*		Raveendran The aristocratic music director of Kerala who composed many soulful melodies , won National Award for 'Bharatham' and received several state awards too. .
"Good music exalts and purges the mind and intellect. Children should be trained to listen to chaste classical music, which would enlighten them. Music is now being reduced to mere cacophony and one has to be really selective,'' says the noted music director, Ravindran. Malayalam film music has witnessed a few geniuses when it comes to music. If the colossus of the old era was G.Devarajan, the medieval era through the 90s was dominated by Raveendran. His contribution to MFM is immeasurable. Raveendran(1943-2005 alias -Kulathupuzha Ravi) had composed many soulful melodies. He started his career as a playback singer in the 70's and evolved as one of the foremost music directors in the South, composing about 1,500 songs in 450 films in addition to a number of light music and devotional albums. The Journey: Raveendran had his degree in Music at the Swathy Thirunnal Sangeetha College, Thiruvananthapuram . Poverty in the family did not present him any ‘colourful’ days in his childhood. But he took that ‘dismal days’ positively and as a stepping stone for the 'hard' days ahead in his career as a singer/musician.He learned music along with noted singer Yesudas. Kulathupuzha Ravi, as he was known then, had earned a name all over Kerala as a singer through the ganamela troupe. With a burning ambition in his heart to make it big in cinema, Raveendran moved to Chennai. After a prolonged hunt, he met music director Baburaj, who gave him a chance to sing in `Velliyazhcha'. Later he became a dubbing artiste. His sonorous voice soon made him popular and he dubbed for all the films of Ravikumar, who was the hero in the 70's. Finally it was K.J Yesudas who helped him later for becoming a music director as Raveendran himself had strongly wished to be known as a playback singer! . The big break in career came through the film Choola Directed by I. V. Sasi.This single movie itself had fetched him more chances. " Thaarake mizhiyithalil...'', was the first song in the film Choola in 1979 that catapulted Raveendran to become the noted music director in Malayalam. The Rapport : Jesudas altered the course of his life by persuading him to compose songs. After that, there was no looking back and the singer-turned-music director went on to script a success story which was repeated in the successive films. A majority of Raveendran's songs were sung by Jesudas and they shared a great rapport. The tenure: From 1979 on Raveendran ruled the roost of Malayalam film music. He had belted out many hits in 1980s and 90s. +More