erased from the songs and replaced with P.A.Periyanayaki’s voice and all processing were done overnight and new reels were sent to all screens. Probably first of this kind .. Credit to AVM. Next big venture was Naam Iruvar . A Stage play by NSK nataka sabha wherein S.V.Sahasranamam played the lead was made as movie . T.R.Mahalingam & T.A.Jayalakshmi played the lead. This movie came when India was announced Independent and AVM added lot of patriotic songs and Sudharsanam master tuned it so well that even in Carnatic concerts these songs were sung in the same tune as it was in the movie. Baby kamala aka kumara kamala danced for the songs. Especially Poet Subramaniya bharathiyar’s Aaduvome PaLLu paaduvome in the voice of Smt D.K.Pattammal tuned by Sudharsanam master is a classic. Even now some channel or radio definitely plays this song during independence/republic days. Probably Sudharsanam master would be the first to compose/tune Poet Bharathiyar’s songs for films I think. Thus AVM and R.Sudharsanam became synonymous. If Modern theatres T.R.Sundaram firmly established his presence with the Fantasy fun fare hit “Ayiram thalai vaangiya aboorva chinthamani”, it was AVM’s turn to do a similar one and he too gave a huge hit movie in the name of “VEdhala ulagam” Sudharsanam master’s tunes are memorable even now. Bharathiyar’s Theeradha vilayattu pillai in the voice of D.K.Pattammal Almost all songs were hit. Aara imbam thanthai, kalviyile sirandha thamizh naadu , madhananga sundhara mana mohanan, thoondil puzhuvinai pol and many more songs are even remembered. Dance sequences by Kamala, Lalitha-Padmini and tunes by Sudharsanam master are evergreen. My fav comedian Sarangapani also sang a song. The next AVM venture first under “AVM studios” made him movie moghul and Sudharsanam a complete composer. Yes it was T.R.Ramachandran- Vaijayanti mala starrer Vaazhkai. Pa. Neelakantan’s Story was directed by AVM himself. Even today “Un kann unnai yemaatrinaal en mel kovam undavathen dadadada dada… sung by T.R.Ramachandran & M.S.Rajeswari will mesmerize us for the catchy tune. Sudharsanam master’s catchy compositon, K.P.Kamatchi’s lyrics and of course our own T.R.Ramachandran and dancing beauty Vaijayanti mala made this song a class. Movie was made in telugu as “Jeevitham” and BAHAR in hindi. Sudharsanam did the compostion for tamil and telugu. Not sure why AVM did not use him for hindi. AVM’s next venture was the Great C.N.Annadurai’s Or iravu. Anna wrote the screenplay and Pa.NEelakantan started his directorial innings with this movie. Movie had everything. Dance dramas, kurathi song (ayya saami aavoji sami though inspired from hindi tune),amazing songs and all tuned by Sudharasanam Master. If Naam iruvar and previous movies had songs penned by poet bharathiyar tuned by Master in this movie it was Poet bharatidasan’s song “Thunbam nergayil yaazheduthu nee “ tuned beautifully by Master and sung by V.J.Varma (don’t know much about this singer) for Akkineni NAgeswara rao & M.S.Rajeswari for Lalitha. 1952 – AVM & P.A.Perumal teamed up to make the hit stage play parasakthi as a movie. Mu.Karunanidhi wrote the script and dialouges and a new comer V.C.Ganesan was cast as the hero(though AVM wanted K.R.Ramasami), PAndaribai who acted in miniscule roles until then was cast as the heroine. Sri ranjani Jr was the sister . Though the major show stealer was Ganesan’s acting and Karunanidhi’s dialouges Sudharsanam had his share to flare . Songs like pudhu pennin manasai thottu poravare(voice MSR), Kaa kaa kaa (lyrics by udumalai Narayana kavi , voice by C.S.Jayaraman), oh rasikkum seemane (kumari kamala voice MSR), poomalai neeye puzhudhi man mele by T.S.Bhagavati . All are classic hits even today. Sudharsanam gave variety of songs in this movie which talked social reform and acquired a cult status . A star was born with this film and we got Nadigar thilagam . AVM’s next venture Gunasagari in Kannada also had Sudharsanam as composer. All the songs are loved even today by kannada music lovers. Movie was dubbed as Sathiya sodhanai in tamil . Movies like Jaathagam(PBS sang his first song), JAathaka palam, jaathaka phala all had Sudharasanam as the composer. 