T. G. Lingappa
Encyclopedia
T. Govindarajulu Lingappa (Tamil
: டி. ஜி. லிங்கப்பா) (died 2005) was a noted music director who had scored music for Tamil
, Kannada and Telugu
movies. He is the son of T. Govindarajulu Naidu
who is also a famous film music director who had a very old beginning in the Tamil film industry.
(MKT) used to sing in their house and T. Govindarajulu Naidu introduced MKT to his children. T. Govindarajulu is a harmonium player in special dramas, but was also known as the one who taught music for K. B. Sundarambal
. He also sold musical instruments and gramaphone in Thiruchi, but the businees was not doing very well. T.G. Lingappa had learned to play several musical instruments. In 1940, T. Govindarajulu Naidu took his family to Madras to look for greener pasture there.
, mandoline
and guitar
. This orchestra used to play music for films and gramaphone. It sis to be noted that Lingappa played instruments for Ashok Kumar
in 1941 and he was earning salary of Rs30 monthly .
In the same year Lingappa approached Gemini Studios
to try his luck. C. Ramchandra
was working there with other older artistes. But Lingappa was rejected due to his young age. Not giving up, Lingappa proceeded to Salem to try his chance in Modern Theatres
when music director T. A. Kalyanam invited him. There Lingappa met T. R. Papa
and K. V. Mahadevan
. It was the time during the 1940s where everyone was circumambulating all available studios for opportunities.
In 1945, Lingappa returned to Madras and worked under R. Sudarsanam in the Pragathy Studios and he played instruments in the film Sri Valli (1945). Lingappa went to Karakkudi to play musical instruments when AVM Productions
made Naam Iruvar (1947). In 1948, he returned to Madras and worked under C. R. Subburaman
. All these experience under different renowned music directors had sparked an idea to be a freelance musician. He went on to purchase modern instruments from abraoad, especially London where he bought the electric guitar. Lingappa is well capable of playing the guitar. Music directors G. Ramanathan
, S. V. Venkatraman and K. V. Mahadevan
had used Lingappa for several of their songs. From then on Lingappa was playing many instruments under all the leading music directors.
had produced his first fim Macha Regai (1950) where the music was done by C. R. Subburaman
. His manager was B. R. Panthulu
. Since C. R. Subburaman
died suddenly, T. R. Mahalingam
who had known Lingappa from earlier and became closer in the film Naam Iruvar, gave Lingappa chance to compose music for his second production Mohanasundaram (1951). There are more than ten songs in Mohanasundaram. It was also that J. P. Chandrababu sang first Hello My dear Darling, Hello My rose charming. The success of the songs are due to T. R. Mahalingam and Lingappa both knew carnatic music, cooperated and discussed the tunes together. After that T.R. Mahalingam used Lingappa in his other movies like Chinnadurai and Vilayaattu Bommai.
starrer directed by P. Neelakantan
. There are excellent songs in the film. The Bharathidasan
song Vennilaavum Vaanum Pol was first sung by M. M. Dandapani Desikar in the stages. Lingappa obtained his permission to use the same song in Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachaari with some modifications and after the approval of the tune by Baradidasan, Radha Jayalakshmi
sang the song. V. N. Sundaram sang the comedy song Kaviyin Kanavil Vaazhum Oviyame in which he combines light music with carnatic tune. J. P. Chandrababu sang for Sivaji Jolly Life Jolly Life. This film and songs became hit. B. R. Panthulu again booked Lingappa for Sivaji Ganesan
starrer Mudhal Thethi (1955).
Thangamalai Ragasiyam (1958) is another film that lifted P. Suseela to great heights. The song is Amuthai Pozhiyum Nilave. The same film was taken in Hindi and this song was retained with Hindi words. Again it became a success in the Hindi circles.
