Vairamuthu | |
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| Born | Vairamuthu Ramasamy (1953-07-13)13 July 1953 (age 71)[1][2] Mettoor,Madurai,Madras State, India[3][4] (present-dayVadugapatti,Theni,Tamil Nadu, India) |
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| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Pachaiyappa's College,Chennai |
| Years active | 1980–present |
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| Spouse | Ponmani Vairamuthu |
| Children | Madhan Karky Kabilan Vairamuthu |
Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953)[5] is an Indianlyricist,poet, andnovelist working in theTamilfilm industry. He is a prominent figure in theTamil literary world. A master's graduate from thePachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first worked as a translator, while also being a published poet. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the filmNizhalgal, anIlaiyaraaja musical, directed byBharathiraja. During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems[6] which have won him sevenNational Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist. He has also been honored with aPadma Shri, aPadma Bhushan[7] and aSahitya Akademi Award,[8] for his abundant literary output.
Vairamuthu was born on 13 July 1953, to Ramasamy and his wife Angammal, who were agriculturalists based in the village of Mettoor, in the district ofTheni,Tamil Nadu. In 1957, his family was forced to move toVadugapatti, another village in the Theni district, due to the construction ofVaigai Dam across the riverVaigai, which led to evacuation of 14 villages (including Mettur). In his new surroundings, he also took up agriculture in addition to his academics.
From a very young age, Vairamuthu was drawn towards the language andliterature of Tamil. TheDravidian movement in Tamil Nadu during the 1960s, made a significant impression on his youth and he was inspired by several prominent individuals associated with language, such asPeriyar E. V. Ramasamy, 'Perarignar'Annadurai, KalaignarMu. Karunanidhi,Subramania Bharathi,Bharathidasan andKannadasan. He began writing poems from the age of ten and by his early teens, he was noted as a prominent orator and poet in his school. At the age of fourteen, he wrote a group ofvenba poems, having been inspired byThiruvalluvar’sTirukkuṛaḷ.
During the stint of his under-graduation atPachaiyappa’s College inChennai, he was acclaimed as a speaker and poet. In his sophomore year, he published his first anthology of poems, titledVaigarai Megangal ('Clouds at Dawn'), at the age of nineteen. The book was prescribed as part of the curriculum in theWomen's Christian College, giving Vairamuthu the distinction of being a writer whose work was part of a syllabus, while he was still a student. He completed a 2 year Master's program in Arts in the field ofTamil literature at theMadras University.
After his education, he began his professional career at the Tamil Nadu Official Language Commission in the mid-1970s, as a translator of law books and documents from English to Tamil, working under Justice Maharajan. In addition to this, he continued writing poetry, bringing out a second anthology of poems in 1979, titledThiruthi Ezhuthiya Theerpugal ('Revised and rewritten').
He is married to Ponmani, a Tamil scholar and former professor at the Meenakshi College for Women. They have two sons,Madhan Karky andKabilan, who both work as lyricists and dialogue writers for Tamil films.
Upon reading his poems, he was signed on as a lyricist by the directorBharathiraja for the filmNizhalgal in the year 1980. The first song he wrote in his career, was "Pon Maalai Pozhuthu", which was composed by "Isaignani"Ilaiyaraaja and sung byS.P. Balasubrahmanyam. The first song of his that was released, was "Batrakali Uttamaseeli" (also composed by Ilaiyaraaja) from the filmKaali, which was released four months beforeNizhalgal. Vairamuthu quit his career as a translator to work full-time in the film industry.
AfterNizhalgal, Vairamuthu and Ilaiyaraaja kicked off a successful collaboration which would last a little more than half a decade. Their joint association with director Bharathiraja, led to some of the most critically acclaimed soundtracks such asAlaigal Oivathillai (which won Vairamuthu his firstTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist),Kaadhal Oviyam,Mann Vasanai,Pudhumai Penn,Oru Kaidhiyin Diary,Muthal Mariyathai (which won Vairamuthu his firstNational Award for Best Lyricist) andKadalora Kavithaigal. During the period he was working with Ilaiyaraaja, Vairamuthu collaborated with directorMani Ratnam for the first time inIdhaya Kovil in 1985, penning the song "Naan Padum Mouna Ragam" (which inspired the title of Ratnam's breakthroughMouna Ragam, which was released in the following year).
Besides their work with Bharathiraja, the combination of the lyricist and the composer tasted success with more soundtracks such asRaja Paarvai,Ninaivellam Nithya,Nallavanukku Nallavan,Salangai Oli andSindhu Bhairavi (the latter two yielding Ilaiyaraaja his first twoNational Awards for Music Direction).
Vairamuthu also worked as a lyricist with composerM.S. Viswanathan on the filmThanneer Thanneer andV. S. Narasimhan on the filmsAchamillai Achamillai andKalyana Agathigal. All three films were directed byK. Balachander.
In 1986, he debuted as screenwriter for the filmNatpu, directed byAmeerjan. He later had three further collaborations as a writer with the director inThulasi (1987),Vanna Kanavugal (1987) andVanakkam Vathiyare (1991). He also penned the dialogues forAndru Peytha Mazhaiyil (1989), which was directed by the National award-winning cinematographerAshok Kumar.
