Kambadasan (1916–1973) was an Indian writer, poet and film lyricist who worked mainly in Tamil-language films.
Early life
Kambadasan was born as Appaavu a.k.a. Rajappa at Ulagapuram, a village near
Tindivanam in the then
South Arcot District (Madras Presidency)
South Arcot District was a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Cuddalore, Kallakurichi and Viluppuram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The district was divided into eight ta ...
on 15 September 1916. His father Subbarayar was a potter and his mother is Balammal. He was the only son to his parents whose other five children were all girls. The family migrated to
Purasaivakkam in Chennai when he was a child. The school education came to an end with 6th standard.
He was interested in stage plays. With his fine voice, singing talents and ability to play the
harmonium, he soon established a place for himself in stage dramas. Rajappa was devoted to poet
Kambar and took his pen name as ''Kambadasan'' which means fanatic of Kambar.
Career
As a writer, he has written short stories, poems and plays.
With his talents, it was an easy entry for him into the Tamil cinema. He started as an actor and then developed into scriptwriter and lyricist. His debut as a lyricist was in
Vaamana Avatharam (1940) in which he was credited as C. S. Rajappa. He wrote the dialogues for
Saalivaahanan (1945) and as a popular lyricist with the hit song ''Arul Thaarum Deva Mathaave'' in Citadel's
Gnana Soundari (1948). Another song ''Parthal pasi theerum'' sung by the erstwhile
P. U. Chinnappa
Pudukkottai Ulaganathan Pillai Chinnappa (5 May 1916 – 23 September 1951) was an Indian singer and film actor during the 30s era from Pudukottai, India. He is also credited as one of the first major influential actors of South Cinema. His no ...
for the film
Mangayarkarasi
''Mangayarkarasi'' () is a 1949 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Jiten Banerjee. The film was produced by F. Nagoor and S. N. Ahamed, and stars P. U. Chinnappa, P. Kannamba and Anjali Devi. It is a remake of the Telugu film ''Gollabhama'' ...
(1949) also was a hit. He was also featured as the court poet in this film.
He was adept at writing for dubbed films. Many of the films dubbed from Hindi and Telugu were successful at the box office in Tamil mainly due to his dialogues and lyrics. The challenge for writing for dubbed films is to write lyrics with the tune already set and to suit the lip movements. A case in point for his success in such films is
Vaanaratham (1956).
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...
who sang the original Hindi songs rendered the Tamil versions written by Kambadasan.
Family life and death
He first married Chitralekha, a dancer and daughter of Malayalam poet
Vallathol. The marriage did not last long and they separated soon. Then he married poet and school teacher Susheela. That marriage also failed. He married again a dancer Anusuya.
Kambadasan was admitted to Royapettah hospital due to failing health condition related to alcoholism, and he died on 23 May 1973.
Filmography
As actor
As Script and Dialogues writer
As lyricist
References
Bibliography
*, Dinamani
*
*
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External links
Kambadasan songs*A list of his published works can be seen in the
Tamil Wiki article Kambadasan
{{Authority control
1916 births
1973 deaths
Tamil film poets
Indian lyricists
People from Viluppuram district