1953-1954 AVM did make Ladki with Vaijayantimala in lead. Same movie was made as Penn in tamil & Sangham in Telugu. Songs from Penn, Ladki & Sangham are quite popular even now Sonna sollai marandhidalamo vaa vaa by T.S.Bhagavati & M.S.Rajeswari is a super hit song. Anjali devi playing the veena & Vaijayantimala dancing is a visual treat . Sudharsanam master scores with just this gong. But all other songs are equally popular. Vaal muniayin, maadhar thammai izhivu (voice T.A.Mothi), akila bharadha pengal . Every song was popular and credit goes to Sudharsanam master. Adding feather to his cap the song Kalyanam aaha kalyanam picturized on Veenai S.Balachander sung by J.P.Chandrababu is a popular even now. Next biggest hit for AVM was the kannada movie Bedara kannappa starring young Rajkumar playing the lead and pandari bai as his wife. C.S.Jayaraman’s kannada songs Shivappa kaayo thande, Yennodey Noo Aemba were instant hit. The movie was dubbed in tamil as Vedan kannappa and TMS sang these songs(ennudaya bhava bantham, en appan andro) and music lovers in Tamil nadu went crazy .Dubbed version also ran for days (people forgot it was dubbed ). Such was the power of Rajkumar’s acting and Sudharsanam master’s songs. Next one was another major hit Chella pillai starring K.R.Ramasami,savithiri,banthulu & kannamba. Songs tuned by Sudharsanam master became very popular. (I guess producer insisted to use some of the hindi tunes), kovil kaalai nee papa, podanum kulla podanum , madana ezhil raja all were hits. This is the movie which brought TMS & PS together for the first time and then on this duo became the magical pair in TFM. Chella pillai became Vadina in telugu. Songs were equally popular in telugu. Next major venture was AVM’s Bhoo kailas in telugu & Bhoo kailasa in kannada. Movie was about Ravana and songs tuned by Sudharsanam master became super duper hit. P.Suseela’s Sundaraanga Bandeneega(sundaranga andukora), Ramana Avatara by Seerkazhi govindarajan , jaya jaya mahadeva by c.S.Jayaraman , doora neenade by AMRaja & P.Suseela and many more songs. All songs were hit in both Kannada & Telugu. It was dubbed in tamil as Bhakta Ravana. It’s still a puzzle why AVM did not make this movie in tamil. Next hit was Kula deivam with s.v.sahasranamam, pandaribai, ssr, mynavathi and rajagopal in lead. Sudharsanam master’s compositions were super hits. Kottu potta chinna machane by PS, Thaye Yasoda by MLV, vaarayo ennai paarayo with P.Leela & A.M.Raja all songs were hit. By now you can see the wide range of composition by Sudharsanam master. Early days it was Carnatic raga based songs slowly as the movie making progressed into social arena music also shifted gears to make melody which was easy at listener’s ears. Next AVM hit was Sahodari. AVM joined with Kannada stage actor Gubbi veeranna produced Sahodari. J.P.Chandrababu’s Naan oru muttalunga was a great hit. KAnandasan’s Lyrics Sudharsanam master’s tune and babu’s acting is still remembered. Another noteable song from the movie is “Pan paadum pon vanname “ picturized on NAzir & Devika. 1960 had 2 fantastic films produced by AVM One was Sivaji-padmini-ssr starrer “Deiva piravi” . What a movie and what a performance by the lead actors. Sudharsanam master gave super songs .. Anbale thediya en arivu selvam thangam C.S.Jayaraman with humming by SJ. Jamuna rani had 2 super songs sensational Kalai vayasu kattana sizeu , lovely thara thara vandhara . All were great hits. Another super hit from 1960 was “Kalathoor Kannamma” Can we forget “Kangalin vaarthaigal Puriyadho”, “aadadha manamum aaduthe both by AMRaja & P.Susheela. Arugil vandhal by AMRaja , Ammavum neeye appavum neeye by M.S.Rajeswari. all became super hit songs. Sudharsanam master’s brilliant composition and songs added to the movie’s success For few of the next AVM ventures Sudharsanam master did not compose music. (Reasons unknown) Next AVM Venture was Annai. The song which introduced me to Sudharsanam is from this movie. Annai was a super hit movie with P.Bhanumathi as the leading lady. Sudharsanam gave brilliant tunes P.Banumathi’s Poovagi kayagi is ever green even today. P.B.Srinivas & P.Susheela sang the dazzling duet “Azhagiya mithilai nagarinile” picturized on Sachu & HArinath P.Susheela’s oh buck buck buck madappura is another popular number . Cute Sachu on screen. J.P.Chandrababu sang another brilliant number for Sudharsanam master in this movie. Puthiyulla manidherallam vetri petradhillai a classic with brilliant lyrics by KAnnadasan. Overall Annai’s success can be credited to BAnumathi & Sudharsanam’s tunes. 