After K. Balachander'sPunnagai Mannan (1986), Vairamuthu and Ilaiyaraaja parted ways. After their split, Vairamuthu's career stalled for the next five years, when he worked largely on lyrics for other language films that were dubbed in Tamil. His association with director Bharathiraja remained intact, as the duo worked together in the late 1980s on films such asVedham Pudhithu (composed byDevendran) andKodi Parakuthu (composed byHamsalekha). He also worked withBollywood composers such asR. D. Burman in the filmUlagam Pirandhadhu Enakkaga and the duoLaxmikant–Pyarelal onUyire Unakkaga.
During this time, he also collaborated with composerChandrabose on the filmsShankar Guru,Makkal En Pakkam,Manithan,Katha Nayagan,Thaimel Aanai,Paatti Sollai Thattathe,Vasanthi,Raja Chinna Roja andSugamana Sumaigal. They last worked together onAadhikkam, which was released in 2005.
In 1991,K. Balachander signed Vairamuthu as a lyricist for three of hisproductions, which were set for release in the following year:Vaaname Ellai,Annamalai andRoja. The first film (directed by Balachander himself) was composed byM.M. Keeravani (credited as 'Maragadhamani' in Tamil), the second (directed bySuresh Krissna) had music scored byDeva, and the third (directed byMani Ratnam) by a debuting composer namedA.R. Rahman.
Roja was director Mani Ratnam's first film after his split with composer Ilaiyaraaja, and its music is widely regarded as changing the face of not just Tamil, but Indian music. The song "Chinna Chinna Aasai", the first film song which Rahman had composed, won Vairamuthu his second National award for the Best Lyricist. The album secured A.R. Rahman the National Award for the Best Music Direction, a first for a debutant.
FollowingRoja, the combination of A.R. Rahman and Vairamuthu became heavily sought after, collaborating on several films throughout the next 25 years. Theircontinued association with director Mani Ratnam (which spans the length of Rahman's career), led to critical and commercial success on films such asThiruda Thiruda (1993),Bombay (1995),Alaipayuthey (2000),Kannathil Muthamittal (2002),Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004),Raavanan (2010),Kadal (2013),O Kadhal Kanmani (2015).Kaatru Veliyidai (2017) andChekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018). Four out of Vairamuthu's seven National awards for the Best Lyricist came out of his association with Rahman (on films such as Roja,Karuththamma,Pavithra; he was recognized by the National awards committee for his efforts on both these films in 1995,Sangamam andKannathil Muthamittal) and four out of Rahman's six National Awards came from his association with Vairamuthu (on the filmsRoja,Minsara Kanavu,Kannathil Muthamittal andKaatru Veliyidai). SingersP. Unnikrishnan,S.P. Balasubrahmanyam,Shankar Mahadevan,Swarnalatha,K.S. Chitra andShashaa Tirupati have all won National awards for their work in collaboration with this duo.
In addition to their association with Mani Ratnam, the team of Rahman and Vairamuthu are also noted for their collaboration with directorShankar (onGentleman,Kadhalan,Indian,Jeans,Mudhalvan,Sivaji, andEnthiran), Bharathiraja (onKizhakku Cheemayile,Karuththamma,Anthimanthaarai andTaj Mahal),K. S. Ravikumar (onMuthu,Padayappa andVaralaru) andRajiv Menon (onMinsara Kanavu andKandukonden Kandukonden). Some of their other popular films includePudhiya Mugam,Duet,May Madham,Rhythm,Kochadaiiyaan, and24.
Vairamuthu is also known for his work in the 90s and early 2000s with composerDeva, on popular soundtracks such as Annamalai,Baasha,Aasai,Once More,Arunachalam,Nerukku Ner,Vaali,Kushi, andPanchathanthiram. He has also worked extensively withBharadwaj (on popular soundtracks such asKaadhal Mannan,Pooveli,Amarkalam,Rojavanam,Parthen Rasithen,Rojakootam,Gemini,Jay Jay,Attagasam,Vasool Raja MBBS,Idhaya Thirudan,Vattaram,Asal andAayirathil Iruvar),Harris Jayaraj,D. Imman,Vidyasagar,Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy (on both their Tamil projects,Aalavandhan andVishwaroopam),N. R. Raghunanthan (which secured him his sixth National Award for the filmThenmerku Paruvakaatru) andYuvan Shankar Raja (the son ofIlaiyaraaja; their association yielded him his seventh National Award for the filmDharma Durai). During his nearly 40-year career, he has worked with over 150 music directors.
In addition to lyrics, Vairamuthu has also penned poems which feature as part of the dialogue, on films such asDuet,Iruvar (for the character played byPrakash Raj), andAalavandhan (for the character of Nandu; played byKamal Haasan). He has also penned lyrics for the theme songs of many Tamil television shows and jingles for advertisements, the most notable among them being the theme for the Tamil soap operaChithi.