Lingappa continued on composing for Shabash Meena (1958), Engal Kudumbam Perisu (1958) and Kuzhandaigal Kanda Kudiyarasu (1960). He then went on to compose in Kannada movies. After a break he came back to compose in Muradan Muthu (1964). That was the last film where B. R. Pantulu used Sivaji Ganesan.
It is said by Lingappa himself that there are at least two songs that he composed, but came to be used by other music directors. One is Kunguma Poove which J. P. Chandrababu learnt under Lingappa and sang for S. M. Subbaiah Naidu in Maragatham (1959). The other is the song Putham Puthu Meni by Balamurali Krishna and P. Suseela in Subathinam.
Some compositions of T. G. Lingappa:
T.G. Lingappa has also sung. His songs are:
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
: டி. ஜி. லிங்கப்பா) (died 2005) was a noted music director who had scored music for Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Kannada and Telugu
Telugu cinema
The Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, also referred to as Telugu Cinema or Tollywood, is the Telugu film industry in India. The Telugu language film industry is known for being one of the three largest in terms of no.of films produced yearly in India. The Prasads IMAX theatre in Hyderabad is one of the...
movies. He is the son of T. Govindarajulu Naidu
T. Govindarajulu Naidu
T. Govindarajulu Naidu was an acclaimed music director in the olden days of the south indian film industry. He is senior to the other great music directors such as G. Ramanathan , S. V. Venkatraman and S. M. Subbaiah Naidu. He composed music fror Tamil and Telugu movies.His family stayed in...
who is also a famous film music director who had a very old beginning in the Tamil film industry.
Early Life
T.G. Lingappa is the second son had learned music from his father T. Govindarajulu Naidu. His family stayed in Thiruchi. This is where M. K. Thyagaraja BhagavatharM. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar , also called M.K.T., was a Tamil film actor, producer and Carnatic music singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful Tamil film actors ever....
(MKT) used to sing in their house and T. Govindarajulu Naidu introduced MKT to his children. T. Govindarajulu is a harmonium player in special dramas, but was also known as the one who taught music for K. B. Sundarambal
K. B. Sundarambal
Kodumudi Balambal Sundarambal was a renowned stage artist and singer of South India. She was popularly referred to as the "Queen of the Indian stage." She was noted both for her resonant, vibrant voice and for the dignity of her performances. A political activist during the Indian independence...
. He also sold musical instruments and gramaphone in Thiruchi, but the businees was not doing very well. T.G. Lingappa had learned to play several musical instruments. In 1940, T. Govindarajulu Naidu took his family to Madras to look for greener pasture there.
Career Life
At the age of 14, Lingappa tried to act in the film Kamathenu which was produced by Visvanathan. Instead Visvanathan had asked Lingappa to sing and to remain with him for sometime to given chance. He stayed a few months and when it is not fruitful and then moved on. Since he is able to play musical instuuments, he then joined the Mayoora Film Orchestra and played harmoniumHarmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, mandoline
Mandoline
A mandoline is a cooking utensil used for slicing and for cutting juliennes; with suitable attachments, it can make crinkle-cuts. It consists of two parallel working surfaces, one of which can be adjusted in height. A food item is slid along the adjustable surface until it reaches a blade mounted...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. This orchestra used to play music for films and gramaphone. It sis to be noted that Lingappa played instruments for Ashok Kumar
Ashok Kumar
Ashok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...
in 1941 and he was earning salary of Rs30 monthly .
In the same year Lingappa approached Gemini Studios
Gemini Studios
Gemini Studios was launched when Thiruthuraipoondi Subramanian Srinivasan bought a film distribution concern at an auction and renamed it as Gemini Pictures also known as Gemini Studios. Gemini Studios served as a breeding ground for innumerable artists and technicians for the south Indian Film...
to try his luck. C. Ramchandra
C. Ramchandra
Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar was a renowned music composer in the movie industry of India. In the composer's role, he mostly used the name C. Ramachandra, though he also used the names Annasaheb , Ram Chitalkar Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar(Marathi: रामचंद्र नरहर चितळकर /सी.रामचंद्र ) (1918–1982) was...
