Madhavan Raveendran (born

Kulathupuzha Kulathupuzha is a town in the eastern part of the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is one of the important pilgrim spots linked with the legend of Sabarimala. It is the birthplace of the Malayalam music composer Raveendran. Kulathupuzha is t ...

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

, 9 November 1943 – died

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...

and playback singer from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He composed songs for more than 150 films primarily for the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

film industries. He also composed a few albums, including ''Vasantha Geethangal'', ''Ponnonatharangini'' and ''Rithugeethangal''. Raveendran composed melodies based on Hindustani Ragas also.

Early life

Raveendran was born on 9 November 1943, in

, a small village in the present-day

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...

. He is the seventh child (of nine children) of Late Madhavan and Late Lakshmi. His early life was filled with poverty, and he tried hard to complete his education. After his school days, he went to Swathi Thirunal Music College in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, where he met

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...

, and soon began a great friendship. Later, he went to

(Then Madras) to fulfill his wish to be a playback singer. He then changed his name as Kulathupuzha Ravi.

Musical career

He began his career as a playback singer with the song "Parvanarajanithan" from a Malayalam film, ''Velliyazhcha''. He then became a

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

and associated with many Malayalam composers. He also dubbed voices for films during this time. The great playback singer

, a former classmate, altered the course of Raveendran's life by persuading him to compose songs and thus he became a music director. Director J. Sasikumar, commissioned Raveendran to compose the music for ''

Choola ''Choola'' is a 1979 Indian Malayalam film, directed by J. Sasikumar. The film stars M. G. Soman, Manavalan Joseph, Bhavani, P. J. Antony and Sankaradi in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Raveendran, who debuted through this fil ...

'' (1979). The song "Tharake Mizhiyithalil Kannerumayi ...", sung by Yesudas, became a hit. Ever since, Raveendran led Malayalam film music with several hit songs. Melody incorporated with the aspects of Carnatic music were the hallmark of his songs. He successfully composed melodies based on ''

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( English: /ˈhɪndustæn/ or /ˈhɪndustɑn/, ; ) was a historical region, polity, and a name for India, historically used simultaneously for northern Indian subcontinent and the entire subcontinent, used in the modern day ...

i'' ragas also. In 1981 he composed songs and background score for the movie ''

Thenum Vayambum ''Thenum Vayambum'' () is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Ashok Kumar and written by John Paul, starring Nedumudi Venu, Prem Nazir and Sumalatha, along with Mohanlal and Ranipadmini. The film features music composed by Raveend ...

'' directed by Asok kumar. All songs including "Thenum vayambum", "Ottakkambi nadham" and "Manasoru kovil" became superhits. With the release of ''

'' (1981), Raveendran made his mark in the film field. In the same year he composed music and background score for the movie ''

Chiriyo Chiri ''Chiriyo Chiri'' is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by Balachandra Menon and produced by P. V. Gangadharan. The film stars Balachandra Menon, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Adoor Bhasi and Maniyanpilla Raju . The film has musical score by ...

'' directed by Balachandramenon. The song "Ezhu swarangalum" from the movie ''Chiriyo Chiri'' is considered as a pathbreaking semi classical song in Malayalam. In 1982, for his close friend, director

P. Venu P. Venu (8 November 1940 – 25 May 2011), was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and lyricist with over 20 films to his name. His directorial venture Udhyogastha in 1967 was the first-ever multi-star cast film of south India. ...

he dubbed for actor Shankar in his film ''Aranjyanam'' and later composed music for his movie ''Thacholi Thankappan''. A few of Raveendran's best songs were in films like ''

'', ''

Sukhamo Devi ''Sukhamo Devi'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film written and directed by Venu Nagavally in his directorial debut. The story was based on his own life experience. It stars Mohanlal, Shankar, Geetha, and Urvashi in maj ...

'', ''

Aattakalasam ''Aattakalasam'' () is a 1983 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by J. Sasikumar, written by Salim Cherthala, and produced by Joy Thomas. The film stars Mohanlal, Prem Nazir, and Lakshmi. The film features music composed by Ra ...

'', ''

Yuvajanotsavam ''Yuvajanotsavam'' is a 1986 Indian Malayalam romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Shrikumaran Thampi. It stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Menaka and Ashokan. The music and background by Raveendran. The film marks the return of ...

