Famous music director and Kalaimamani awardee, L. Vaidyanathan, who spanned three generations of fiulmmakers, died on Saturday morning at age 65. It is reported that his demise came suddenly and he collapsed shortly after his morning prayers.
The Tamil Nadu Government had awarded him the Kalaimamani Award in 2003 in recognition of his contributions to the world of music and cinema. He is survived by his wife Chenjulakshmi, and two sons, L.V. Ganesan and L.V. Muthukumarasamy.
L. Vaidyanathan was the eldest brother of three brothers; his brothers were the renowned violin duo, L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam. L. Vaidyanathan had started his career as assistant to renowned music director G.K. Venkatesh and studied music with his brothers under his father V. Lakshminarayana Iyer. He also appeared in public performances with his illustrious brothers.
L. Vaidyanathan composed music for over 170 movies in different languages, including Kamal Haasan's Pesum Padam, a silent movie where the background score played a dominant part. Marupakkam, with Sivakumar in the lead role that won four national awards, also had music composed by him.
Other famous films where he scored music include director Hariharan's award-winning Ezhavathu Manithan (which was the launch vehicle for Raghuvaran), where the music was set the lyrics of Bharatiyar's songs creating much appreciated tunes.
Other films which he uplifted with his music include Pesum Padam, Yelavadhu Manidhan, Dasaratham, Marupakkam and many more. Many of these songs are popular even today. He worked closely with director Mani Rathnam. He also experimented with fusion, merging Western and traditional Indian genres and mixing them with far-Eastern melodies to create albums that were popular across the world.
His last rites were performed on Saturday evening. Illayaraja, S.P. Balasubramaniam, Chitra, and many prominent film personalities have condoled his death.
Galatta.com joins his long list of fans and admirers in mourning his death, and prays that his soul may rest in peace.
