| Home |
| www.nadigarthilagam.com |
| dedicated to the acting community of Tamil cinema. |
| TAMIL FILM ACTORS - A RETRO |
| |
| This page will bring out the profile of actors of Tamil Films. |
| The first name that would come immediately is none other than the one and only EZISAI MANNAR, |
| Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar |
| |
|
| Remembering Bhagavathar on his Birth Centenary - An Evening of Evergreen Immortal Bhagavathar Songs - Bharath Kalachar - 21.03.2010 6.00 p.m. to be rendered by Surya Prakash & Party. Sangeetha Kalanidhi Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman unveils the portrait and Music Historian, Sriram delivers a short lecture. Don't miss. |
Click here to read the article on M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar by Randor Guy, published in The Hindu Friday Review Supplement, dated 12.03.2010. |
|
| Biography | Filmography | List of songs | References |
|
| M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar |
| 01.03.1910 - 01.11.1959 |
| |
| Biography |
| |
| Born in a poor goldsmith family, Thyagaraja was unmindful of the struggle his family underwent in making both ends meet. His passion was music and singing. Education did not adore him. With utter despair, his father stopped his son from his studies and made him work in his workshop. For his surprise, the shop was thronged .. the reason the boy was a crowd puller with his singing capabilities. Krishnamurthy, whose family was residing at Tiruchy, took his son to Natesa Iyer, a Railway employee, who was running an amateur stage troupe. Thyagaraja made his debut in the play Harischandra, and donned the role of Lohidasa. |
| |
| The Play attracted good response and the voice of MKT in the pathos songs moved the audience who reciprocated by throwing coins on the Stage! And a Mega star was born |
| |
| And Bhagavathar was unique in that he was a freelancer while almost all the others belonged to one troupe or other and most of them from Boys' Company. One of his plays, PAVALAKKODI, became a super duper hit. It was a play based on Mahabharatha character, Arjuna. S.D. Subbulakshmi was paired opposite him. |
| |
| Even when MKT was acting in plays, his father got his son married to Kamala. |
| |
| The popularity of Pavalakkodi enthused Mr. AL.RM.Chettiyar to make it into a film. Mr. Chettiyar used to produce popular plays into films and the inspiration Pavalakodi in him, made him produce Pavalakodi. There was a hitch during the production because of a difference of opinion among partners. Bhagavathar who was paid Rs.700/- as salary, settled the dues to the partner and the film went on. Pavalakodi was released in 1934 and it had amazing 55 songs...! And the film was a huge success at the box office. The composer of the film was Papanasam Sivan, who was the mentor of MKT. |
| |
| There after there was no looking back for Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. His last film was SIVAKAMI, which was under production for nine years. |
| |
| Family: |
| Father |
Krishnamurthy |
| Mother |
Manikkatthammal |
| Spouse |
Rajammal |
| Brother |
M.K.Shanmugam |
| Son |
Ravindran |
| Daughter |
Saroja |
|
| |
| |
| Filmography |
| |
| Pavala Kodi (1934) |
 |
|
| Date of Release |
1934 |
| Producer |
Al.Rm. Lakshmana Chettiyar |
| Director |
K. Subrahmanyan |
| Music |
Papanasam Sivan |
| Co-stars |
S.D. Subbulakshmi, R.S. Sundarambal, S.S. Mani Bhagavathar |
| |
Top/ Home |
|
| |
| Naveena Saarangadhara (1936) |
| Date of Release |
1936 |
| Producer |
Murugan Talkies |
| Director |
K. Subrahmanyan |
| Music |
|
| Cinematography |
Shylan Bose |
| Co-stars |
S.D. Subbulakshmi, S.S. Mani Bhagavathar, S.V. Manikkavalli, M.S.Subramanyam, G. Pattu iyer, Indu Balaa |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Sathyaseelan (1936) |
