T. M. Soundararajan | |
|---|---|
 T. M. Soundararajan | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | TMS |
| Born | 24 March 1922 Madurai, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Origin | Madurai, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Died | 25 May 2013 (aged 91) Chennai, India |
| Genres | Playback singing and classical musician |
| Occupation(s) | Singer and actor |
| Instrument | Vocal |
| Years active | 1946–2013 |
Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan[1] (24 March 1922 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 films,[2][3] including devotional, semi-classical, Carnatic, classical and light music songs.[4] He gave classical concerts starting in 1943.
He lent his voice to actors and thespians in the Tamil film industry such as M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, N. T. Rama Rao, Gemini Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran, Jaishankar, Ravichandran, A. V. M. Rajan, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, Sivakumar, Kantha Rao, Rajkumar, Prem Nazir and A. Nageswara Rao. He also gave his voice to many new generation actors like Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Vijayakanth, Satyaraj, Rajesh, Prabhu, and Vijaya Kumar, in addition to other known and unknown heroes and supporting actors like M.R. Radha, K R Ramaswami, T. Rajendar, V.K. Ramaswami, Thengai Sreenivasan, M.N. Nambiar, Thangavelu, Y.G. Mahendran, R.S. Manohar, S.V. Ashokan, Ranjan, Narasimha Bharathi, Sahasra Namam, T S Balayya, Jagayya, Nagayya, Thyagarajan, Sreenath, Shankar etc.
In a career spanning over six and half decades, he rode like a colossus and dominated Tamil music for decades. Besides primarily Tamil, he also sang in other languages including Sourashtra, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam. He was a lyricist and music composer for many devotional songs. He was the music director for the film Bala Parikshai. His peak period as a male playback singer in the South Indian film industry was from 1955 to 1985. His first film song was in 1946, at the age of 24, and his last was with P. Susheela during 2010 at the age of 88. He was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba and also sang songs about him.[5] TMS died on 25 May 2013 at his residence in Mandaveli, Chennai due to illness. He was 91 years old.[6]
- ^ "He is still a spellbinder". The Hindu. 10 August 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2019.[dead link]
- ^ Mathrubhumi and Malayala Manorama, 26 May 2013
- ^ Prahlad (24 March 1922). "Tamil singing legend TMS dies after brief illness – Oneindia News". News.oneindia.in. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ "Veteran playback singer TM Soundararajan died". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ "Rare Video | பகவான் ஸ்ரீ சத்ய சாயி பாபா பற்றி T. M. சௌந்தரராஜன் (TMS)". YouTube. March 2020.
- ^ "Iconic Tamil singer TM Soundararajan dies". The Times of India. 25 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.