M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar
இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: எம்.கே. தியாகராஜ பாகவதர்
M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar's full name was Muthuveera Aasari Krishnasamy Aasari Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar and was commonly known as M.K.T. (March 1, 1910 - November 1, 1959). He was an actor and singer and is known as the first superstar of Tamil cinema. He was trained in Carnatic music and performed in concerts. He popularized the high pitch style of singing reserved for plays and bhajans performed in open-auditoriums, by bringing it to the big screen. He was famed for his high vocal range without any false notes.
Birth, Education
Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was born on March 1, 1910 to Krishnamurthy Aasari and Manikathammal who lived at Palakkarai in Tiruchirappalli. He was born in Thanjavur, the hometown of Manikathammal. Although his name is mentioned as Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Aasari Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar in many documents, the name of Muthuweera Aasari Krishnasamy Aasari Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar is the name found on Bhagavathar's memorial. Mayavaram may have been added by mistake. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar mentions in an article that Krishnamurthy Aasari came from Mayavaram.
Krishnamurthy Aasari was a goldsmith. It was a period of famine and there were few opportunities for employment, so he suffered from poverty. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was the oldest. He had brothers Govindarajan and Shanmugam and younger sisters Amrithavalli, Pushpavalli and Pangajavalli. The Samadhi of Kuzhumiyananda Swami, which was near his house, had fascinated him in his youth. Historians point out that in later letters he wrote 'Gurunathar Thunai' (Guru is with me) to refer to Kuzhumiyananda Swami. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar did his primary education at Japamatakoil School, Tiruchi, but did not receive schooling after primary education.
Sensing his interest in music, Krishnanurthy Aasari taught his son to sing. Later his friend fiddle musician Chinnaiah Pillai became the first music teacher for M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar. He ran away from home at the age of ten when his father forced him to work as a goldsmith. His father heard the news that he was in Kadapa city in Andhra Pradesh and went there to bring him back. In Kadapa he sang in a temple and lived on that income. After that, his father did not force him to work as a goldsmith.
M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar first sang and performed the role of Logidasan in the play Harichandra in the Rasikaranjani Saba theater group run by F.G. Natesa Iyer in Trichy. He was trained by a singer named Thiruvaiyaru Ramasamy Pathar. Ponnu Iyengar took the famous theater actor M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar as his student and taught him Carnatic music. He learned plays and songs from Narasimha Iyer. At the age of 12, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar's first concert was held at the Kaliyamman Temple in Periya Makkala Street, Trichy under the leadership of Pudukottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai. Later he also learned Carnatic music from Alandur Venkatesa Iyer.
Personal Life
In 1934, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar married Kamalathammal from Thanjavur by his father's arrangement. They had a son named Ravindran and daughters Saroja and Sushila. Later, he married a woman named Rajam. She had two children, Ganamurthy and Lakshmi.
Movie Career
M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar played the role of Arjuna in the play Pavalakodi written by Sankaradas Swami. Managiri Lena Chettiar and K. Subramaniam offered to make the play into a movie. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was signed as the lead actor. It starred S.D. Subbulakshmi and Jolly Kittu Iyer. As there was a conflict among the shareholders, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar joined as a shareholder and helped finish the film. The film was released in 1934 and became a huge success. The song 'Soma Sekara Sobitha Subhakara' composed for the movie is popular throughout Tamil Nadu. It was the first recorded song of Bhagavathar.
Directed by K. Subramaniam and starring M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar and S.D. Subbulakshmi, the 1936 film Naveena Charangathara was a huge success and made Bhagavathar a superstar. The song on this movie 'Sivaperuman Kirubai Vendum' was very famous.
In 1936, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar started a film company called Trichy Thiyagaraja Films to produce his own films. The first film was Satyaseelan or Thanthai Sol Maravatha Thanayan, released in 1936. In 1937, two films, Chintamani and Ambigapathi, were released and were box office hits. They established him as the first superstar of Tamil cinema. In 1939, the film Thiruneelakander produced by M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was released. It had the popular song 'Dina Karunagarane Nataraja'. This was followed by movie Ashok Kumar in 1941 which was also a hit.
In 1943, the film Sivagavi starring M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was released. It was based on the story of Thirumuruga Kripananda Wariyar and was directed by Sriramulu Nayidu. The 1944 movie Haridas, a M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar starrer, was the shortest in length. It was alleged that there were some things that violated the morals of the time. Kalki condemned the film. "His incredible singing ability and his high accented style will bring him the fame he envisions. Even so, there is no need for him to act in such a film. Having attained the highest social status, he should reject such films without hesitation" wrote Kalki.