was working there with other older artistes. But Lingappa was rejected due to his young age. Not giving up, Lingappa proceeded to Salem to try his chance in Modern Theatres
Modern Theatres
Modern Theaters Ltd was a motion picture movie studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India, started by Thiruchengodu Ramalingam Sundaram in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 movies until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English of which Tamil movies were the...
when music director T. A. Kalyanam invited him. There Lingappa met T. R. Papa
T. R. Papa
Thiruthuraipoondi Radhakrishnan Pappa is a famous music director of Tamil, Telugu and Sinhalese movies. He was born in 1923 at Thiruthuraipoondi, Madras Presidency, British India.-Early life:...
and K. V. Mahadevan
K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkatachalam Mahadevan was a South Indian music composer.-Career:K.V.Mahadevan was born in Tamil Iyer family in 1918 in Krishnancoil, Kanyakumari district. A contemporary of M. S. Viswanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy, KVM has scored music for over 600 films, spanning four decades, after...
. It was the time during the 1940s where everyone was circumambulating all available studios for opportunities.
In 1945, Lingappa returned to Madras and worked under R. Sudarsanam in the Pragathy Studios and he played instruments in the film Sri Valli (1945). Lingappa went to Karakkudi to play musical instruments when AVM Productions
AVM Productions
AVM is the oldest and largest film production studio in India. It is currently owned by M. Saravanan and his son, M. S. Guhan. The most recent film they have produced since their opening with Nam Iruvar in 1947, is Vettaikkaaran and Leader. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai....
made Naam Iruvar (1947). In 1948, he returned to Madras and worked under C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman also known as C. S. Ram was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy Iyer at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar Ganesh duo is his younger brother...
. All these experience under different renowned music directors had sparked an idea to be a freelance musician. He went on to purchase modern instruments from abraoad, especially London where he bought the electric guitar. Lingappa is well capable of playing the guitar. Music directors G. Ramanathan
G. Ramanathan
G. Ramanatha Iyer was a famous Music Composer for Tamil Movies. He is also known as 'Isai Methai' or 'Sangeetha Chakravarthy' and 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...
, S. V. Venkatraman and K. V. Mahadevan
K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkatachalam Mahadevan was a South Indian music composer.-Career:K.V.Mahadevan was born in Tamil Iyer family in 1918 in Krishnancoil, Kanyakumari district. A contemporary of M. S. Viswanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy, KVM has scored music for over 600 films, spanning four decades, after...
had used Lingappa for several of their songs. From then on Lingappa was playing many instruments under all the leading music directors.
T. G. Lingappa and T. R. Mahalingam
T. R. MahalingamT. R. Mahalingam
T. R. Mahalingam may refer to:* T. R. Mahalingam * T. R. Mahalingam...
had produced his first fim Macha Regai (1950) where the music was done by C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman also known as C. S. Ram was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy Iyer at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar Ganesh duo is his younger brother...
. His manager was B. R. Panthulu
B. Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu
B. Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu , better known as B. R. Panthulu, is an Indian film director, producer, and actor. He is best known for directing movies in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are Sri Krishna Deva Raya, Karnan, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, and Aayirathil...
. Since C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman also known as C. S. Ram was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy Iyer at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar Ganesh duo is his younger brother...
died suddenly, T. R. Mahalingam
T. R. Mahalingam
T. R. Mahalingam may refer to:* T. R. Mahalingam * T. R. Mahalingam...
who had known Lingappa from earlier and became closer in the film Naam Iruvar, gave Lingappa chance to compose music for his second production Mohanasundaram (1951). There are more than ten songs in Mohanasundaram. It was also that J. P. Chandrababu sang first Hello My dear Darling, Hello My rose charming. The success of the songs are due to T. R. Mahalingam and Lingappa both knew carnatic music, cooperated and discussed the tunes together. After that T.R. Mahalingam used Lingappa in his other movies like Chinnadurai and Vilayaattu Bommai.
