G. Ramanathan
| G. Ramanathan | |
|---|---|
| Native name | ஜி. இராமநாதன் |
| Also known as | GR |
| Born | Pichandarkoil, Srirangam, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Died |
1963 Chennai, Madras State, India |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, music director |
| Instruments | Vocals (playback singing), keyboard/harmonium/piano |
| Years active | 1940–1963 |
| Labels | Isai Methai, Sangeetha Chakravarthy |
Gobalsamy Ramanathan or G. Ramanathan (Tamil: ஜி. இராமநாதன்) was a music composer for Tamil movies. He is also known as Isai Methai (Genius of Music) or Sangeetha Chakravarthy (Emperor of Music) and is considered to be one of the influential Tamil music composers to take Carnatic music to the masses. Notable for his association with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. G. Ramanathan also composed for films of Salem Modern Theatres and Coimbatore Central Studios. His career lasted until his death in 1963. During the 1950s G.Ramanathan's music dominated most of the box office hits of the then leading Tamil movie stars Shivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.
Early life
G. Ramanathan (GR) was born in Bikshandarkoil, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. GR's father was Gobalsamy Iyer who worked as sub-inspector in the Indian Railways. GR studied till standard 5. He was married in 1942 and has two daughters-one is Sai and the other is Lakshmi.
He joined the Baratha Gana Saba, a drama troupe and played harmonium at the age of 18. Then he joined the V. A. Chellappa Drama company, and sang playback and played harmonium. In 1932, he first played musical instrument for a Tamil film called Kalavarishi which was produced in Calcutta.
In 1938 M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar produced Sathyaseelan in Bombay and GR became the music director for that film which followed by the Vipranarayana (old). The first film to be produced in Madras with GR as the music director was Poogailas, followed by Parasuraman and Boologa Rambai (old). GR was a resident music director for the Modern Theatres since the beginning except a few which were done by K. V. Mahadevan.
He had acted in Aayiram Thalai Vangiya Aboorva Chintamani (1947) in the role Sanyasi.
Style
GR never had proper training in carnatic music. It was all Kelvi Gnanam (learning by listening). He had a passion and liking towards carnatic music and went all out in composing. GR became the music director when stage dramas were equally popular in the 1940s. He had to balance up between the cinema and the stage dramas.
It was conditional that the cinema songs of those days had to be composed to the basic carnatic tune and it used to be thought that cinema music would never equal the pure form of carnatic music. GR had proved otherwise when he had composed music for the song "Manmatha Leelaiyai Vendrar Undo" in Haridas sung by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. He is a staunch believer that only music that had the carnatic base could endure where most of his songs were "semi classic".
He has a liking for the voices of G. N. Balasubramaniam, M. L. Vasanthakumari, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, and the Hindi film music director Naushad and his favourite singers in his compositions were S. Varalakshmi, P. Susheela and Jikki. Of all the voices, he is a great lover of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. GR believes that only MKT could deliver what was expected of any singer. GR was also an excellent singer and had sung in his own compositions in Ponmudi and also under K. V. Mahadevan's composition for Alli Petra Pillai.
He worked with singers like T. M. Soundararajan, A. M. Rajah, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, Thiruchi Loganathan, Ghantasala, C. S. Jayaraman, V. N. Sundharam, T. A. Mothi, P. B. Sreenivas, P. Leela, T. V. Rathinam, R. Balasaraswathi Devi, A. P. Komala, Radha Jayalakshmi, M. S. Rajeswari, T. S. Bagavathi, K. Jamuna Rani, P. Suseela, A. G. Rathnamala, N. L. Ganasaraswathi, K. Rani, K. V. Janaki, Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, S. Janaki and L. R. Eswari. V. T. Rajagopalan, G. Ramanathan's good friend and assistant, sang few songs for him.
The singing actors M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, P. U. Chinnappa, M. M. Dandapani Desikar, Kothamangalam Cheenu, M. S. Subbulakshmi, D. K. Pattammal, C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, U. R. Jeevarathinam, N. C. Vasanthakokilam, T. R. Mahalingam, T. R. Rajakumari, K. R. Ramaswamy, Chittor V. Nagaiah, P. Bhanumathi, N. S. Krishnan, T. A. Madhuram, T. S. Durairaj and J. P. Chandrababu also sang memorable songs under his compositions.