| Date of Release |
1936 |
| Producer |
Tiruchy Thyagaraja Films |
| Director |
B. Sampath Kumar |
| Music |
|
| Lyrics |
Janaki Kavi Kuncharam |
| Cinematography |
Shylan Bose |
| Co-stars |
S.D. Subbulakshmi, S.S. Mani Bhagavathar, S.V. Manikkavalli, M.S.Subramanyam, G. Pattu iyer, Indu Balaa |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| |
| Cinthaamani (1937) |
|
 |
 |
| Date of Release |
12.03.1937 |
| Producer |
Royal Talkies |
| Story, Screenplay & Direction |
Y.V. Rao |
| Music & Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan |
| Dialogues |
Somayajulu - Serugalathur Sama |
| Cinematography |
B. Vashkar |
| Art |
M. Varma |
| Stills |
Movy Guha |
| Co-stars |
Aswathama, Serugalathur Sama, S.S. Rajamani, L. Narayana Rao, Y.V. Rao |
| |
|
| Box Office Success - ONE YEAR RUN |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| |
| Ambikapathy (1937) |
 |
|
| |
|
| Date of Release |
11.12.1937 |
| Producer |
Salem Sankar Films - M.S. Doddanna Chettiyar |
| Editing & Direction |
Ellis R. Duncan |
| Music & Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan |
| Dialogues |
Elankovan |
| Cinematography |
Krishna Gopal - Paul Brigade Dhrona |
| Co-stars |
M.R. Santhanalakshmi, P.B. Rangachari, N.S. Krishnan, T.S. Balaiah, Serugalathur Sama, T.A. Maduram, S.S. Rajamani, P.R. Mangalam |
| Box Office Success - ONE YEAR RUN |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Thirunilakantar (1939) |
 |
|
| Date of Release |
13.08.1939 |
| Producer |
Thyagaraja Films - M.K. Thyagaraj Bhagavathar |
| Direction |
P.K. Raja Sandoh |
| Music & Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan |
| Art |
F. Nagoor |
| Editing |
R.S. Mani |
| Cinematography |
Jithen Bannerjee |
| Co-stars |
Serugalathur Sama, N.S. Krishnan, T.S. Durairaj, T.R. Paappa, T.A. Mathuram, Bala Saraswathy, S.S. Rajamani |
| Box Office Success - ONE YEAR RUN |
|
| Top / Home |
|
| Ashok Kumar (1941) |
 |
|
| Date of Release |
10.07.1941 |
| Producer |
Murugan Talkie Film Co. |
| Direction |
Rajah Chandrasekhar |
| Story |
Kishore Sahu |
| Music |
Alathur Sivasubramaniam Pillai |
| Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan, Rajagopala Iyer, "Yaanai" Vaidyanatha Iyer |
| Dialogues |
Elangkovan |
| Cinematography |
Jithen Bannerjee |
| Art |
F. Nagoor |
| Editing |
T.R. Raghunath |
| Co-stars |
V. Nagaiah, N.S.Krishnan, M.G. Ramchander, P. Kannamba, T.V. Kumidhini, T.A. Mathuram |
| Box Office Success - HUNDRED DAYS RUN |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Sivakavi (1943) |
 |
|
| Date of Release |
1943 |
| Producer |
S.M. Sreeraamulu Nayudu |
| Direction |
Rajah Sandho, S.M. Sreeraamulu Nayudu |
| Music |
G. Ramanathan |
| Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan |
| Dialogues |
Ilankovan |
| Cinematography |
|
| Co-stars |
Serugalathur Sama, S. Jayalakshmi, T.R. Rajakumari, N.S. Krishnan, T.A. Mathuram |
| Box Office Success - HUNDRED DAYS RUN |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Haridas (1944) |
 |
 |
| Date of Release |
16.10.1944 |
| Producer |
Royal Talkie Distributors |
| Editing & Direction |
Sunderrao Nadkarni |
| Music |
G. Ramanathan |
| Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan |
| Dialogues |
Elangkovan |
| Cinematography |
Adhi Irani - T. Muthusami |
| Art |
H. Santharam |
| Laboratory |
Central Laboratory |
| Co-stars |
P.B. Rangachari, N.S.Krishnan, T.R.Rajakumari, N.C. Vasantha Kokilam, T.A. Mathuram, Harini, Radhabai |
| Box Office Success. Three years Run in Theatre. |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Raaja Mukthi (1948) |
 |
|
| Date of Release |
09.10.1948 |
| Producer |
Narendhira Pictures |
| Story & Direction |
K. Rajah Chandrasekhar |
| Editing |
M.D. Jadhav |
| Music |
C.R. Subbaraman |
| Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan |
