G. Ramanathan

Gopalan Ramanathan was an Indian music composer for Tamil movies. He is also known as Isai Methai (Genius of Music) or Sangeetha Chakravarthy (Emperor of Music) and is considered to be one of the influential Tamil music composers to take Carnatic music to the masses. Notable for his association with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. G. Ramanathan also composed for films of Salem Modern Theatres and Coimbatore Central Studios. His career lasted until his death in 1963. During the 1950s G.Ramanathan's music dominated most of the box office hits of the then leading Tamil movie stars Shivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.

Early life G. Ramanathan (GR) was born in Bikshandarkoil, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. GR's biographer Vamanan indicates that his birth year could have been 1910. GR's father was Gopalsamy Iyer who worked as sub-inspector in the Indian Railways. He lost his parents while being young, and was taken care by his elder brother Sundara Bhagawathar. GR could have schooling only until standard 5. He married Jeyalakshmi in 1942 and had two daughters.

He joined the Baratha Gana Saba, a drama troupe and played harmonium at the age of 18. Then he joined the V. A. Chellappa Drama company, and sang playback and played harmonium. In 1932, he first played musical instrument for a Tamil film called Galavarishi which was produced in Bombay.

In 1938 M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar produced Sathyaseelan in Bombay and GR became the music director for that film which followed by the Vipranarayana (old). The first film to be produced in Madras with GR as the music director was Bookailash, followed by Parasuraman and Bhoologa Rambai (old). GR was a resident music director for the Modern Theatres since the beginning except a few which were done by K. V. Mahadevan.

He had acted in Aayiram Thalai Vaangi Apoorva Chinthamani (1947) in the role Sanyasi.

Style GR never had proper training in carnatic music. It was all Kelvi Gnanam (learning by listening). He had a passion and liking towards carnatic music and went all out in composing. GR became the music director when stage dramas were equally popular in the 1940s. He had to balance up between the cinema and the stage dramas.

It was conditional that the cinema songs of those days had to be composed to the basic carnatic tune and it used to be thought that cinema music would never equal the pure form of carnatic music. GR had proved otherwise when he had composed music for the song "Manmatha Leelaiyai Vendrar Undo" in Haridas sung by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. He is a staunch believer that only music that had the carnatic base could endure where most of his songs were "semi classic".

He has a liking for the voices of G. N. Balasubramaniam, M. L. Vasanthakumari, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, and the Hindi film music director Naushad and his favourite singers in his compositions were S. Varalakshmi, P. Susheela and Jikki. Of all the voices, he is a great lover of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. GR believes that only MKT could deliver what was expected of any singer. GR was also an excellent singer and had sung in his own compositions in Ponmudi and also under K. V. Mahadevan's composition for Alli Petra Pillai.

He worked with singers like T. M. Soundararajan, A. M. Rajah, K. J. Yesudas, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, Thiruchi Loganathan, Ghantasala, C. S. Jayaraman, V. N. Sundaram, T. A. Mothi, S. C. Krishnan, P. B. Sreenivas, A. L. Raghavan, P. A. Periyanayaki, M. L. Vasanthakumari, P. Leela, T. V. Rathnam, R. Balasaraswathi Devi, A. P. Komala, Radha Jayalakshmi, M. S. Rajeswari, T. S. Bagavathi, K. Jamuna Rani, P. Susheela, A. G. Rathnamala, N. L. Ganasaraswathi, K. Rani, K. V. Janaki, Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, S. Janaki and L. R. Eswari. V. T. Rajagopalan, G. Ramanathan's good friend and assistant, sang few songs for him.

The singing actors M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, P. U. Chinnappa, M. M. Dandapani Desikar, Kothamangalam Seenu, M. S. Subbulakshmi, D. K. Pattammal, C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, U. R. Jeevarathinam, N. C. Vasanthakokilam, T. R. Mahalingam, T. R. Rajakumari, K. R. Ramasamy, V. Nagayya, P. Bhanumathi, N. S. Krishnan, T. A. Madhuram, T. S. Durairaj and J. P. Chandrababu also sang memorable songs under his compositions.

GR would strive the singers to the excellence. T. M. Soundararajan said that if one could sing to the satisfaction and the tune of GR you could easily sing for the tune of any music director in any part of the world. GR would sing out the songs before recording to guide the singers. His greatest talent was that he was able to compose tunes suiting the storyline as well as the period of production of the films. He produced a film Pudhu Yugam under Sree Saai Gaanaamirudha Pictures in 1954.

GR's last film was Deivathin Deivam by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. He died of a heart attack in the midst of composing for the film Arunagirinathar. Then T. R. Pappa completed it.

Biography

Vamanan had published a biography entitled Sangeetha Chakravarthi G. Ramanathan (2006), which provides details of 85 Tamil movies in which GR had composed music from 1940 to 1969, 12 songs he had sung in Tamil movies and 4 movies in which he had appeared in minor roles.

