Ayyamperumal Marudakasi (1920-89)
Tamil film lyricist born in Melakudikadu, TN; farmer’s son. Influenced by musician Rajagopala Iyer, brother of composer Papanasam Sivan. Worked as a village official; left his government job to join the famous Tamil theatre troupe TKS Brothers. Also worked in Nawab Rajamanikkam’s theatre group and for Devi Drama, for which he wrote his first songs. Film début as songwriter in T.R. Sundaram’s Mayavathi (1949). First hit number is Varai ... varai in Manthiri Kumari (1950). Wrote over 3000 songs in c.300 Tamil films, reaching the pinnacle of his career in the 50s and 60s. At this time, his lyrics were often sung by playback singer T.M. Soundararajan and composed by M.S. Vishwanathan. Known mainly for his use of rural and folk idioms. A compilation of his film songs was published in 1988.