G. Ramanathan
Encyclopedia
G. Ramanatha Iyer was a famous Music Composer for Tamil
Movies. He is also known as 'Isai Methai' (Genius of Music) or 'Sangeetha Chakravarthy' (Emperor of Music) and considered to be one of the influential Tamil Music composers to take Carnatic Music
to the masses. Notable for his association with M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. G.Ramanathan also composed for films of Salem Modern Theatres
and Coimbatore
Central Studios
. His career lasted until his death in 1963. During the 1950s G.Ramanathan's music dominated most of the box office hits of the then leading Tamil Movie stars Shivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran
.
, Tamil Nadu
, India
. GR's father was Gobalsamy Iyer who worked as sub-inspector in the Indian Railways. GR studied till standard 5. He was married in 1942 and has 2 sons-one is Sai and the other is Baba naming them reflecting his devout to Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
He joined the Baratha Gana Saba, a drama troupe and played harmonium
at the age of 18. Then he joined the famous V.A. Sellappa Drama company, and sang playback and played harmonium. In 1932, he first played musical instrument for a Tamil film called "Kalavarishi" which was produced in Calcutta.
In 1938 M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
produced Sathyaseelan in Bombay and GR became the music director for that film which followed by the Vipranarayana (old). The first film to be produced in Madras with GR as the music director was Poogailas, followed by Parasuraman and Boologa Rambai(old). GR was a resident music director for the Modern Theatres
since the beginning except a few which were done by K. V. Mahadevan
.
He had acted in Aayiram Thalai Vangiya Aboorva Chintamani (1947) as the role Sanyasi.
It was conditional that the cinema songs of those days had to be composed to the basic carnatic tune and it used to be thought that cinema music would never equal the pure form of carnatic music. GR had proved otherwise when he had composed music for the song "Manmatha Leelaiyai venRAr uNdO" in Haridas
sung by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
. He is a staunch believer that only music that had the carnatic base could endure where most of his songs were "semi classic".
He has a liking for the voices of G.N. Balasubramaniam, M. L. Vasanthakumari
, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer
, and the Hindi film music director Naushad
and his favourite singers in his compositions were S. Varalakshmi
and Jikki
. Of all the voices, he is a great lover of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
. GR believes that only MKT is could deliver what was expected of any singer. He is also a good singer, he had sung in his own compositions in Ponmudi
and also under K.V. Mahadevan's composition for Alli Petra Pillai.
GR would strive the singers to the excellence. T. M. Soundararajan said that if one could sing to the satisfaction and the tune of GR you could easily sing for the tune of any music director in any part of the world. GR would sing out the songs before recording to guide the singers. His greatest talent was that he was able to compose tunes suiting the storyline as well as the period of production of the films. He produced a film Puthu Yugam.
GR's last film was Deivathin Deivam by K. S. Gopalakrishnan
. Unfortunately he died of heart attack after in the midst of composing for the film Arunakirinathar. Then T. R. Papa
completed it.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
Movies. He is also known as 'Isai Methai' (Genius of Music) or 'Sangeetha Chakravarthy' (Emperor of Music) and considered to be one of the influential Tamil Music composers to take Carnatic Music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
to the masses. Notable for his association with M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. G.Ramanathan also composed for films of Salem Modern Theatres
Modern Theatres
Modern Theaters Ltd was a motion picture movie studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India, started by Thiruchengodu Ramalingam Sundaram in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 movies until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English of which Tamil movies were the...
and Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
Central Studios
Central Studios
Central Studios was a motion picture movie studio in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, started by B.Rangaswamy Naidu and other prominent industrialists like Swamikannu Vincent of Coimbatore in 1935 to make Tamil and other South Indian language movies.The Studio was a major hub of Tamil Movie...
. His career lasted until his death in 1963. During the 1950s G.Ramanathan's music dominated most of the box office hits of the then leading Tamil Movie stars Shivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
.
Early life
G. Ramanathan (GR) was born in Pichandarkoil, SrirangamSrirangam
Srirangam , Old name is Vellithirumutha gramam and Tamil name is Thiruvarangam , is an island and a part of the city of Tiruchirapalli , in South India....
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. GR's father was Gobalsamy Iyer who worked as sub-inspector in the Indian Railways. GR studied till standard 5. He was married in 1942 and has 2 sons-one is Sai and the other is Baba naming them reflecting his devout to Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
He joined the Baratha Gana Saba, a drama troupe and played harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
at the age of 18. Then he joined the famous V.A. Sellappa Drama company, and sang playback and played harmonium. In 1932, he first played musical instrument for a Tamil film called "Kalavarishi" which was produced in Calcutta.