GR would strive the singers to the excellence. T. M. Soundararajan said that if one could sing to the satisfaction and the tune of GR you could easily sing for the tune of any music director in any part of the world. GR would sing out the songs before recording to guide the singers. His greatest talent was that he was able to compose tunes suiting the storyline as well as the period of production of the films. He produced a film Pudhu Yugam under Sree Saai Gaanaamirudha Pictures in 1954.
GR's last film was Deivathin Deivam by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. He died of a heart attack in the midst of composing for the film Arunakirinathar. Then T. R. Pappa completed it.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Language | Director | Banner | Co-Music Directors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Sathyaseelan | Tamil | B. Sampathkumar | Trichy Thyagaraja Films | Papanasam Sivan |
| 1938 | Vipra Narayana | Tamil | A. Narayanan | Sound City | |
| 1938 | Bookailash or Mandodhari Parinayam | Tamil | Sundar Rao Nadkarni | Sundaram Sound Pictures | |
| 1940 | Parasuramar | Tamil | H. S. Mehtha | ||
| 1940 | Bhooloka Rambai | Tamil | B. N. Rao | Salem Shanmugha Films & Vijaya Maruthi Pictures | |
| 1940 | Vikrama Oorvasi or Oorvasiytin Kaadhal | Tamil | T. R. Sundaram | Modern Theatres | |
| 1941 | Aryamala | Tamil | S. M. Sriramulu Naidu | Pakshiraja Studios | |
| 1942 | Uthama Puthiran | Tamil | T. R. Sundaram | Modern Theatres | |
| 1942 | Prithivirajan | Tamil | B. Sampathkumar | Central Studios and Haran Talkies | |
| 1942 | Krishna Pidaran | Tamil | C. V. Raman | T. K. Productions | |
| 1943 | Sivakavi | Tamil | S. M. Sriramulu Naidu | Pakshiraja Studios | Papanasam Sivan |
| 1944 | Haridas | Tamil | Sundar Rao Nadkarni | Royal Talkies | Papanasam Sivan |
| 1944 | Jagathalaprathapan | Tamil | S. M. Sriramulu Naidu | Central Studios | |
| 1946 | Aaravalli Sooravalli | Tamil | C. V. Raman | Modern Theatres | |
| 1946 | Kundalakesi | Tamil | Boman D. Irani | S. M. Subbaiah Naidu | |
| 1947 | Aayiram Thalai Vaangi Apoorva Chinthamani | Tamil | T. R. Sundaram | Modern Theatres | |
| 1947 | Kadagam | Tamil | Acharya | Tamil Nadu Talkies | |
| 1947 | Rukmangathan | Tamil | P. S. V. Iyer | National Studio & Iyer Productions | |
| 1948 | Adhithan Kanavu | Tamil | T. R. Sundaram | Modern Theatres | |
| 1947 | Egambavanan | Tamil | B. N. Rao & T. V. Krishnasami | Saravanabhava Pictures | |
| 1947 | Kundalakesi | Tamil | Bomman D. Irani | KSS Pictures | S. M. Subbaiah Naidu |
| 1948 | Sri Lakshmi Vijayam | Tamil | Lanka Sathyam | ||
| 1948 | Sri Aandal | Tamil | Veluchamy Kavi | Salem Surya Films | Ranganathan |
| 1949 | Deva Manohari | Tamil | A. T. Krishnaswamy | Arkays Pictures | |
| 1949 | Rathnakumar | Tamil | Krishnan-Panju | Murugan Talkies | C. R. Subburaman |
| 1949 | Mayavathi | Tamil | Ganapathi Pictures | ||
| 1949 | Mangaiyarkarasi | Tamil | Jiten Bannerjee | C. R. Subburaman & Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer | |
| 1950 | Manthiri Kumari | Tamil | Ellis R. Dungan | Modern Theatres | |
| 1950 | Parijatham | Tamil | K. S. Gopala Krishnan | Lavanya Pictures | S. V. Venkatraman & C. R. Subburaman |
| 1950 | Digambara Samiyar | Tamil | T. R. Sundaram | Modern Theatres | S. M. Subbaiah Naidu |
| 1950 | Ponmudi | Tamil | Ellis R. Dungan | Modern Theatres | |
| 1951 | Devaki | Tamil | R. S. Mani | Ganapathi Pictures | |
| 1951 | Sudharsan | Tamil | Sundar Rao Nadkarni & A.S.A. Sami | Royal Talkies | |
| 1952 | Thepuppadagan | Tamil | |||
| 1952 | Kalyani | Tamil | Acharya M. Mastan | Modern Theatres | S. Dakshinamurthy |
| 1952 | Atthainti Kaapuram | Telugu | Acharya M. Mastan | Modern Theatres | S. Dakshinamurthy |
| 1952 | Amarakavi | Tamil | F. Nagoor | Nagoor Cine Productions | |
| 1952 | Zamindar | Tamil | P. V. Krishnan | Jupiter Pictures | |
| 1953 | Inspector | Tamil | R. S. Mani | Jupiter Pictures | |
| 1953 | Inspector | Telugu | R. S. Mani | Jupiter Pictures | |
| 1953 | Kangal | Tamil | Krishnan-Panju | Motion Pictures Team | S. V. Venkatraman |
| 1953 | Karkkottai | Tamil | Kempraj Urs | Kemparaj Productions | |
| 1953 | Shyamala | Tamil | P. S. Seshasalam | Yuva Pictures | T. V. Raju & S. B. Thinakar Rao |
| 1953 | Thirumbi Paar | Tamil | T. R. Sundaram | Modern Theatres | |
| 1953 | Rohini | Tamil | Kamal Ghosh | Madras Arts Production | K. V. Mahadevan |
| 1953 | Vaazhapiranthaval | Tamil | T. R. Ramanna | RR Pictures | |
| 1953 | Marumagal | Tamil | D. Yoganand | Krishna Pictures | C. R. Subburaman & Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy |
| 1954 | Thookku Thookki | Tamil | R. M. Krishnaswami | Aruna Films | |
| 1954 | Illara Jyothi | Tamil | G. R. Rao | Modern Theatres | |
| 1954 | Veera Sundari | Tamil | |||
| 1954 | Pudhu Yugam | Tamil | Sree Saai Gaanaamirudha Pictures | ||
| 1954 | Nanban | Tamil | P. S. Srinivasa Rao | M. T. V. Production | |
| 1954 | Kanavu | Tamil | P. V. Krishnan | KRK Productions | V. Dakshinamoorthy |
| 1954 | Gumastha | Tamil | R. M. Krishnaswamy | Aruna Pictures | |
| 1955 | Doctor Savithri | Tamil | R. M. Krishnaswamy | Aruna Films | |
| 1955 | Maheswari | Tamil | T. R. Raghunath | Modern Theatres | |
| 1955 | Kathanayaki | Tamil | K. Ramnath | Modern Theatres | |
| 1955 | Nalla Thangai | Tamil | S. A. Nadarajan | Forward Art Films | |
| 1955 | Nalla Thangal | Tamil | P. V. Krishnan Iyer | Angel Films | |
| 1955 | Kaveri | Tamil | D. Yoganand | Krishna Pictures | Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy |
| 1955 | Vijaya Gowri | Telugu | D. Yoganand | Krishna Pictures | Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy |
| 1955 | Gomathiyin Kaadhalan | Tamil | P. Neelakantan | TRR Productions | |
| 1956 | Madurai Veeran | Tamil | D. Yoganand | Krishna Pictures | |
| 1956 | Kogilavani | Tamil | S. A. Nadarajan | Forward Arts Films | |
| 1956 | Kogilavani | Kannada | S. A. Nadarajan | Forward Arts Films | |
| 1956 | Sadhaaram | Tamil | V. C. Subburaman | Kasturi Films | |
| 1956 | Naan Petra Selvam | Tamil | K. Somu | Paragon Pictures | |