Filmography Music director Year Film Language Director Co-Music Directors 1936 Sathyaseelan Tamil B. Sampathkumar Papanasam Sivan 1938 Vipra Narayana Tamil A. Narayanan 1938 Bookailash or Mandodhari Parinayam Tamil Sundar Rao Nadkarni 1940 Bhooloka Rambai Tamil B. N. Rao 1940 Harihara Maya or Bhikshadanar Tamil C. V. Raman 1940 Parasuramar Tamil H. S. Mehtha 1940 Vikrama Oorvasi or Oorvasiytin Kaadhal Tamil T. R. Sundaram 1941 Aryamala Tamil S. M. Sriramulu Naidu 1942 Aanandan or Agni Purana Mahimai Tamil S. D. S. Yogi T. A. Kalyanam 1942 Krishna Pidaran Tamil C. V. Raman 1942 Prithivirajan Tamil B. Sampathkumar 1943 Kubera Kuchela Tamil R. S. Mani background music 1943 Sivakavi Tamil S. M. Sriramulu Naidu Papanasam Sivan 1944 Haridas Tamil Sundar Rao Nadkarni Papanasam Sivan 1944 Jagathalapratapan Tamil S. M. Sriramulu Naidu 1945 Bhakta Kalathi Tamil R. Padmanaban 1946 Aaravalli Sooravalli Tamil C. V. Raman 1947 Aayiram Thalai Vaangi Apoorva Chinthamani Tamil T. R. Sundaram 1947 Ekambavanan Tamil B. N. Rao & T. V. Krishnaswami 1947 Kadagam Tamil Acharya 1947 Kundalakesi Tamil Boman D. Irani S. M. Subbaiah Naidu 1947 Ponnaruvi Tamil C. V. Raman 1947 Rukmangadhan Tamil P. S. V. Iyer 1948 Adhithan Kanavu Tamil T. R. Sundaram 1948 Bhojan Tamil T. R. Sundaram 1948 Lakshmi Vijayam Tamil Bomman D. Irani 1948 Sri Aandal Tamil Veluchamy Kavi S. N. Ranganathan 1949 Deva Manohari Tamil A. T. Krishnaswamy 1949 Inbavalli Tamil S. Notani 1949 Mayavathi Tamil T. R. Sundaram 1949 Mangayarkarasi Tamil Jiten Bannerjee C. R. Subburaman & Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer 1949 Rathnakumar Tamil Krishnan–Panju C. R. Subburaman 1950 Ponmudi Tamil Ellis R. Dungan 1950 Manthiri Kumari Tamil Ellis R. Dungan 1950 Parijatham Tamil K. S. Gopala Krishnan S. V. Venkatraman & C. R. Subburaman 1950 Thigambara Samiar Tamil T. R. Sundaram S. M. Subbaiah Naidu 1951 Aada Janma Telugu G. R. Rao S. Dakshinamurthi1951Navvite NavaratnaluS. SoundarajanAswathama Gudimetla 1951 Devaki Tamil R. S. Mani 1951 Sudharshan Tamil Sundar Rao Nadkarni & A.S.A. Sami 1952 Amarakavi Tamil F. Nagoor T. A. Kalyanam 1952 Amarakavi Telugu F. Nagoor T. K. Kumara Swamy 1952 Kalyani Tamil Acharya & M. Masthan S. Dakshinamurthy 1952 Atthainti Kaapuram Telugu Acharya & M. Masthan S. Dakshinamurthy 1952 The Jungle English William Berke & Ellis R. Dungan 1952 Zamindar Tamil P. V. Krishnan 1952 Shyamala Tamil B. A. Subba Rao T. V. Raju & S. B. Thinakar Rao 1953 Gumastha Tamil R. M. Krishnaswami C. N. Pandurangan & V. Nagayya 1953 Gumastha Telugu R. M. Krishnaswami C. N. Pandurangan & V. Nagayya 1953 Vazha Pirandhaval Tamil T. R. Ramanna S. Rajeswara Rao 1953 Marumagal Tamil D. Yoganand C. R. Subburaman & Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy 1953 Thirumbi Paar Tamil T. R. Sundaram 1953 Inspector Tamil R. S. Mani 1953 Inspector Telugu R. S. Mani 1953 Rohini Tamil Kamal Ghosh K. V. Mahadevan & D. C. Dutt 1953 Rohini Telugu Kamal Ghosh K. V. Mahadevan & D. C. Dutt 1953 Kangal Tamil Krishnan–Panju S. V. Venkatraman 1954 Karkottai Tamil Kemparaj S. V. Venkatraman 1954 Illara Jothi Tamil G. R. Rao 1954 Pudhu Yugam Tamil Gopu-Sundar 1954 Kanavu Tamil P. V. Krishnan V. Dakshinamoorthy 1954 Thookku Thookki Tamil R. M. Krishnaswami 1954 Nanban Tamil P. S. Srinivasa Rao 1954 Veerasundari Tamil JikkadeM. R. Ranganath Rathinavel Mudaliar 1955 Antha Inthe Telugu R. M. Krishnaswami 1955 Kaveri Tamil D. Yoganand Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy 1955 Nalla Thangai Tamil S. A. Natarajan 1955 Kathanayaki Tamil K. Ramnath 1955 Vijaya Gauri Telugu D. Yoganand Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy 1955 Gomathiyin Kaadhalan Tamil P. Neelakantan 1955 Maheswari Tamil T. R. Raghunath 1955 Doctor Savithri Tamil R. M. Krishnaswamy 1955 Nalla Thangal Tamil P. V. Krishnan Iyer 1956 Amara Deepam Tamil T. Prakash Rao T. Chalapathi Rao & G. N. Balasubramaniam 1956 Amara Deepam Telugu T. Prakash Rao T. Chalapathi Rao 1956 Kokilavani Kannada S. A. Natarajan 1956 Kokilavani Tamil S. A. Natarajan 1956 Madurai Veeran Tamil D. Yoganand 1956 Sahasaveerudu Telugu D. Yoganand 1956 Naan Petra Selvam Tamil K. Somu 1956 Sadhaaram Tamil V. C. Subburaman 1957 Aaravalli Tamil S. V. Krishna Rao 1957 Ambikapathy Tamil P. Neelakantan 1957 Chakravarthi Thirumagal Tamil P. Neelakantan 1957 Karpukkarasi Tamil K. Ramnoth & A. S. A. Sami 1957 Uttama Illaalu Telugu K. Ramnoth & A. S. A. Sami 1957 Manamagan Thevai Tamil P. S. Ramakrishna Rao 1957 Varudu Kavaali Telugu P. S. Ramakrishna Rao 1957 Pudhumai Pithan Tamil T. R. Ramanna 1957 Veera Khadgam Telugu T. R. Ramanna 1957 Pudhu Vazhvu Tamil M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar C. N. Pandurangan 1957 Rani Lalithangi Tamil T. R. Raghunath 1957 Samaya Sanjeevi Tamil V. S. Raghavan 1957 Vanangamudi Tamil P. Pullaiah 1958 Kaathavaraayan Tamil T. R. Ramanna 1958 Karthavarayuni Katha Telugu T. R. Ramanna G. Aswathama 1958 Mangalya Bhagyam Tamil T. R. Raghunath 1958 Sarangadhara Tamil V. S. Raghavan 1958 Sitamgar Hindi T. Prakash Rao B. N. Bali 1958 Uthama Puthiran Tamil T. Prakash Rao 1958 Veera Prathap Telugu T. Prakash Rao 1959 Kalyanikku Kalyanam Tamil A. S. A. Sami 1959 Manimekalai Tamil V. S. Raghavan 1959 Naan Sollum Ragasiyam Tamil P. Sridhar Rao 1959 Chevilo Rahasyam Telugu P. Sridhar Rao 1959 President Panchatcharam Tamil A. Bhim Singh 1959 Veerapandiya Kattabomman Tamil B. R. Panthulu 1959 Veerapandya Kattabrahmana Telugu B. R. Panthulu 1960 Chavukkadi Chandrakantha Tamil M. Radhakrishnan 1960 Kadavulin Kuzhandhai Tamil Dada Mirazi 1960 Raja Desingu Tamil T. R. Raghunath 1960 Thozhan Tamil K. Vembu 1961 Arasilangkumari Tamil M. Somasundaram 1961 Kappalottiya Thamizhan Tamil B. R. Panthulu 1961 Korada Veerudu Telugu M. Radhakrishnan with J. Purushottam 1961 Sri Valli Tamil T. R. Ramanna 1962 Deivathin Deivam Tamil K. S. Gopalakrishnan 1962 Pattinathar Tamil T. R. Ramanna 1963 Chittoor Rani Padmini Tamil Ch. Narayana Murthy 1964 Arunagirinathar Tamil T. R. Ramanna T. R. Pappa 1969 Captain Ranjan Tamil T. P. Sundaram

