Vedha (S. S. Vedhasalam) was an Indian composer who started working in Sinhala films during the early 1950s when they were being produced in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

. Then he worked mainly in

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

s. He was active in the field for about 25 years since 1952. He composed music for many films produced by

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 of ...

. He was popularly known to adapt Hindi tunes to Tamil songs.

Career

He started his career by assisting music directors in films. He was a co-music director in the 1955 film

Menaka Menaka () is an Apsara (heavenly nymph) in Hindu literature. Legends Menaka was born during the churning of the ocean by the devas and asuras. She is one of the most mesmerising apsaras (celestial nymphs) in the three worlds, with quick in ...

along with

T. G. Lingappa Thiruchirappalli Govindarajulu Lingappa (22 August 1927 – 5 February 2000) was an Indian music director who worked predominantly in Kannada language films. He also worked in Tamil and Telugu movies. He was the son of G. Govindarajulu Naidu wh ...

and C. N. Pandurangan. The first film he was in-charge as music director is Marma Veeran released in 1956. The song ''Thudikkum Vaalibame'' sung by

R. Balasaraswathi Devi Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi (born 28 August 1928) is an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She was the first light music singer on All India Radio and the first playback singer in the T ...

in this film was a big hit. Usually R. Balasaraswathi is known for singing lullaby songs but this song is full of romantic love known as

Sringara Sringara ( sa, शृङ्गार, ) is one of the nine rasas, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical Indian arts i ...

m. ''Nadakkaadhu Jambam Palikkadhu'' a song sung by T. M. Soundararajan and P. Susheela in the 1958 film

Manamalai ''Manamalai'' (; ) is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao and written by Vindhan. It is based on the 1914 novel '' Parineeta'' by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Savi ...

was a popular number in

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...

for a long time. He composed music for another film in the same year. Anbu Enge was a successful film, music being one of the factors. Particularly, the number ''Dingiri Dingale'' sung by T. M. Soundararajan and P. Susheela separately as two versions, was a mega hit. The tune is of

Baila Baila (also known as bayila; from the Portuguese verb ''bailar'', meaning ''to dance'') is a form of music, popular in Sri Lanka and among Goan Catholics. The genre originated centuries ago among the Portuguese Burghers and Sri Lankan Kaffirs ...

genre. The song "Oraayiram Paarvaiyile" from the 1965 film ''

Vallavanukku Vallavan ''Vallavanukku Vallavan'' () is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film, directed by R. Sundaram, son of T. R. Sundaram, and written by A. L. Narayanan. Music was by Vedha. It has an ensemble cast including Gemini Ganesan, Thangavel ...

'' was also a very popular number. Though the tune was lifted from Hindi, the lyrics by

Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...

and the mesmerising voice of T. M. Soundararajan gave it a Tamil flavour. A song from the 1966 film ''Vallavan Oruvan'', "Palinginaal Oru Maaligai" was an apt number for L. R. Eswari's singing talent. Her voice combined with Vedha's music took audience to great heights.

Singers

The singers who sang for his composition are: T. M. Soundararajan,

A. M. Rajah Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director. Early life A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...

Thiruchi Loganathan Thiruchi Loganathan (24 July 1924 – 17 November 1989) was a playback singer of the Tamil film industry. He is known for his work in movies such as '' Manthiri Kumari'' (1950) and '' Parasakthi'' (1952). He was married to Rajalakshmi, daughter ...

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian Music and also as ...

, T. A. Mothi, S. C. Krishnan,

J. P. Chandrababu Joseph Panimayadas Chandrababu Rodriguez (1927–1974) was an Indian actor, comedian, director, singer and dancer, whose Chaplinesque-style on-screen movements and singing style made him popular from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. He had ...

Sirkazhi Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day May ...

, V. N. Sundharam, A. L. Raghavan, S. V. Ponnusamy, Mohideen Baig, Eddie Jayamanne, P. Susheela, L. R. Eswari,

, K. Jamuna Rani, (Radha) Jayalakshmi, P. Leela,

Jikki Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese langua ...

, K. Rani, A. G. Rathnamala, B. Vasantha, M. S. Rajeswari,

Mabel Blythe Mabel Josephine Blythe (28 March 1930–27 December 2004: මේබල් බ්ලයිත්) was an actress and singer in Sri Lankan cinema. One of the earliest pillars in Sinhala cinema, she acted in several popular films as well as wor ...

, Rukmani Devi and Manorama and Ghantasala.

Lyricists

Lyricists who wrote lyrics for Vedha's compositions include

, Sundar Kannan, A. L. Narayanan, Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass, Villiputhan, A. Maruthakasi, Vaali, Karunaidasan, Nallathambi,

Alangudi Somu Alangudi Somu (12 December 1932 − 6 June 1997) was an Indian Tamil film lyricist who wrote many popular songs in several films. He was active in the field from 1960 till late 1990s. About Alangudi Somu born on 12 December 1932 in Alangudi vil ...

and Panju Arunachalam.

Filmography

References

* * * {{authority control Tamil film score composers 20th-century Indian composers Indian male film score composers 20th-century male musicians