1963 another tear jerker production by AVM was “NAanum oru pen”. Yet another social message based on color discrimination. Vijayakumari (tamil), Savithiri(telugu) and Meenakumari(hindi) did the lead. Sudharsanam composed music for both Tamil & telugu(Naadi ada janmame). Can any music lover forget the soulful “KAnna Karumai nira kanna” .. Sudharsanam master’s brilliant tune, Kaviyarasar’s apt lyrics and Isayarasi’s soulful rendition made this song a classic. This song will definitely feature in Smt P.Susheela’s top 10 songs. Such is the impact this song created. PS sang the telugu version as well. Other songs in the movie include Poo pola poo pola pirakkum by PS,TMS Yemara sonnadhu naana (one version TMS, another one PS) but pick of the album is ofcourse “KAnna karumai nira kanna” “Kannayya nallani kannayya “ in telugu as well. When this movie was made in hindi “Krishna o kale Krishna” Lata mangeshkar said to AVM that she cant sing like how Suseela has sung in the original. Such was the impact of the original tune. We’ve come to a sad end that Naanum oru pen marked the last film of AVM- R.Sudharsanam combination. Yes for reasons not known he did not compose for AVM films after NAanum oru Pen. (only AVM saravanan can clarify the reason) Meanwhile Sudharsanam did compose for few films outside AVM banner. Mu.Karunanidhi who has seen Sudharsanam from parasakthi days was impressed with him and thus Sudharsanam composed beautiful songs in Poompuhar, Poomalai & MAnimagudam. There was one another film “Anbukkrangal” which had fantastic songs composed by Sudharsanam for great lyrics by Vaali. Poompuhar – what an album by Sudharsanam master. Vaazhkayenum odam vazhangugindra paadam by KBS (lyrics mu.karunanithi) Thamizh engal uyiranadhu by PS KAaviri penne vaazhga by TMS & PS Ennai mudhal mudhalaga paartha podhu by TMS & SJ Poomalai – a different story for that period. Again master gave beautiful songs My fav is Kattai viral vellakatti by PS for Anjalidevi Ulagame edhirthaalum song by C.S.Jayaraman . Anbukkarangal – Another nice film by K.Sankar. Out of all the other films (outside AVM) this will be the best album by Sudharsanam master. Onna irukka kathukkanum, Avala sonnal, Ungal azhagenna arivenna, Ramanukke seethai all were super songs but the best of the lot is PBS PS duet “Iravu mudindhuvidum mudindhaal ..” what a song what a composition and mind blowing rendition by both..Fantastic lyrics by Vaali (picturized on K.Balaji & Manimala) Manimagudam & Kaarthigai deepam were also by Sudharsanam master. This is 1965. This was the last year in Tamil film industry. He did compose for 2 malayalam films in 1967 (Kudumbam) and 1968(Thirichadi) Thirichadi songs are even popular now “induleke , paathi vidarnal, poo pole poo pole “ all are hits When NAanum oru pen was remade in Malayalam as “Hrudayathinde nirangal” with Prabha as lead Music director Devarajan master retained the Kanna karumai nira kanna (kanna karimukhil varna) and credited Sudharsanam master in the title. Sudharsanam master did compose for few hindi films like matwala etc. but post 1968 no news about him or his compositions. Probably Music pattern change could be the reason for his fading away. Nevertheless this man should not be forgotten and as long as AVM lives he will live thru it . Sudharsanam’s brother R.Govardanam worked as assistant to his brother, MSV and then composed music for films like Pattanathil bootham & Kai rasi. In later years he was the person to conduct the orchestra in Illayaraja & MSV troupe. 2014 was the centenary of Sudharsanam master and this talented composer though forgotten lives thru the songs he created especially for AVM.. Will come back soon with another artiste Rajesh Lavanya
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