Thenkarai Ramakrishna Mahalingam (1923–1978) was a Tamil film actor, singer and music composer of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his melodious songs mostly based on romantic or devotional themes.

Early days

From his childhood, Mahalingam used to act and sing in the stage dramas popularly called special dramas. During those days, his closest companion was the famous singer S. C. Krishnan. During that time, when microphones and amplifiers were rarely available, performers had to sing very loudly to make themselves heard. This was how the early singers like Mahalingam, S. G. Kittappa

S. G. Kittappa

Shencottah Ganagathara Aiyer Kittappa was a Tamil classical singer and stage actor who was active in the pre-cinema days of the 1920s. He was the husband of singer and film actor K. B. Sundarambal.- Early life :...

, Krishnan, 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....

 and to a large extent TMS trained their voices. In 1933, when prominent singer Kittappa died at the early age of 28, Mahalingam got his first chance at film.

Acting

In 1937, at the age of 14, Mahalingam got the chance to appear in the film called Nandakumar (which was the third film produced by AVM). The film was based on the story of Lord Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 wherein Mahalingam was chosen to play the lead role. However, the film flopped at the box office in all the three languages (Tamil

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...

, Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 and Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

) in which it was made. Nevertheless the film was praised for its songs.

Mahalingam got his big break in the film Sri Valli made at the height of the Second World War, in which he played the part of Lord Murugan

Murugan

Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...

. The film did well at the box-office and established Mahalingam's reputation as both an actor and singer.

Filmography

• Nandanaar
• Chinnadurai
• Theruppadagan
• Vilayaattu Bommai
• Mohanasundaram
• Machai Regai
• Naam Iruvar
• Sri Valli
• Pavalakkodi
• Aathithan Kanavu
• Rathinapuri Ilavarasi
• Aada Vantha Deivam
• Idhaya Geetham
• Abalai Anjugam
• Manimegalai
• Amuthavalli
• Sri Valli (of Sivaji Ganesan)
• Thiruvilayadal
• Raja Raja Cholan
• Agathiyar
• Thirumalai Deivam
• Kavalai Illatha Manithan
• Thiruneelakander
• Thanthaikku Pin Thamaiyan
• Pannaiyar Magal
• Ennai Paar
• Kavalai Illaadha Manithan
• Malayitta Mangai
• Gnanasoundari
• Laila Majnu
• Velaikkaran
• Dayalan
• Prahalada
• Manonmani
• Vedala Ulagam
• Mayavati
• Sri Krishna Leela