Very few have attained the stardom by following their passion, some have become immortal in the industry they chose to tread to an extent that it would be safe to call the industry grew because of their contribution. one of those immortal, the first superstar of Tamil cinema industry breathed his last on 1st November 1959 after few years of pilgrimage.
Consider being a hero, a peerless carnatic singer and blue eyed boy of an industry that was nascent, there was no comforts of a settee or air conditioned multiplexes, they had only touring talkies and cinemas with benches and floor tickets with not much of facilities and a movie ran for three consecutive Deepavalis. He ruled the industry with his unparalleled singing skills with effortless acting.
Hailing from an humble goldsmith community, he lacked interest in studies. He developed a liking for music and started learning it at an early age. His performance on the stage at the age of 10 earned him enough reputation to hit the silverscreen at the age of 24 with the movie pavalakodi. Within a span of 10 years he appeared in 9 films that culminated with the blockbuster Haridas. The movie had songs ‘Krishna Mukuntha Murare’, ‘Ammaiyappa’ and evergreen ‘Manmada leelaiyai’.
‘Radhe unnaku kobam’, ‘Bhoomil maanida janam’ are songs from his other movies that are still heard by some because of the way he sang. He has also contributed to a social cause by organising an event to collect money for red cross. Though his later years were marred by his arrest in a murder case and demoted him from the altar of stardom, he held on to his faith and spend his time visiting temples and gurus.
Let us spare a moment to remember the first super star of Tamil film industry Mayavaram Krishnaswamy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar!
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