KV Mahadevan

Mr. K.V. Mahadevan(krishnancoil Venkatachalam Mahadevan), veteran music director, considered to be one of the greats of South Indian film music, was born in Krishnancoil, near Nagercoil in the present Kanyakumari Dt of Tamilnadu State on 14th March 1918.

A contemporary of Mr. M.S. Viswanathan, KVM has scored music for over 600 films, spanning four decades, after starting his career in the late fifties with Avan Amaran. Health reasons hastened the end of his career in the mid- nineties.

Known for mythologicals such as Sampoorna Ramayanam and Thiruvilayadal, KVM is said to have been a path-breaker in blending classical music with film music and was a `guru' to many music directors.

His hits include Sankarabharanam, Kandan Karunai, Vasantha Maaligai, Vietnam Veedu, Padikkatha Methai and Vaanambaadi.
He bagged the national award for best music director twice for Kandan Karunai in 1967 and Sankarabharanam in 1979. He has been awarded best music director award for the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh more than once.
He passed away in 21 June 2001 in Chennai at the age of 83.

KVM is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.
Famous playback singer Sankar Mahadevan is KV Mahadevan's son.
Courtesy: The Hindu

Prepared by: Sreedevi Pillai