The regard the late singer T M Soundararajan had for the veteran showman M K Thyagaraja Bagavathar could be gauged from this incident. In the 1950s, when asked to render one of MKT’s hits, he declined, stating that even a minor slip up might spoil the aesthetics of the song. That he said this when he was a leading singer speaks volumes of his humility, says ‘Film News’ Anandan, a veteran cinema observer. “TMS was then known for sporting the ‘Bagavathar crop’ hairstyle. In fact, he had even aspired to become the next MKT,” adds Anandan.
If MKT was the first superstar, it may not sound out of place to call TMS the ‘singing superstar’. In fact, TMS’ early years in the film industry are littered with instances of feats that became the industry’s benchmark. Anandan avers that his feat of recording eight songs in a day - four each in the morning and evening - for the film Pattinathar is a feat unheard of to this date. For the film Kallum Kaniyagum the singer had the rare distinction of collaborating with five music composers. The 1954 movie Thooku Thooki, he notes, went on to become a runaway hit more due to TMS’ songs than the famed dance trio of Lalitha-Padmini-Ragini.
On Saturday, his demise sent tremors of despair through the film fraternity. M S Viswanathan, a music composer with whom he had closely interacted extensively, was too shocked to even react. The yesteryear composer came to pay his last respects and did not even speak a word, a touch aghast. The most telling reminiscence of the singer, however, came from Vaali, a lyricist whose career he virtually breathed life into. “It was Soundararajan who took me under his wing when I arrived from Srirangam. If he had not been the voice for my song, ‘Karpanai Enralum...’, I may not have tasted success,” said the senior poet.