Vaali died on July 18,2013 Thursday evening.He was not well for quite some time and was in and out of hospital over the past month.
The end came as one of his friends recited a few ‘pasurams’ — Ondrum marantharieyen and Oorilen kaaniyillai and Kulam tharum — from the ‘Nalayira Divyaprabandam’, a set of hymns sung by Vaishnavite minstrels
Born S. Rangarajan in Thiruparaithurai near Tiruchi in 1931, he assumed the pen name Vaali as he was an ardent fan of famed artist Mali of Ananda Vikatan, now a Tamil weekly. Vaali was also known as ‘vaaliba kavignar’ (youthful lyricist)
Born(DOB October 29, 1931) S. Rangarajan in Thiruparaithurai near Tiruchi in 1931, he assumed the pen name Vaali as he was an ardent fan of famed artist Mali of Ananda Vikatan, now a Tamil weekly. Vaali was also known as ‘vaaliba kavignar’ (youthful lyricist)
Debut Film as Tamil Film Song Lyricist
Vaali's first film song was for the film ‘Azhagarmalai Kallan
Vaali during a five-decade-long association with the Tamil film industry has written over 15,000 tamil film songs — M.G. Ramachandran to Dhanush — including 5,000 for music maestro Ilaiyaraja
The political image that MGR built for himself through his film songs stood him in good stead later when he embarked on a highly successful political career, with Vaali’s lines embodying his ideas and to name a few -
- Naan aanai ittal (‘Enga Veetu Pillai’)
- Moondrezhuthil yen moochirukkum (‘Theiva Thai’)
- Kan pona pokkiley kaal pogalama (‘Panam Padaithavan’)
- Puthiya vaanam, puthiya boomi (‘Anbe Vaa’)
- Thambi naan padichen kanchiyilay netru (‘Netru, Indru, Nalai’) and
- Tharaimel pirakka vaithan (‘Padakoti’)
Vaali was so disillusioned at not being able to break the stranglehold that lyricist Kannadasan had over the film industry, he had decided to pack his bags and leave. "Playback singer PB Srinivas - who passed away recently - happened to see Vaali packing up and decided to sing him the song Mayakama Kalakama from the 1962 movie 'Sumai Thangi'. It was written by Kannadasan. It apparently inspired Vaali so much that he decided to stay back in Chennai.
The lines "Unakkum keezhey(கீழே)ullavar kodi ninaithu paarthu nimmadhi naadu..." changed his mindset and renewed his vigour to live a new life. Thus was born the great poet.
Story & Dialogues for Tamil Films
Vaali was also a dramatist and story writer. ‘Ore Oru Gramathile’, a film for which he wrote the story and dialogues, was sought to be banned, but the Supreme Court overturned it. The film, produced by S. Rangarajan, late publisher of The Hindu, won a national award
Film Acting
Vaali has acted in ‘Poikkal Kuthirai’(1983), Sathya(1988), ‘Paarthal Paravasam’(2001)and ‘Hey Ram’(2000)
A still from Poikkal Kuthiral directed by veteran director K. Balachander
Film Direction
Vaali has directed the Tamil Film ‘Vadaimaalai’
Vaali as Writer
A prolific writer, he had rendered in verse form the tales of -
Rama (‘Avathara Purushan’)
Krishna (‘Krishna Vijayam’)
Ramanuja (‘Ramanuja Kaviyam’)
‘Pandavar Bhoomi’ was Mahabharatha in modern verse
Kalaignar Kaviyam
Krishna Bhakthan
Vaaliba vaali and
Pattathu yanayin bhavani
His latest work was the Biography of Srimad Azhagiyasingar, the 45th jeer of the Ahobila Mutt
A felicitation ceremony to celebrate Vaali's 80th birthday was held at the Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai on November 13, 2010. A book titled 'Vaali 1000', which is a compilation of Vaali's 1000 best movie songs, was released in the function
Vaali with his wife Ramani Thilagam
Vaali with Ilayaraaja
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