| Dialogues |
Pudhumai Pithan - T.N. Rajappa |
| Cinematography |
Pandurang Naik, Surendra K. Pai |
| Art |
Vasudev Stolikar |
| Choreography |
Vedantham Ragavaiah |
| Co-stars |
Serukalathur Sama, P.S. Veerappa, M.G. Ramchander, M.G. Chakrapani, M.R. Swaminathan, T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai (Nagaswaram), P. Bhanumathi, V.N. Janaki, C.T. Rajakantham, Chandira |
| Gramaphone Records Sale created new records. |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Amara Kavi(1952) |
 |
|
| Date of Release |
09.02.1952 |
| Produced, Directed and Art |
F. Nagoor |
| Lyrics |
A. Maruthakasi |
| Music |
G.Ramanathan, T.A. Kalyanam |
| Dialogues |
Suratha |
| Cinematography |
Jithen Bannerjee - Selvaraj |
| Editing |
V.P. Nataraja Mudhaliyar |
| Co-stars |
N.S. Krishnan, M.G. Chakrapani, K.A. Thangavelu, T.R. Rajakumari, B.S. Saroja, P.K. Saraswathi, T.A. Mathuram |
| |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| Shyamala (1952) |
| |
|
| Date of Release |
29.11.1952 |
| Producer |
Yuva Pictures P.S. Seshachalam |
| Screenplay & Direction |
B.A. Subba Rao |
| Story |
T.P. Subba Rao |
| Music |
G.Ramanathan - T.V. Raju - Dhinakar Rao |
| Lyrics |
Kambadasan, C.S. Nataraja Sundaram |
| Dialogues |
Udhayakumar |
| Cinematography |
C. Nageswara Rao - V. Rajagopal |
| Art |
Vaali |
| Choreography |
Pasumarthi Krishnamurthi |
| Stills |
Venkatachari |
| Laboratory |
Vijaya Laboratory |
| Co-stars |
Relanki, S. Varalkshmi, Thilakam, Kanakam, Veenavathy, Asha Latha |
| |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| |
| Pudhu Vaazhvu (1957) |
| |
|
| Date of Release |
08.03.1957 |
| Producer & Director |
M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar |
| Story & Dialogues |
Elankovan, A.K. Velan, Iraimudi Mani, Suratha |
| Music |
G. Ramanathan - C.N. Pandurangan |
| Lyrics |
Bharathiyar, Paapanaasam Sivan, Thanjai A. Ramaiah Dhas, A. Maruthakasi, Nataraja Sundaram, Saravanabavanandar, N.S.K. Ramalingaswamigal, Meygnana Sitthar |
| Art |
T.V. Annamalai |
| Choreography |
Heeraalal-Sohanlal-Madhavan |
| Studio |
Neuton - Golden |
| Co-stars |
T.S. Balaiah, T.S. Dhurairaj, P.B. Rangachari, Ponnusami Pillai, V.K. Achari, N.S. Krishnan, Lalitha, Devi, Thulasi, K.N. Kamalam, Kalyani Ammal, T.A. Mathuram, Ambikai |
| |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| |
| Sivakami (1960) |
| |
|
| Date of Release |
09.02.1960 |
| Producer |
Muthiah Pictures M.A. Venu |
| Direction |
A. Mithradhas |
| Story & Dialogues |
A.K. Venkata Ramanujam |
| Music |
K.V. Mahadevan |
| Lyrics |
Paapanaasam Sivan, Kaa.Mu. Sherif |
| Editing |
K. Ramachandran |
| Art |
M.P. Kuttiyaapu |
| Choreography |
Chinni Sampath |
| Stills |
John |
| Lab |
Vijaya Cine Lab |
| Co-stars |
Jakkaiah, Sivasuriyan, Natarajan, Jeyasri, G. Varalakshmi, Muthulakshmi, S.D. Subbu Lakshmi, Lakshmi prabha |
| A pathetic story offscreen. Bhagavathar was in dire straits when this film was produced. Songs for the proposed film Raja Yogi were used for this film. A long time production. |
| |
Top / Home |
|
| |
| |
| LIST OF SONGS SUNG BY M.K. THYAGARAJA BHAGAVATHAR |
| |
|
| |
| REFERENCES |
| |
| BOOKS |
| TAMIL FILM DIRECTORY BY Film news Ananthan |
| KALAI ULAGA CHAKKARAVARTHIGAL (Tamil) by S.M. UMAR, pub. Alliance Co., 244, Ramakrishna Mutt Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004. Pub. 2003. Ph.24941314. |
| |
| Websites |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._K._Thyagaraja_Bhagavathar |
| http://www.jointscene.com/artists/Kollywood/M.K.Thyagaraja_Bhagavathar |
| http://www.tamilnation.org/culture/music/mkt.htm |
| http://raja1630.tripod.com/mktb/id18.html |
| http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/mkthyagarajabagavadhar/index.asp |
| Top / Home |
| |
| Next - P.U. Chinnappa |
