Thamarai (born 10 November 1975) is a noted Tamil poet and lyricist. She is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry through the 1998 film Iniyavale, which was directed by Seeman and music composed by Deva.

Life and career

Thamarai was born in Coimbatore,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

on 10 November 1975. She graduated from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, in production engineering and worked for six years in Coimbatore. With her passion for poetry, she decided to move to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

, where she worked as a

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

in an organization named Bhagya and wrote essays, stories and poems. Through her literary works, she became popular and got noticed. Director Seeman assigned her as lyricist for the song "Thendral Enthan" for his Tamil film Iniyavale. Subsequently, she wrote lyrics for films such as '' Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen'' ("Malligai Poove") and '' Thenali'' ("Injirango Injirango"). Her work together with music director

Harris Jayaraj Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi. He has been honoured with ...

in '' Minnale'' marked the turning point in her cine industry career, primarily noted for her song "Vaseegara" in the movie. After ''Minnale'', the trio, composed of director

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films that either simultaneously shot with or rema ...

and music director

, teamed up several times again (''

Kaakha Kaakha ''Kaakha Kaakha'' (), titled ''The Police'' in the UK, is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. It stars Suriya and Jyothika, with Jeevan playing the antagonist. The film featured m ...

'', '' Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu'', '' Pachaikili Muthucharam'' and '' Vaaranam Aayiram'') and were a very successful collaboration in the film field, until the break-up between Menon and Jayaraj happened. Since then, she is teaming up with A. R. Rahman, who replaced Jayaraj.

and Thamarai trio teamed up again in July 2014 for Ajith Kumar starrer '' Yennai Arindhaal...'' The film's album was released on 1 January 2015, and it was well received by critics. She wrote" Neeraambal Poovae" from the movie Nannbenda, where she again works for

. The song is sung by

Arjun Menon Arjun Menon (born 19 December 1987) is an Indian playback singer and songwriter based in New York City and London. He has sung for music directors including A.R. Rahman, Harris Jayaraj and G.V Prakash. Arjun started his music career performin ...

Personal life

Thamarai is married to

Thozhar Thiyagu Thozhar Thiyagu (born 30 January 1950), also known as Comrade Thiyagu, is a social activist, politician, writer from Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is also the General Secretary of Tamil National Liberation Movement and is well known for his ...

. They have a son. Thamarai is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

and an advocate of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

Filmography

Awards

;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassin ...

* Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) * Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010) * Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (2016) ;

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Th ...

* Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist- Thenali (2000) * Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award - Paavender Bharathidasan Award in 2006 ; Vijay Awards * Vijay Award for Best Lyricist – Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) * Vijay Award for Best Lyricist – Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal (2012) ; Other awards and recognition * ITFA Best Lyricist Award – Kaaka Kaaka (2003) * Meera Isaiaruvi Tamil Music Award for Best Lyricist – Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) *Anandha Vikatan awards - Best lyricist for Thalli pogathey *

Zee Cine Awards The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way". They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...

Maara ''Maara'' is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language adventure romantic drama film directed by Dhilip Kumar in his directorial debut, and produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa of Pramod Films. An adaptation of the 2015 Malayalam blockbus ...

References

External links