In 1938 M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar , also called M.K.T., was a Tamil film actor, producer and Carnatic music singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful Tamil film actors ever....
produced Sathyaseelan in Bombay and GR became the music director for that film which followed by the Vipranarayana (old). The first film to be produced in Madras with GR as the music director was Poogailas, followed by Parasuraman and Boologa Rambai(old). GR was a resident music director for the Modern Theatres
Modern Theatres
Modern Theaters Ltd was a motion picture movie studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India, started by Thiruchengodu Ramalingam Sundaram in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 movies until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English of which Tamil movies were the...
since the beginning except a few which were done by K. V. Mahadevan
K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkatachalam Mahadevan was a South Indian music composer.-Career:K.V.Mahadevan was born in Tamil Iyer family in 1918 in Krishnancoil, Kanyakumari district. A contemporary of M. S. Viswanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy, KVM has scored music for over 600 films, spanning four decades, after...
.
He had acted in Aayiram Thalai Vangiya Aboorva Chintamani (1947) as the role Sanyasi.
Style
GR never had proper training in carnatic music. It was all "keLvi gnanam" (learning by listening). He had a passion and liking towards carnatic music and went all out in composing. GR became the music director when stage dramas were equally popular in the 1940s. He had to balance up between the cinema and the stage dramas.It was conditional that the cinema songs of those days had to be composed to the basic carnatic tune and it used to be thought that cinema music would never equal the pure form of carnatic music. GR had proved otherwise when he had composed music for the song "Manmatha Leelaiyai venRAr uNdO" in Haridas
Haridas
Haridas or Haridasa may refer to:* Haridas * Haridasa, South Indian devotional bhakti movement-People with the name:* Haridas Valath, Harsh Hiran...
sung by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar , also called M.K.T., was a Tamil film actor, producer and Carnatic music singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful Tamil film actors ever....
. He is a staunch believer that only music that had the carnatic base could endure where most of his songs were "semi classic".
He has a liking for the voices of G.N. Balasubramaniam, M. L. Vasanthakumari
M. L. Vasanthakumari
Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari , was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulakshmi were popularly referred to as the "female trinity of Carnatic Music. A prime disciple of the G. N...
, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer was one of the great Indian Carnatic vocalists. He won several awards including Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeetha Bhupathy.-Early life and background:Viswanatha Iyer was born in Chennai to Rama Iyer, a singer....
, and the Hindi film music director Naushad
Naushad
Naushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
and his favourite singers in his compositions were S. Varalakshmi
S. Varalakshmi
Saridey Varalakshmi, popularly known as Telugu: ఎస్. వర లక్ష్మిS. Varalakshmi was a veteran Telugu and Tamil actress and singer...
and Jikki
Jikki
Pillavalu Gajapathi Krishnaveni aka Jikki , was a popular film playback singer from South India. She sang over nearly 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Sinhala languages.-Early life:...
. Of all the voices, he is a great lover of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar , also called M.K.T., was a Tamil film actor, producer and Carnatic music singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful Tamil film actors ever....
. GR believes that only MKT is could deliver what was expected of any singer. He is also a good singer, he had sung in his own compositions in Ponmudi
Ponmudi
Ponmudi is a hillstation in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala in South India. Its located 61 km north-east of Trivandrum city at an altitude of 1100 m. It is a part of the Western Ghats mountain range that runs parallel to the Arabian Sea.-Tourism:Ponmudi is connected to...
and also under K.V. Mahadevan's composition for Alli Petra Pillai.
GR would strive the singers to the excellence. T. M. Soundararajan said that if one could sing to the satisfaction and the tune of GR you could easily sing for the tune of any music director in any part of the world. GR would sing out the songs before recording to guide the singers. His greatest talent was that he was able to compose tunes suiting the storyline as well as the period of production of the films. He produced a film Puthu Yugam.
GR's last film was Deivathin Deivam by K. S. Gopalakrishnan
K. S. Gopalakrishnan
K. S. Gopalakrishnan is an Indian director of Hindi and Tamil movies. Since the early 1960s he has directed some 70 movies. He spent most of his career directing and producing movies with social and devotional themes. Most of his movies are melodramas....
. Unfortunately he died of heart attack after in the midst of composing for the film Arunakirinathar. Then T. R. Papa
T. R. Papa
Thiruthuraipoondi Radhakrishnan Pappa is a famous music director of Tamil, Telugu and Sinhalese movies. He was born in 1923 at Thiruthuraipoondi, Madras Presidency, British India.-Early life:...
completed it.