Kothamangalam Seenu

Kothamangalam Seenu
Kothamangalam Seenu
	Vathirairuppu, Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu
Died	30 August 2001 (aged 91)
Nationality	Indian
Occupation(s)	Stage, Film Actor, Carnatic Musician
Spouse	Anandavalli
Children	5 sons, 4 daughters
Parent(s)	Subramanya Iyer,; Narayani Ammal

Kothamangalam Seenu (17 February 1910^[1] - 30 August 2001) was a Tamil Stage, Cinema actor and a Carnatic music singer.

Early life

Kothamangalam Seenu whose birth name is V. S. Srinivasan, was born in

Vathirairuppu (anglicised as ‘Watrap'), a village in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu.^[2]

His parents were Subramaniya Iyer and Narayani Ammal. Not much is known about his early life at his birth place except that he was well trained in Carnatic music. He went to Kothamangalam, a village in Pudukottai district in search of employment.[2]

Career

He started his career as a singer and recorded some

gramophone records. He gave concerts and also trained students in Carnatic music.^[2]

Later he joined with Kothamangalam Subbu and began acting in dramas with him.^[3]

Film career

His melodious voice and expertise in Carnatic music attracted film producers. Soon, he began to act in films. The first film that he acted was Sarangadhara, released in 1937. He acted in the main character. During the early years of Tamil Cinema, music and songs dominated the films. In some cases there were as many as 50, 60 songs in one film. Therefore, there was much scope for singers to act in films and Seenu had good opportunities. However, there were already two big 'guns' who mesmerized people with their golden voice and acting skill. M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and P. U. Chinnappa were considered 'Super Stars' and held by the people in high esteem. But Kothamangalam Seenu established a place for himself as a singer actor. After

Shantha Sakkubai

, released in 1939, became very popular. He delivered a musical discourse (கதா காலட்சேபம்) that was a hit. He acted in the main role as Thirumangai Alvar in the film with the same name and was released in 1940. His songs in this film were popular. He acted in several films during the 1940s. His last film 'Thulasi Jalandar' was released in 1947.^[3] Thereafter, though he lived for more 50 years, he did not act in any films.^[2]

But he was performing Carnatic music concerts on Radio.^[1]

Filmography

The following list of films is based on information in Tamil Movie Database.^[4]

Year	Film
1935	Sarangadhara
1935	Pattinathar
1938	Vipra Narayana
1940	Thirumangai Azhwar
1940	Manimegalai
1941	Surya Puthri
1941	Kacha Devayani
1942	Bhaktha Naradar
1942	Chogamelar
1942	Krishna Pidaran
1944	Dasi Aparanji
1946	Sakata Yogam
1947	Ponnaruvi
1947	Ekambavanan
1947	Mahatma Udhangar
1947	Thulasi Jalandar

^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "நட்சத்திரம் பிறந்தநாள்". குண்டூசி 1951 February - P.35.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Guy, Randor (25 December 2010). "Chogamelar 1942". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kothamangalam Seenu
^ "Kothamangalam Seenu". tamilmoviesdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2020.

External links

Map of Kothamangalam
நடிப்பும் பாடலும் இவரின் தனிமுத்திரை Archived 11 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, திருமலை மூர்த்தி, சிறப்பு ஒலிபரப்புச் சேவை, 1 ஏப்ரல் 2015
கொத்தமங்கலம் சீனு
Katcha Devayani (1941)

Some of his songs on YouTube

[kundoosi-1] "நட்சத்திரம் பிறந்தநாள்". குண்டூசி 1951 February - P.35.

[chogamelar-2] Guy, Randor (25 December 2010). "Chogamelar 1942". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 August 2016.

[ausradio-3] Kothamangalam Seenu

[4] "Kothamangalam Seenu". tamilmoviesdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2020.

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