'', ''

Amaram ''Amaram'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam drama film directed by Bharathan and written by A. K. Lohithadas. It stars Mammootty, Maathu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Ashokan, Murali, Chitra, and Kuthiravattam Pappu in the main roles. The film's sc ...

'', ''

His Highness Abdullah ''His Highness Abdullah'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, Sreenivasan, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Mamukkoya. The ...

'', ''

Kamaladalam ''Kamaladalam'' () is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil, starring Mohanlal, Murali, Vineeth, Nedumudi Venu, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Monisha, Parvathy Jayaram a ...

'', ''

Kizhakkunarum Pakshi ''Kizhakkunarum Pakshi'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical tragedy drama film written and directed by Venu Nagavalli and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. It stars Mohanlal, Shankar, Murali, Rekha, Jagathy Sreekumar, Ashokan and Inn ...

'', ''

Champakulam Thachan ''Champakulam Thachan'' () is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan, based on the Shakespearean tragedy ''Othello''. The film stars Madhu, Vineeth, Murali, Monisha, Rambha and Nedumudi Venu. ...

'', '' Dhanam'', ''

Aayirappara ''Aayirappara'' is a 1993 Malayalam film directed by Venu Nagavalli, starring Mammootty, Urvashi and Madhu in the lead roles. The movie was produced by Sreekanth and Ashok under the banner of Gauridarshana and it has been distributed by Mak Rel ...

'', ''

Kalippattam ''Kalippattam'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Venu Nagavalli and starring Mohanlal, Urvashi, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Jagathy and Nedumudi Venu. Mohanlal also sang a song ("Vazhiyoram") with Chithr ...

'', ''

Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu ''Ayal Katha Ezhuthukayanu'' () is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language black comedy film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan based on a story by Siddique. The plot follows the travails of an eccentric and wasted pulp fiction writer, Saga ...

'', ''

Nandanam Nandanam is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is located on the northern banks of Adyar River, on the other side of Kotturpuram, and is bound by Saidapet, T. Nagar and Teynampet. In addition to a number of institutions and companies, Nanda ...

'', ''Rajashilpi'', ''

Bharatham ''Bharatham'' is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu, Lakshmi, and Murali. The film was produced by Mohanlal through his pro ...

'' and ''

Aaraam Thampuran ''Aaraam Thampuran'' () is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas, written by Ranjith and produced by Revathy Kalamandhir. It stars Mohanlal in the title role with Narendra Prasad, Manju Warrier, Sai Kuma ...

''. The songs " Pramadhavanam Veendum" from the movie ''His Highness Abdullah'' and "

Harimuraleeravam "Harimuraleeravam" () is a song composed by Raveendran included in the soundtrack for the 1997 Malayalam-language film '' Aaraam Thampuran''. The song was majorly composed in Sindhu Bhairavi raga yet deviates and travels to other ragas includin ...

" from ''Aaraam Thampuran'' were among the most adored songs of that time. He shared a close relationship with the actor

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

. He also composed songs and background score for 8 Tamil films like ''Hemavin kadhalargal'', ''

Rasigan Oru Rasigai ''Rasigan Oru Rasigai'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Balu Anand and starring Sathyaraj and Ambika. It was released on 21 February 1986. Plot Cast Production Sathyaraj, who played villainous roles in many films, ...

'', ''Kanmaniye pesu'', ''

Dharma devathai ''Dharma Devathai'' ( ) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and produced by AVM Productions. The film stars Vijayakanth, Sarath Babu, Radhika and Pallavi. It is a remake of the 1986 Telugu film ''Pra ...

'', ''Pottu vacha neram'', ''Lakshmi vandhachu'', ''Thaye nee thunai'' and ''Malare kurinji malare''. Almost all major lyricists of his era penned lyrics for his songs, like

O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...

Sreekumaran Thampi Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he w ...

Bichu Thirumala Bhaskaran Sivasankaran Nair, popularly known as Bichu Thirumala (13 February 1942 – 26 November 2021), was an Indian lyricist and poet. He is known for creating the style of arranging beautiful words in Malayalam film songs. In Malayalam cinem ...

Poovachal Khader Poovachal Khader (25 December 1948 – 22 June 2021) was a Malayalam lyricist from Kerala who worked mainly in Malayalam film industry. His first movie as a lyricist was ''Kaattuvithachavan'' (1973) but his first released movie was ''Chuzhi'' (1 ...