T. G. Lingappa and B. R. Panthulu
B. R. Panthulu separated from T. R. Mahalingam and started Padmini Pictures for which banner Lingappa composed most number of films in Tamil. The first film of B. R. Bantulu was Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachaari (1954), a Sivaji GanesanSivaji Ganesan
Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...
starrer directed by P. Neelakantan
P. Neelakantan
Neelakantan is Tamil film director. He was born in Villupuram. He graduated to movies from stage play. His play Nam Iruvar was brought by movie mogul A.V. Meyyappa Chettiar and made into a film in 1947. Then he wrote the dialogues for films like Vedala Ulagam in 1948...
. There are excellent songs in the film. The Bharathidasan
Bharathidasan
Bharathidasan was a twentieth century Tamil poet and rationalist whose literary works handled mostly socio-political issues. His writings served as a catalyst for the growth of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu...
song Vennilaavum Vaanum Pol was first sung by M. M. Dandapani Desikar in the stages. Lingappa obtained his permission to use the same song in Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachaari with some modifications and after the approval of the tune by Baradidasan, Radha Jayalakshmi
Radha Jayalakshmi
Radha and Jayalakshmi popularly known as Radha Jayalakshmi , were Indian Carnatic music vocalist duo as well as playback singers in films in 1940s and 1950s, before they became music teachers. The person who does the playback singing is Jayalakshmi but was named as Radha Jayalakshmi in the cine field...
sang the song. V. N. Sundaram sang the comedy song Kaviyin Kanavil Vaazhum Oviyame in which he combines light music with carnatic tune. J. P. Chandrababu sang for Sivaji Jolly Life Jolly Life. This film and songs became hit. B. R. Panthulu again booked Lingappa for Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji Ganesan
Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...
starrer Mudhal Thethi (1955).
Thangamalai Ragasiyam (1958) is another film that lifted P. Suseela to great heights. The song is Amuthai Pozhiyum Nilave. The same film was taken in Hindi and this song was retained with Hindi words. Again it became a success in the Hindi circles.
Lingappa continued on composing for Shabash Meena (1958), Engal Kudumbam Perisu (1958) and Kuzhandaigal Kanda Kudiyarasu (1960). He then went on to compose in Kannada movies. After a break he came back to compose in Muradan Muthu (1964). That was the last film where B. R. Pantulu used Sivaji Ganesan.
Works
Vaazhviley Oru Naal (1956) produced by T. S. Venkataswami who is the husband of U. R. Jeevarathinam. In this movie Lingappa there is a duet Thendrale Varaayo Inba Sugam Tharayo by T. M. Soundararajan and U. R. Jeevarathinam.It is said by Lingappa himself that there are at least two songs that he composed, but came to be used by other music directors. One is Kunguma Poove which J. P. Chandrababu learnt under Lingappa and sang for S. M. Subbaiah Naidu in Maragatham (1959). The other is the song Putham Puthu Meni by Balamurali Krishna and P. Suseela in Subathinam.
Some compositions of T. G. Lingappa:
- Oh.. Jegamathil Inbam Thaan Varuvathu Ethanaale from Mohanasundaram by T. R. MahalingamT. R. Mahalingam (actor)Thenkarai Ramakrishna Mahalingam was a Tamil film actor, singer and music composer of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his melodious songs mostly based on romantic or devotional themes.-Early days:...
and S. VaralakshmiS. VaralakshmiSaridey Varalakshmi, popularly known as Telugu: ఎస్. వర లక్ష్మిS. Varalakshmi was a veteran Telugu and Tamil actress and singer... - Paattu Venumaa from Mohanasundaram by T. R. MahalingamT. R. MahalingamT. R. Mahalingam may refer to:* T. R. Mahalingam * T. R. Mahalingam...