Tamilisai Iyakkam
The trinity of Carnatic music in Tamil Nadu, Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar did not compose songs in Tamil. The Tamilisai Movement grew fiercer during Bhagavathar's period. Bhagavathar was a supporter of that movement. The first Tamilisai Conference was held in August 1941 at Chidambaram Annamalai Nagar. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar participated and sang in it. In December 1941, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar delivered the welcome address at the Tamilisai Conference held in Trichy. "Our country is Tamil Nadu. Our mother tongue is Tamil. We are all Tamils. So we want to listen to music in mother tongue. It is natural. This is our right" stated Bhagavathar in his welcome address. In 1943, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar sang along with Dhandapani Desikar, the pioneers of the Tamilisai movement, at the Tamilisai Conference in Chennai. In December 1944, Bhagavathar sang in Tamil at the Chennai Tamil Music Society. He was arrested two days later. On December 24, 1948, after his release from prison, Bhagavathar again performed at the Tamilisai Sangam. He sang at the Tamilisai Sangam every year after that.
In Radio
M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was rarely invited to the stages of Carnatic music. In 1944, Charukesi, a music critic, asked Bhagavathar why he did not sing in Chennai Music Sabas despite his talent. Bhagavathar said, "I do not refuse to sing. They are the ones who don't invite me to sing." Music critics like Kalki and Subbudu have recorded that he was neglected by the Carnatic music scene of the day. Most of M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar's concerts took place on radio. A radio drama called Pilhanan starring M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was broadcast on Trichy Radio and was popular at the time.
Murder Case
A tabloid journalist named Lakshmikanthan was attacked on November 8, 1944 by some people including Arumugam and Nagalingam. He died in the hospital the next day. Based on the statements of Jayanandhan and Kamalanathan, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was included as an accused in the murder case. The police accused M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar, N.S. Krishnan and Sriramulu Naidu of sending mercenaries to kill him for defaming them. On December 27, 1944, Bhagavathar was arrested while acting in the film Udayanan Vasavatham. On March 13, 1945, a trial before a criminal jury found them guilty and sent the case to the High Court. Justice Weir Mackett convicted Bhagavathar and N.S. Krishnan on May 3, 1945. Bhagavathar and N.S. Krishnan went to jail. Their appeals were dismissed. In February 1947, the Division Counsel allowed their appeal and ordered the High Court to rehear the case. On April 25, 1947, Justice Happel and Shahabuddin quashed the conviction and ordered their release (Lakshmikanthan Murder Case).
Post Release
When Bhagavathar was arrested, the shooting of many films was stopped. Many took back their advance. After his release, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar acted and produced a film called Rajamukthi. He was fascinated by Vivekananda's ideas and named his film company Narendra Pictures. Rajamukthi, released on October 9, 1948, was not successful. This was the period when Bhagavathar performed most of the concerts. He was more interested in musicals than films. He formed a theater troupe and conducted plays. On August 11, 1955, it was reported that five thousand people watched his Sarangathara play.
In 1952 two films of M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar were released. Amarakavi and Syamala were both unsuccessful. The song "Rajan Maharajan" from the film Syamala, however, became very popular. His songs were well received. Playback singing was introduced during this period, where the actors were dubbed by other singers in post production. Dialogues were preferred over songs in the movies. People expected realistic stories rather than mythological tales. In 1957, the long-in-the-making film Pudhuvazhvu was released. It was not well received. After that, 1959's Sivagami was the last film starring M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar. The film was released after his death.
Donations
M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar conducted many fundraisers for the British government. He also donated to the war. Some of his historians say that the British government wanted to give him the title of Rao Bahadur and that he had refused. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar's historians mention that his was the biggest donation made by an individual in Tamil Nadu, when thirty thousand people died in the earthquake in Quetta, Balochistan. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was conducting regular charity concerts. His financial donations to the Ramalinga Swami Madam and the Tirupattur School were recorded. In order to honor his music teachers, he has organized concerts and collected funds. He also donated huge sums to the Tamilisai Movement.
After his release from prison, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar conducted many charity concerts. He has raised funds for Trichy Ramakrishna Thabovanam, Dindigul Sakti Nadaka Sabai, Vannarapettai Sir. P.T. Thiyagaraja Chetti Higher Secondary School, Triplicane Women Higher Secondary School. His sponsorship of Virudhunagar Nadar School and Chatur Football Association were reported. Biographies say that he performed more than a hundred charity concerts.
Demise
M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar suffered from Diabetes and his vision was also impaired because of it but he did not undergo proper treatment. On October 2, 1959, his health deteriorated and he was admitted to the Chennai General Hospital. He died on November 1, 1959. His wife Kamala and student Rathnappa were with him. The body of M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was taken to Trichy and cremated at the pyre of his community. A Samathi (memorial) has been set up for him there.
Movies
- Pavalakodi (1934)
- Naveena Sarangathara (1935)
- Sathyaseelan (1936)
- Chinthamani (1937)
- Ambigapathi (1937)
- Thiruneelakandar (1939)
- Ashok Kumar (1941)
- Sivakavi (1943)
- Haridoss (1944)
- Rajamukthi (1948)
- Amarakavi (1952)
- Syamala (1952)
- Puthu Vazvu (1957)
- Sivakami (1959)
Biographies
- M.K.T. Bhagavathar Kathai - Vinthan
- Bhagavathar Varalaru - Malathi Balan
- M.K.T. Bhagavathar Isaiyum Vazhkaiyum - T.V. Balakrishnan
References
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