, Chunakkara Ramankutty,

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 19 ...

Gireesh Puthenchery Girish Puthenchery was a noted Malayalam lyricist, poet, scriptwriter and screenwriter, esteemed for his pivotal role as a lyricist in Malayalam cinema. He was often hailed as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam and was admired for his uniqu ...

Shibu Chakravarthy Shibu Chakravarthy is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, journalist and poster designer who works in Malayalam cinema. He is one of the most coveted lyricists of Malayalam cinema who has bagged several awards and accolades. Having penned thou ...

, etc. Most of his songs were sung by K. J. Yesudas and

K. S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...

Non-cinematic albums

Some of his light music albums and devotional albums, which were most popular in the 1980s and 1990s through All India Radio and audio cassettes were ''Tharanginiyude Ulsava Gaanangal'' (festival songs) (1983, 1985), '' Vasantha Geethangal'' (1984), ''Ponnona Tharangini'' (1992), ''Amme Saranam Devi Saranam'' (1994), ''Sarana Theertham'' (1997) and ''

Uthradapoonilave Madhavan Raveendran (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more tha ...

'' (2001). Raveendran did orchestration for Deepam Makaradeepam (1980) composed by BichuThirumala.

Personal life

He was married to Shobha and has three sons. His youngest son, Naveen Madhav, is a playback singer in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film and twin sons Rajan Madhav, a film director, and Sajan Madhav, a music composer in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Yakshiyum njanum was the debut movie of Sajan Madhav as composer in Malayalam. Earlier he composed orchestration for the songs of Kalabham and also helped in orchestration of many songs composed by Raveendran. Raveendran died suddenly at his home in

following a cardiac arrest on 3 March 2005, aged only 61. He was suffering from

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

for a long time, and was under treatment when his end occurred. His last works ''

Vadakkumnadhan ''Vadakkumnadhan'' ( Lord Shiva) is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language psychological drama film directed by Shajoon Kariyal and written by Gireesh Puthenchery. It stars Mohanlal as Iringannoor Bharatha Pisharody, a university professor diagnos ...

'' and ''Kalabham'' were released posthumously in 2006.

Filmography

As a playback singer

He started his career as a playback singer for the 1969 movie '' Velliyazhcha'' for which the songs were composed by

M. S. Baburaj Mohammad Sabir Baburaj (3 March 1929 – 7 October 1978) was an Indian music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film music. Baburaj has rendered music to many evergreen Malayalam film songs. Earl ...

. His first song was titled "Parvana rajanithan". For a decade, he struggled to get songs and even become a dubbing artist for films. He dubbed for actor Shankar in the movie

Aranjaanam ''Aranjaanam'' is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. Venu and produced by P. K. Gopi. The film stars Shankar, Rajkumar, Subhashini and Sumalatha. The film has musical score and songs composed by K. J. Joy. Cast * Shank ...

directed by

. As a music director, he sang some of his songs. In 1978 Raveendran sung a song (sandhya vandana geethikaluyarum sanyasikalude asramavadam) with Yesudas in the movie "AVAKASAM" directed by '' A B Raj''.(Then he was called as kulathuppuzha Ravi) Music direction by ''

M K Arjunan M, or m, is the thirteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of several Languages of Europe, western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in En ...

'' and Lyrics by '' Gopi Kottarappat''.

Major awards

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

: * 1992 – Special Mention – ''

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

: * 1991 – Best Music Director – ''Bharatham'' * 2002 – Best Music Director – ''

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

: * 1990 – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Malayalam – ''

'' * 1991 – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Malayalam – ''Bharatham'' * 1995 – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Malayalam – ''

Mazhayethum Munpe ''Mazhayethum Munpe (Before it Rains)'' is a 1995 Malayalam romantic drama film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan. The film stars Mammootty, Shobhana and Annie and in the lead roles. The plot is centered upon a college professor ...

'' * 2006 – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Malayalam – ''

Kerala Film Critics Award The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam language film industry of India. The a ...

* Best Music Director - ''Bharatham''

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says an awards ceremony has been instituted to honour artistic and ...

