A. Maruthakasi (13 February 1920 – 29 November 1989) was a Tamil poet and film lyricist who wrote mainly in the

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

. He penned more than 4000 lyrics in more than 250 Tamil films.

Early life

Born in Melakudikadu in

Tiruchirappalli district Tiruchirappalli District is one of the 38 districts, located along the Kaveri River, in Tamil Nadu, India. The headquarters of the district is the city of Tiruchirappalli. During the British Raj, the district was referred to as Trichinopoly, ...

on 13 February 1920 to parents Ayyamperumal Udayar and Milagayi Ammal, he had his primary education in the local village school. He had his higher education at Government College,

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...

. After college, he wrote lyrics for the dramas staged by ''Devi Nadaga Sabha'' and to ''Mandirikumari'' a drama written by M. Karunanidhi. He also wrote lyrics for the drama company owned by Ka. Mu. Sheriff. The songs for the dramas were composed by

Thiruchi Loganathan Thiruchi Loganathan (24 July 1924 – 17 November 1989) was an Indian playback singer of the Tamil film industry. He is known for his work in movies such as '' Manthiri Kumari'' (1950)and Sarvadhikari'. He was married to Rajalakshmi, daughter ...

. Later, he joined as an assistant to Rajagopala Iyer, brother of

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema a ...

Career

In 1949,

Modern Theatres Modern Theaters Ltd was an Indian film studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu started by T. R. Sundaram Mudaliar in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 films until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English ...

was producing a Tamil film.

G. Ramanathan Gopalan Ramanathan was an Indian music composer for Tamil movies. He is also known as ''Isai Methai'' (Genius of Music) or ''Sangeetha Chakravarthy'' (Emperor of Music) and is considered to be one of the influential Tamil music composers to ...

was the composer. During the song recording rehearsals, Thiruchi Loganathan sang a song penned by Maruthakasi. Producer T. R. Sundaram appreciated the meaning of the lyrics and gave a chance to Maruthakasi in the film. ''Pen Enum Maayap Peyaam... Poi Maadharai Yen Manam Naadumo'' is the first film lyric penned by Maruthakasi and the film Mayavathi released in 1949. Since then he has written more than 4000 lyrics for more than 250 Tamil films. He had the ability to write lyrics to an already set tune. As such, he has penned lyrics for many films dubbed from other language films. When Modern Theatres decided to produce Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum in 1956, T. R. Sundaram decided to use the same tunes set for the Hindi film of the same name.

Udumalai Narayana Kavi Udumalai Narayana Kavi (25 September 1899 – 23 May 1981) was an Indian poet and lyricist known for his work in Tamil films. Early life Udumalai Narayana was born on 25 September 1899 in Poolavadi, a small village in Udumalaipettai taluk, T ...

was called to write the lyrics. But he declined saying that he will write lyrics for fresh tunes and recommended Maruthakasi. Maruthakasi wrote 9 songs for the set tunes. One of his greatest hits, ''Neelavanna Kanna Vaadaa'' from the film (

Mangaiyar Thilakam ''Mangaiyar Thilakam'' () is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film, released on 26 August 1955, was a remake of the 1953 Marathi film ''Vahinicha Bangadya.'' The film was produced by Sripadha Shankar under t ...

was first assigned to Kannadasan. But film-maker

L. V. Prasad Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Da ...

was not impressed by that song. He asked Maruthakasi to write the song and it became a big hit. During the earlier decades of Tamil films, songs were written as per old Tamil literature. Maruthakasi is a foremost lyricist who started writing lyrics that could be understood by the common man. Many of his lyrics have taken root in the hearts of audience. *''Neelavanna Kanna Vaadaa'' (

– 1955) *''Sathiyame Latchiyamaayi Kollada'' ( Neelamalai Thirudan – 1957) *''Mullai Malar Mele'' ( Uthama Puthiran – 1958) *''Yer Munaikku Ner Inge Edhuvumeyille'' (Pillai Kani Amudhu – 1958) *''Sirippu Idhan Sirappai'' ( Raja Rani – 1956) are some of his songs that still remain evergreen among Tamil film music lovers.

Personal life

He married Dhanakodi Ammal in 1940. The couple had 6 sons and 3 daughters. He encouraged young persons who were looking for a career in Tamil films. *When Vaali was looking for opportunities in the early sixties, he was given a chance to write a song for the film

Nallavan Vazhvan ''Nallavan Vazhvan'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film produced and directed by P. Neelakantan. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and Rajasulochana. It revolves around a man who is sentenced to death on false charges, and e ...

. The recording of the song ' was being postponed several times for various reasons. The producers thought the 'omen' was not good and asked Maruthakasi to write a song. Maruthakasi read Vaali's lyrics and told the producer that it is an excellent song and told the producer to record Vaali's song. The song was a hit. *When Modern Theatres in Salem produced

Paasavalai ''Pasavalai'' () is a 1956 Indian Tamil-language historical fantasy film, directed by A. S. Nagarajan produced by T. R. Sundaram of Modern Theatres, and written by Pa. Kannan. The music was composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy. It stars M. ...

in 1956, they invited Maruthakasi to write the lyrics. But Maruthakasi was busy in Chennai. He recommended

Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram (13 April 1930 – 8 October 1959) also known as Pattukottaiyar was an Indian Tamil poet and lyricist, penning over 250 songs within a six year period. He is best known for writing various song lyrics for M. ...

for writing the lyrics. *In 1954 he recommended T. M. Soundararajan as a playback singer for the film

Thookku Thookki ''Thookku Thookki'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film directed by R. M. Krishnaswami. Based on the play of the same name by Udumalai Narayana Kavi, it stars Sivaji Ganesan, Lalitha and Padmini. The film revolves around a ...

to music director

. T. M. Soundararajan went on to become a legend in Tamil film music. After 1960s most of the producers sought

Kannadasan Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar better known as Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important l ...

as lyricist for their films. Maruthakasi did not get much opportunities. He tried to produce films but sustained losses so he returned to his village.

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...

called him back to Chennai and made him to write lyrics for all films produced by

Devar Films Sandow Marudur Marudachalamurthy Ayyavoo Chinnappa Thevar (28 June 1915 – 8 September 1978) was a film producer of Tamil cinema in the mid-1950s through the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for his films featuring animals, and has produced nu ...

. Maruthakasi wrote lyrics for films produced by

K. S. Gopalakrishnan K. S. Gopalakrishnan was an Indian screenwriter, director, producer, and lyricist, who worked in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. Since the early 1960s, he directed 70 films. He spent most of his career directing and producing movies with soc ...

Works

His works have been made public by the

State government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

. As a Lyricist The following list is incomplete.

Death

He died on 29 November 1989.

References

External links

Maruthakasi Lyrics
* (in Tamil) by

Vamanan Vamanan is an Indian writer, journalist, documentary film-maker and film music historian based in Chennai. He is known for his documentation of the lives of Tamil film music composers, singing stars and playback singers. Vamanan was awarded the ...

Centenary of lyricist Maruthakasi ignored
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maruthakasi, A. Tamil film poets Indian male poets People from Tiruchirappalli district 1920 births 1989 deaths