M. S. Viswanathan

Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan , also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director and composer. He was popularly known as Mellisai Mannar . He composed songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. He worked primarily in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. He also acted and sung in a few Tamil films. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa conferred the Thirai Isai Chakravarthy title on him in August 2012 and presented him with 60 gold coins and a new car.

Viswanathan was born in Palakkad Nair family onJune 1928 to Manayangath Subramanian and Narayanikutty in Elappully village in Palakkad, Kerala, India. His father died when Viswanathan was four years old, and his mother decided to kill him and herself as an escape from abject poverty and lack of support. He was saved at the last minute by his grandfather. His grandfather Krishnan was a warden at the central jail of Kannur. As a child, he sold refreshments in a movie theatre without any pay, so he could listen to the music in the films. He had a part in the film Kannagi produced by Jupiter Pictures.

Source: Wikipedia