M. B. Sreenivasan

He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 September 1925 in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. He was deeply influenced by his paternal uncle, M. R. Venkataraman, who was a pioneer of the communist movement in Tamil Nadu. He had his schooling at P.S. High School, Chennai. He was actively involved with All India Students’ Federation and the Madras Students’ Organisation during his college days at Madras Presidency College. After independence, he worked in Parliament as private secretary to A.K. Gopalan during which he underwent intensive training in Hindustani and Western classical music.^[2] He married Zahida Kitchlew, a Kashmiri Muslim, who was the daughter of the freedom fighter Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew. They had a son, Kabir.^[3]

M. B. Sreenivasan died suddenly of a heart attack while conducting a choir in the Lakshadweep islands on 9 March 1988. His body was later taken to his homeland, and was cremated there. Zahida, his wife, outlived him by 14 years, dying on 23 October 2002. Kabir, who suffered from advanced schizophrenia, died on 4 April 2009.^[3]

His acquaintance with Nemai Ghosh, a Bengali director, paved his entry into films. Ghosh and Sreenivasan formed a production company called Kumari Films, with contributions from more than 50 shareholders. Their first film, Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar released in 1960. His first film composition was penned by noted Tamil lyricist, Jayakanthan, for the film. He played a major part in the formation of Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA).^[3] MBS and Ghosh co-founded the Cine Musicians’ Union, the first trade union for film workers in south India which ensured spot payment for artists. MBS later established the Film Employees Federation of South India. He also served as the chairman of the Indian Performing Right Society, a non-profit copyright society that works to protect the interests of music composers and lyricists under Indian copyright laws.^[2]

He formed the Madras Youth Choir in 1971, which sings Indian choral music, based at Chennai. They released a twin CD Pallupaduvome by Charsur and proposed to release a children's CD Poo Vaenuma that was composed by MBS. He played the lead role in the Tamil movie Agraharathil Kazhutai, directed by John Abraham.^[2]

MBS produced many hits in Malayalam films. His style of music involved only minimal orchestration and was noted for its their simple lucidity. He is introduced the legendary singer K. J. Yesudas to the film industry.^[4]

• Malayalam Cinema