S. M. Subbaiah Naidu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu[1] (1914-03-15)15 March 1914 |
| Died | 26 May 1979(1979-05-26) (aged 65) |
| Other names | SMS[2] |
| Occupation | music composer |
| Years active | 1942–1978 |
Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a.SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was an Indian composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was one of the oldest music directors. He worked as an in-house music composer forCentral Studios andPakshiraja Studios and well associated withS. M. Sriramulu Naidu. SMS also worked with many films underJupiter Pictures banner and a favorite ofM. G. Ramachandran.
Born in 1914 in Kadaiyanallur, Subburayalu Munusami Subbiah Naidu had an unhappy childhood. He ran away from home with dreams of finding his fortune in Singapore, but ended up working in drama troupes such as those of Jagannatha Aiyer and Nawab Rajamanickam Pillai. Finding himself drawn more to music than acting, SMS learned music from masters such as Rajagopala Iyengar and Subramaniya Bagavathar. When the company's playBaktha Ramadas was made into a movie, SMS worked on the music for the movie as well.[3]
He is fondly known as "Sangeethayya" in the south Indian film industries. He somehow had never changed his trend of composing much from the beginning days. He is well versed in the Indian music but never showed interest in Western tunes and music.
SMS worked jointly with other composers on a few movies in the early 1940s. He then composed music for the first movie in which MGR played the heroRajakumaari in 1947. All through the 1950s, SMS continued to compose memorable songs in the movies that came his way. Films such asEzhai Padum Padu (1950),Kanchana (1952) andMalaikkallan (1954) helped him to consolidate his place among the front-ranking composers of the decade. There were alsoThirumanam,Maragadham,Nadodi Mannan and the magnificent classicKonjum Salangai.
While he was composing music forRajakumaari at Central Studious, SMS made the acquaintance of the hero MGR. This laid the basis for a lifelong friendship between the two, which was further strengthened during the making ofMarma Yogi andMalaikkallan. When MGR turned producer and director withNadodi Mannan, he invited SMS to compose the songs, along with N.S. Balakrishnan who had composed 2 songs. Later, when the fortunes of SMS were on the decline in the 1960s, MGR secured for his friend a few opportunities such asThaayin Madiyil,Aasai Mugam andThalaivan.[4]
As the 1960s progressed, SMS engaged in a few projects towards the end of the 1960s such asNaam Moovar,Raja Veetu Pillai,Uyir Mel Aasai,Sabash Thambi,Panakkara Pillai, Naalum Therindhavan,Chakkaram andMannippu.
In the 1970s, opportunities were few and far between Snegithi, Vairakiyam,Therottam andThanga Gopuram.
His contribution is invaluable. Not only he is a composer, but also very good conductor, orchestrator, and what not. He is considered asO. P. Nayyar of South India. His tunes were very catchy and his songs instant hits. He has madeJ. P. Chandrababu a great singer in the songKunguma Poove Konjum Puraave. He would leave no stone unturned to bring the best of his singers. Till date, the best ofS. Janaki isSingaara Velane Deva which was composed by him. He innovated the concept of voice withNadaswaram.
He worked with singers likeC. S. Jayaraman,T. M. Soundararajan,Ghantalasa,A. M. Rajah,Thiruchi Loganathan,Seerkazhi Govindarajan, V. N. Sundharam, T. A. Mothi,P. B. Sreenivas,S. C. Krishnan,A. L. Raghavan,M. L. Vasanthakumari,P. A. Periyanayaki,P. Leela,Jikki,P. Susheela,T. V. Rathnam, K. V. Janaki,A. P. Komala,K. Jamuna Rani,Radha Jayalakshmi,Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, S. Janaki andL. R. Eswari.
The singing actorsP. U. Chinnappa,C. Honnappa Bhagavathar,N. C. Vasanthakokilam,U. R. Jeevarathinam,T. R. Rajakumari,K. R. Ramasamy,V. Nagayya,N. S. Krishnan,T. A. Madhuram,P. Bhanumathi,S. Varalakshmi andJ. P. Chandrababu also sang memorable songs under his compositions.
Some compositions of S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, include