- Amuthai Pozhiyum Nilavey from Thangamalai Ragasiyam by P. Suseela
- Thendrale Varaayo Inba Sugam Tharayo from Vaazhviley Oru Naal by T. M. Soundararajan and U. R. Jeevarathinam
- Onnuley Irunthu 20 Varaikkum Kondattam from Mudhal Thethi by N. S. KrishnanN. S. KrishnanNagerkoyil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan , popularly known as Kalaivanar and also as 'NSK' was a leading Tamil film comedian, drama artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry - in the 1940s and 1950s....
- Thunbam Varumbothu Nagaithiduvaai from Mudhal Thethi by M. M. Dandapani Desikar
- Vennilaavum Vaanum Pol from Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachaari by Radha JayalakshmiRadha JayalakshmiRadha and Jayalakshmi popularly known as Radha Jayalakshmi , were Indian Carnatic music vocalist duo as well as playback singers in films in 1940s and 1950s, before they became music teachers. The person who does the playback singing is Jayalakshmi but was named as Radha Jayalakshmi in the cine field...
- Kaviyin Kanavil Vaazhum Oviyame from Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachaari by V. N. Sundaram
- Athimadhura Anuraga from Engal Kudumbam Perisu by A. M. RajahA. M. RajahAemala Manmatharaju Rajah was a South Indian playback singer-music composer popular in the 1950s and the early 1960s in South India. He was popularly known as A. M. Rajah or Rajah. His songs were featured in numerous Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films in the 1950s, early 1960s and early...
and K. Jamuna Rani - Radha Madhava Vinodha Radha from Engal Kudumbam Perisu by T. M. Soundararajan and P. Suseela
- Chithitram Pesuthadi from Shabash Meena by Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi
- En Arumai Kathalikku Vennilave from Ellorum Innattu Mannar by T. M. Soundararajan
- Asaiyil Oonjalil Adiduvom from Kuzhandaigal Kanda Kudiyarasu by JikkiJikkiPillavalu Gajapathi Krishnaveni aka Jikki , was a popular film playback singer from South India. She sang over nearly 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Sinhala languages.-Early life:...
and A. P. KomalaA. P. KomalaA. P. Komala was a South Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu languages.-Filmography:These are some of the films where she was playback singer.-References:... - Kadhal Ullam Kavarntha Neeye from Sangilithevan by T. M. Soundararajan and P. LeelaP. LeelaPorayathu Leela better known as P. Leela was a popular Indian playback singer. She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2006.-Early life:...
Filmography
Music direction in Tamil Movies.- Mohanasundaram (1951)
- Chinnadurai (1952)
- Kalyanam Panniyum Bramachari (1954)
- Vilaiyattu Bommai (1954)
- Muthal Thethi (1955)
- Vazhvile Oru Naal (with S. M. Subbaiah Naidu and C. N. Pandurangan) (1956)
- Thedi Vantha Selvam (1958)
- Kanniyin Sabatham (1958)
- Thanga Malai Ragasiyam (1958)
- Shabash Meena (1958)
- Engal Kudumbam Perisu (1958)
- Mangalya Baghyam (with G. RamanathanG. RamanathanG. Ramanatha Iyer was a famous Music Composer for Tamil Movies. He is also known as 'Isai Methai' or 'Sangeetha Chakravarthy' and 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...
and S. M. Subbaiah Naidu) (1958) - Pudumai Penn (1959)
- Veera Amar Singh (with Shanmuga Babu) (1959)
- Ellorum Innattu Mannar (1960)
- Sangalithevan (1960)
- Kuzhandaigal Kanda Kudiyarasu (1960)
- Ennai Paar (1961)
- Muradan Muthu (1964)
- Thayin Mel Aanai (1966)
- Thangamalar (1969)
- Sivasakthi
- Rajayogam
T.G. Lingappa has also sung. His songs are:
- Somadevane Yogamaalane from Engal Kudumbam Perisu
- Oh Ragini Vaa from Chinnadurai