Vairamuthu has written 37 books which include collections of poetry as well as novels in the Tamil language. Several of them have been translated intoEnglish,Hindi,Malayalam,Telugu,Kannada,Russian andNorwegian. He introduced the work of foreign poets to Tamil readers in hisElla Nadhiyilum En Odam. Over 2.6 million copies of his works have been sold. In 1991, four of his books were released on the same day in a grand manner inMadurai by the ex-Chief Minister Karunanidhi.
He has also been a speaker at many prominent Tamil conferences in theUnited States,United Kingdom,Russia,Australia,Japan,Canada,Hong Kong,China,Singapore,Malaysia,Thailand,United Arab Emirates,Kuwait,Oman,Maldives,Switzerland andSri Lanka.
For his work in literature, he was also conferred the titles ofKavi Samrat ("King of Poetry") by formerIndian Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee,Kaapiya Kavignar ("Epic Poet") by formerIndian PresidentA.P.J. Abdul Kalam andKaviperarasu ("The Emperor of Poets") by former Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterM. Karunanidhi.
Kallikkattu Ithikasam depicts the story of the people of a village who have turned refugees in independent India. In the 1950s, when Vaigai dam was constructed in Madurai District, 14 villages were vacated for creating the water catchment area. This novel narrates the tearful story of those refugees who lost their land under the water. The author is a child born to one such family and had lived through the misery of this migration in his childhood. The story portrays the tears, blood and pain of the villagers whose families were crushed as a result of modernization. The soul of the novel echoes the truth behind the values of agrarian India and the virtues of farmers which are eternal. This saga won Vairamuthu theSahitya Akademi Award for the Best Literary Work in the year 2003, and has been translated into 22 languages. The novel sold over a lakh copies.[9]
Karuvachchi Kaviyam revolves around a vulnerable Indian village woman who has been enslaved by the illiterate male chauvinistic community.
The core of Vairamuthu's poetry portrays his pleading to the human to appreciate nature, pointing to the incredible truth that fire is fire as long as it burns, Earth is Earth as long as it spins and Man is man as long as he struggles.
The struggle of the Indian agrarian community due to globalization, liberalisation and global warming is depicted in this novel in the farmer's dialectical language. This novel is a prophecy on the suicides of farmers five years before it had happened. The author was heartbroken when the poverty-stricken farmers who were unable to feed their families due to failure of monsoon, severe drought conditions, debt and despair, committed suicide.
Vairamuthu has set up a foundation, theVairamuthu Educational Trust, which provides funding to underprivileged families for education of their children. He served as President of the Indo-Soviet Cultural Association. From the proceeds of the sales ofMoondram Ulaga Poor, a sum of Rs. 11 lakh was donated to the widows of farmers who committed suicide.
He is the founder of theVetri Tamizhar Peravai, which aims at uplifting society. He also donated a hospital building to the people of his native village ofKarattuppatti, and started a library in the name of the poetKannadasan, in his village ofVadugapatti. He has also made contributions to victims of war as well to those of natural calamities.
In January 2018, Vairamuthu delivered a speech on the 7th centuryVaishnavite mystic poet,Andal during a discussion on Andal at the Srivilliputhur Andal Temple where he quoted the research of an American scholar who said that Andal belonged to theDevadasi community, a religious system practiced in parts of South India in which a where young girls used to be married to the deity of the temple before they attain puberty and will spend the rest of their lives in the service of the temple. In many cases, they were sexually exploited and pushed into prostitution.[10] He said that Andal had lived and died at the Srirangam temple inTiruchirappalli according to the scholar. BJP leader H Raja criticized the speech. Vairamuthu later issued an apology claiming that his speech was intentionally twisted by vested interests and that he has expressed regret for a mistake he did not commit and also said that he only intends to glorify Andal and he has been working on many great Tamil poets.[11][12][13] Some Tamil writers claimed that there is nothing controversial about his speech because he only referred the article.[14] Minor girls and boys inNithyananda's Ashram published videos using derogatory language, many sexual in nature, as they questioned his speech. This has generated anger amongst the general public, which found the use of children by Nithyananda in such a manner objectionable.[15] A case was also filed against Vairamuthu.[16]
In 2018, as a part of the#MeToo movement, Vairamuthu was accused of sexual harassment by singerChinmayi Sripaada[17] and Bhuvana Seshan.[18] Journalist Sandhya Menon also tweeted allegations against Vairamuthu messaged to her by a woman.[19] Hayma Malini Yugendran (Malaysia Vasudevan's Daughter-in-law) claimed that one of the presenters of a TV channel, where she worked was harassed by Vairamuthu.[20] Vairamuthu denied all allegations and said they are "filled with ulterior motives".[21] He also said that he is ready to face any legal action and said let the court decide.[22] Additionally, in an interview with News7, a Tamil News Channel,A. R. Reihana had mentioned that she has known about the harassment faced by multiple women in the film industry with Vairamuthu in the past and that it is an "Open Secret".[23]
National Film Award for Best Lyrics
Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Tamil
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist
SIIMA Award for Best Lyricist – Tamil
Tamil Nadu State Government Awards
Honorary doctorates
In Tamil:
Works Published in other Languages:
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