Iconic Tamil music composer M S Viswanathan passes away

M S Viswanathan, one of the most popular music composers of south Indian cinema, passed away at a Chennai hospital on Tuesday morning. He was 87. Viswanathan, known in the industry as MSV, has a huge body of work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam with over 750 films. Sivaji Ganeshan’s Panam in 1952 was his debut creation. MSV is popular for his collaboration with fellow composer T.K. Ramamoorthy. The duo composed music for 86 Tamil films during their association of over a decade. “Sonnathu Needhana” (Nenjil Oru Alayam), “Viswanathan Velai Vendum” (Kadalikka Neram Illai), “Kettavarellam Padalam” (Thangai) are among MSV’s all time favourites that are still popular in Tamil Nadu. “Mellisai Mannar”, as his fans called him, had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and had initially shown signs of recovery. Viswanathan’s son Gopi had said his father was being treated for geriatric disorders. His association with iconic lyricist “Kaviyarasu” Kannadasan is legendary and resulted in many evergreen songs. MSV’s brilliant partnership with composer Ramamurthy under the famous creditline of “Viswanathan-Ramamurthy” came to and end in the early 1960s. He was also responsible for making memorable songs for K. Balachander’s super hit movies. He is a recipient of Kalaimamani and several other music awards. Born in Palakkad in Kerala, Viswanathan had scored music for over 1,000 films, some of them in association with his partner Ramamurthy.Later they parted ways. MSV is survived by four sons and three daughters. His last rites will be performed on Wednesday. The Tamil cinema industry condoled the death of Viswanathan with actors and producers describing his death as an irreparable loss. (With PTI and IANS inputs)