V. M. Kutty

Vadakkungara Mohammed Kutty (known as V. M. Kutty; 16 April 1935 – 13 October 2021) was an Indian Mappilapattu singer, writer and composer. Also known as the Sultan of Mappilapattu, he is often credited with having performed Mappila songs on stage for the first time in 1957.

Kutty was known to be one of the most popular figures among mainstream Mappilapattu singers. He had also proven talent as a lyricist. Kutty played a major role in popularizing the Mappilappattu genre through experimenting with the traditional music stream. He was a member of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and Maha Kavi Moyinkutty Vaidyar Smarakam. He was the vice chairman of Kerala Folklore Academy. He has also served as an honorary secretary to the Institute of Mappila Studies.

He won Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award under the category Keraleeya Kalakal in 1997. He received Kerala Folklore Academy fellowship in 2017. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) by Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. he began his career as a teacher at AM Lower Primary School in Kolathur in 1957 and then becomes the headmaster but left the job in 1985 to pursue his passion for singing. Kutty began his Mappilapattu career by singing for All India Radio, Kozhikode in 1954.

Kutty formed a music group exclusively for Mappilapattu songs in 1957, Kutty's Orchestra.

In 1962, Kutty recorded few of his songs and released it through His Master's Voice as gramophone record. When his first gramophone records of folk songs became a hit, he followed it up with numerous music cassettes.

Personal life V. M. Kutty married Amina and they had eight children. After the demise of Amina he married Sulfath. Death V. M. Kutty died at the age of 86 on 13 October 2021 at Kozhikode. He was under treatment for heart-related ailments. The funeral was held at the Pulikkal Juma Masjid buriyal ground after the body was kept for public homage at Mahakavi Moyinkutty Vaidyar Mappila Kala Academy.