| 1956 | Amara Deepam | Tamil | T. Prakash Rao | Venus Pictures | |
| 1956 | Amara Deepam | Telugu | T. Prakash Rao | Venus Pictures | |
| 1957 | Aaravalli | Tamil | S. V. Krishna Rao | Modern Theatres | |
| 1957 | Ambikapathy | Tamil | P. Neelakantan | ALS Productions | |
| 1957 | Manamagan Thevai | Tamil | P. S. Ramakrishna Rao | Bharani Pictures | |
| 1957 | Varudu Kavaali | Telugu | P. S. Ramakrishna Rao | Bharani Pictures | |
| 1957 | Chakravarthi Thirumagal | Tamil | P. Neelakantan | Uma Pictures | |
| 1957 | Rani Lalithangi | Tamil | T. R. Raghunath | TNR Productions | |
| 1957 | Karpukkarasi | Tamil | K. Ramnoth & A. S. A. Sami | Jupiter Pictures | |
| 1957 | Samaya Sanjeevi | Tamil | V. S. Raghavan | Sri Nataraja Films | |
| 1957 | Pudhumai Pithan | Tamil | T. R. Ramanna | RR Pictures | |
| 1957 | Vanangamudi | Tamil | P. Pullaiah | Saravanabhava Pictures & Unity Pictures | |
| 1957 | Pudhu Vazhvu | Tamil | C. N. Pandurangan | ||
| 1958 | Sarangadhara | Tamil | V. S. Raghavan | Minerva Pictures | |
| 1958 | Karthava Rayuni Katha | Telugu | T. R. Ramanna | RR Pictures | |
| 1958 | Kaathavaraayan | Tamil | T. R. Ramanna | RR Pictures | |
| 1958 | Veera Kadgamu | Telugu | T. R. Ramanna | RR Pictures | |
| 1958 | Mangalya Bhagyam | Tamil | T. R. Raghunath | Krishna Pictures | |
| 1958 | Uthama Puthiran | Tamil | T. Prakash Rao | Venus Pictures | |
| 1958 | Sitamgar | Hindi | T. Prakash Rao | Venus Pictures | |
| 1958 | Veera Prathap | Telugu | T. Prakash Rao | Venus Pictures | |
| 1958 | Uttama Illaalu | Telugu | K. Ramnoth & A. S. A. Sami | Jupiter Pictures | |
| 1959 | Veerapandiya Kattabomman | Tamil | B. R. Panthulu | Padmini Pictures | |
| 1959 | Veerapandya Kattabrahmana | Telugu | B. R. Panthulu | Padmini Pictures | |
| 1959 | Naan Sollum Ragasiyam | Tamil | P. Sridhar Rao | Kasthuri Films | |
| 1959 | Manimekalai | Tamil | V. S. Raghavan | Shekhar Art Film | |
| 1959 | President Panchatcharam | Tamil | A. Bhim Singh | Savithri Pictures | |
| 1959 | Kalyanikku Kalyanam | Tamil | A. S. A. Sami | Manohar Pictures | |
| 1960 | Raja Desingu | Tamil | T. R. Raghunath | Krishna Films | |
| 1960 | Kadavulin Kuzhandhai | Tamil | Dada Mirazi | Vetrivel Films | |
| 1960 | Thozhan | Tamil | K. Vembu | A. D. M. Productions | |
| 1961 | Sri Valli | Tamil | T. R. Ramanna | Narasu Studios | |
| 1961 | Arasilangkumari | Tamil | M. Somasundaram | Jupiter Pictures | |
| 1961 | Kappalottiya Thamizhan | Tamil | B. R. Panthulu | Padmini Pictures | |
| 1962 | Deivathin Deivam | Tamil | K. S. Gopalakrishnan | Chitra Productions | |
| 1962 | Pattinathar | Tamil | T. R. Ramanna | ||
| 1963 | Chittoor Rani Padmini | Tamil | Ch. Narayana Murthy | Uma Pictures | |
| 1964 | Arunagirinathar | Tamil | T. R. Ramanna | RR Pictures | T. R. Pappa |
| Captain Ranjan | Tamil | ||||
| Savukkadi Chandrakantha | Tamil |
References
- Tamil Music Director G. Ramanathan’s Man Friday
- G.Ramanathan's Biography release by Vamannan
- MKT & G.Ramanathan
- The Founding Father of Tamil Film Music in My Movie Minutes