Music Composer MS Viswanathan Dies at 87

Legendary music director MS Viswanathan passed away on Tuesday, 14 July. The 87-year old is survived by four sons and three daughters.

He was admitted to a private hospital a few weeks ago due to old-age related health issues and his condition remained critical for over a few weeks. He breathed his last at around 4.30 am on Tuesday.

MS Viswanathan's journey as a music director begun with Sivaji Ganeshan starrer "Panam" in 1952. Since then, he composed music for about 1700 films. Language had never been a barrier for this legend as he composed music for not just Tamil films but also for Telugu and Kannada.

The highlight of MS Viswanathan's career was when he worked with three Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu -- MG Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa.

MS Viswanathan had collaborated with TK Ramamurthy and they worked together in over 100 films. They parted ways after churning out many chartbusters albums including "Paasamalara, "Sumaithaangi", "Server Sundaram", "Aayirathil Oruvan" and "Enga Veetu Pillai".

As a solo composer, MS Viswanathan churned out hits like "Bama Vijayam", "Galatta Kalyanam", "Deivamagan", "Moondru Dheivangal", "Rickshawkaran", "Bharatha Vilas", "Ulagam Sutrum Valiban", etc. MS Viswanathan and TK Ramamurthy teamed up once again after 29 years for Sathyaraj's film "Engirundho Vanthan" in 1995.

Apart from passion in music, his other interest was to be an actor. But his attempts in acting did not give him a break after working in small roles in dramas before taking up a career in music. He is a recipient of Kalamamani and several other music awards.