Raveendran Master | |
|---|---|
 Raveendran Master | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | M. Raveendran |
| Also known as | Raveendran Master, Kulathupuzha Ravi |
| Born | (1943-11-09)9 November 1943 Kulathupuzha,Travancore, British India |
| Origin | Kulathupuzha, Kollam, Kerala |
| Died | 3 March 2005(2005-03-03) (aged 61) Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Genres | Carnatic music,Hindustani classical,Malayalam music,World music |
| Occupation(s) | Film composer, music director, BGM composer,singer |
| Instrument(s) | Harmonium, vocals |
| Years active | 1979–2005 |
Madhavan Raveendran (bornKulathupuzha,Kollam, 9 November 1943 – diedChennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known asRaveendran Master, was aSouth Indianmusic composer and playback singer fromKerala.[1][2][3] He composed songs for more than 150 films primarily for theMalayalam andTamil film industries. He also composed a few albums, includingVasantha Geethangal,Ponnonatharangini andRithugeethangal. Raveendran composed melodies based on Hindustani Ragas also.
Raveendran was born on 9 November 1943, inKulathupuzha, a small village in the present-dayKollam district. He is the seventh child (of nine children) of Late Madhavan and Late Lakshmi. His early life was filled with poverty, and he tried hard to complete his education. After his school days, he went to Swathi Thirunal Music College inThiruvananthapuram, where he metK. J. Yesudas, and soon began a great friendship. Later, he went toChennai (Then Madras) to fulfill his wish to be a playback singer. He then changed his name as Kulathupuzha Ravi.
He began his career as a playback singer with the song "Parvanarajanithan" from a Malayalam film,Velliyazhcha. He then became amaster and associated with many Malayalam composers. He also dubbed voices for films during this time.
The great playback singerK. J. Yesudas, a former classmate, altered the course of Raveendran's life by persuading him to compose songs and thus he became a music director.
DirectorJ. Sasikumar, commissioned Raveendran to compose the music forChoola (1979). The song "Tharake Mizhiyithalil Kannerumayi ...", sung by Yesudas, became a hit. Ever since, Raveendran led Malayalam film music with several hit songs.
Melody incorporated with the aspects of Carnatic music were the hallmark of his songs. He successfully composed melodies based onHindustani ragas also. In 1981 he composed songs and background score for the movieThenum Vayambum directed by Asok kumar. All songs including "Thenum vayambum", "Ottakkambi nadham" and "Manasoru kovil" became superhits. With the release ofThenum Vayambum (1981), Raveendran made his mark in the film field. In the same year he composed music and background score for the movieChiriyo Chiri directed by Balachandramenon. The song "Ezhu swarangalum" from the movieChiriyo Chiri is considered as a pathbreaking semi classical song in Malayalam. In 1982, for his close friend, directorP. Venu he dubbed for actor Shankar in his filmAranjyanam and later composed music for his movieThacholi Thankappan.
A few of Raveendran's best songs were in films likeThenum Vayambum,Chiriyo Chiri,Sukhamo Devi,Aattakalasam,Yuvajanotsavam,Amaram,His Highness Abdullah,Kamaladalam,Kizhakkunarum Pakshi,Champakulam Thachan,Dhanam,Aayirappara,Kalippattam,Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu,Nandanam,Rajashilpi,Bharatham andAaraam Thampuran. The songs "Pramadhavanam Veendum" from the movieHis Highness Abdullah and "Harimuraleeravam" fromAaraam Thampuran were among the most adored songs of that time. He shared a close relationship with the actorMohanlal. He also composed songs and background score for 8 Tamil films likeHemavin kadhalargal,Rasigan Oru Rasigai,Kanmaniye pesu,Dharma devathai,Pottu vacha neram,Lakshmi vandhachu,Thaye nee thunai andMalare kurinji malare. Almost all major lyricists of his era penned lyrics for his songs, likeO. N. V. Kurup,Sreekumaran Thampi,Bichu Thirumala,Poovachal Khader,Chunakkara Ramankutty,Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri,Gireesh Puthenchery,Shibu Chakravarthy, etc. Most of his songs were sung by K. J. Yesudas andK. S. Chithra.
Some of his light music albums and devotional albums, which were most popular in the 1980s and 1990s through All India Radio and audio cassettes wereTharanginiyude Ulsava Gaanangal (festival songs) (1983, 1985),Vasantha Geethangal (1984),Ponnona Tharangini (1992),Amme Saranam Devi Saranam (1994),Sarana Theertham (1997) andUthradapoonilave (2001). Raveendran did orchestration for Deepam Makaradeepam (1980) composed by BichuThirumala.
He was married to Shobha and has three sons. His youngest son, Naveen Madhav, is a playback singer in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film and twin sonsRajan Madhav, a film director, and Sajan Madhav, a music composer in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Yakshiyum njanum was the debut movie of Sajan Madhav as composer in Malayalam. Earlier he composed orchestration for the songs of Kalabham and also helped in orchestration of many songs composed by Raveendran.
Raveendran died suddenly at his home inChennai following a cardiac arrest on 3 March 2005, aged only 61. He was suffering fromthroat cancer for a long time, and was under treatment when his end occurred. His last worksVadakkumnadhan andKalabham were released posthumously in 2006.
He started his career as a playback singer for the 1969 movieVelliyazhcha for which the songs were composed byM. S. Baburaj. His first song was titled "Parvana rajanithan". For a decade, he struggled to get songs and even become a dubbing artist for films. He dubbed for actor Shankar in the movieAranjaanam directed byP. Venu. As a music director, he sang some of his songs.In 1978 Raveendran sung a song (sandhya vandana geethikaluyarum sanyasikalude asramavadam) with Yesudas in the movie "AVAKASAM" directed byA B Raj.(Then he was called as kulathuppuzha Ravi) Music direction byM K Arjunan and Lyrics byGopi Kottarappat.
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