: * 2006 – Best Music Director -''Vadakkumnadhan''

Notable songs

* Tharake Mizhiyithalil ( Choola) * Chandanamani vathil pathi Chari ( Marikkunnilla Njan) * Thengum hrudayam... (''Aattakkalasham'') * Nirangale... (''Aham'') *

... (''Aaraam Thampuran'') * Pramadhavanam...( ''His Highness Abdulla'') *

Devasabhathalam Madhavan Raveendran (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more than ...

...( ''His Highness Abdulla'') * Sree Lathikakal & Sukamo devi...(''

'') * Gopangane... (''Bharatham'') * Ramakadha... (''Bharatham'') * Sayanthanam...(''Kamaladalam'') * Premodhaaranay...(''Kamaladalam'') * Ezhuswarangalum thazhukivarum...(''Chirio chiri'') * Pularkala Sundara Swapnathil..........(''Oru Maymasa pulariyil'') * Azhake...(''Amaram'') * Vikara Naukayumai...(''Amaram'') * Kandu njan mizhikalil...(''Abhimanyu'') * Vanambaadi etho theerangal...(''Desadanakili Karayaarilla'') * Thenum vayambum...(''Thenum vayambum'') * Madhumasa Ponnila Choodi...(''Kuttettan'') * Innumente Kannuneeril...(''Yuvajanotsavam'') * Puzhayorazhakullapennu... (''Ente Nadinikkuttikku'') * Hridayam oru veenayai...(''Thammil Thammil'') * Aalila Manjalil...(''Surya gayathri'') * Kalabham tharaam...(''Vadakkumnadhan'') * Enthinu Veroru Sooryodayam...(''Mazhayethum munpea'') * Ragangale...(''Tharattu'') * Manja Kiliyude...(''Kanmadam'') * Manathaaril Ennum...(''Kaliyil Alpam Kaaryam'') * Etho Nidrathan...(''Ayaal Kathayezhuthukayaanu'') * Moovanthi thazhvarayil...(''Kanmadam'') * Vaarmukile vaanil...... (''

Mazha ''Mazha'' () is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Lenin Rajendran based on the short story ''Nashtappetta Neelambari'' by Madhavikkutty. It stars Biju Menon, Samyuktha Varma, and Lal. The music was composed b ...

'') * Kaarmukil varnante.....(''

Nandanam (film) ''Nandanam'' () is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language romantic film written, co-produced and directed by Ranjith. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Navya Nair, Aravind Akash, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Revathi, Siddique and Saikumar. Playback sing ...

'') * Deenadayalo Raama... (''Arayannangalude Veedu'') * Thalam Thettiya... (''Thalam Thettiya Tharattu'') * Aalilathaliyumay...(''Mizhi Randilum'') * Poovinullil Poo Viriyum (''Tharattu'') * Olikkunnuvo Mizhikkumbilil....(''Champakulam Thachan'') * Devasandhya Gopurathil.... (''Kalabham'') * Deepam Deepam... (''Neelakkadambu'') * Kudajaadriyil Kudikollum * Ganga...... (''Vadakkumnathan'') * Sindhura sandhyyakku Mownam (''Choola'')

Bibliography

*M D Manoj ''Raveendra Sangeetham'', Olive Publishers May 2010 *Sobha (Raveend's wife) ''Raveendra sangeetham Kelkatha ragangal'', 2011

References

Raveendran Website
* , ''The Hindu''
"Malayalam music director Ravindran dies"
''The Times of India''
"Obituary – Raveendran"
Sify * , ''The Hindu''

''Paadheyam'' *

Vanitha ''Vanitha'' () is an Indian magazine published fortnightly by the ''Malayala Manorama'' group. It is the largest magazine in India by circulation according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, with an average of 687,915 copies sold (as of Decem ...

( 15–29 February 2008) Interview with the Raveendran family

External links

Raveendran's profile on www.malayalasangeetham.info
{{Authority control Malayalam film score composers Tamil film score composers 1943 births 2005 deaths 20th-century classical composers 21st-century Indian classical composers Indian male playback singers Kerala State Film Award winners Musicians from Kollam Singers from Kerala Deaths from lung cancer in India Filmfare Awards South winners University of Kerala alumni Film musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian composers Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers

Early life

Musical career

Non-cinematic albums

Personal life

Filmography

As a playback singer

Major awards

Notable songs

See also

Bibliography

References

External links