Playback singer Year Film Language Song Co-singer Music 1947 1000 Thalaivangi Apoorva Chinthamani Tamil Nallathai Sollidaven G. Ramanathan 1950 Ponmudi Tamil Neela Vanum Nilavum Pol T. V. Rathnam G. Ramanathan Van Mazhaiyindri Vadidum Payir Pola T. V. Rathnam Nam Jeevaatharame Selvam Agume Aruyire Premai Amudha Variyil T. V. Rathnam Dhesamenggum Nalvalam Meikadhal Arumbu Vazhvinile Poothathe Indre T. V. Rathnam En Kaalamo Marana 1952 Amarakavi Tamil Onru Serndhu Paadupattal .. Sevai Seythaale M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar G. Ramanathan Paadharasam Pole 1955 Nalla Thangai Tamil Kooli Miga Ketpaar ... Engirundo Vanthan G. Ramanathan 1955 Nalla Thangal Tamil Ithanai Naalaaga Engedi Pone K. Jamuna Rani G. Ramanathan 1957 Aravalli Tamil Aaravalli Sooravalli G. Ramanathan 1959 Alli Petra Pillai Tamil Ejaman Petra Selvame K. V. Mahadevan 1959 Manimekalai Tamil Vandhaayaa Magale Vandhaayaa G. Ramanathan