The multifaceted SV Ramanan passes away at 87

SV Ramanan (87), the voice behind the well-known Narasu's Coffee and Rathna Fan House advertisements, passed away on Monday, at his residence in Chennai, following a prolonged illness.

Ramanan, the son of the pioneer film producer-director-freedom fighter K Subrahmanyam, made several commercials for radio and television, as well as short films, soaps and documentaries.

Motion Pictures Producers' Combine (MPPC) was founded by Ramanan's father in 1937. It was renamed Gemini Studios when the latter sold it to SS Vasan in 1940.

K Subrahmanyam had links to Meenakshi Cinetone, which later changed its name to Neptune Studios and finally to Sathya Studios. (Scenes for movies like Vikata Yogi, Vichitra Vanitha, and Pandithevan, were filmed there; which is now The MGR Janaki College of Arts and Sciences.)

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Ramanan had contributed to the development of several businesses in the past six decades. Many of the advertisements continue to be well-liked and have a following.

Y Gee Mahendra and Suhasini played the key characters in Ramanan's 1983-film Uruvangal Maralam, which he directed, wrote and composed the soundtrack for. Notably, it had Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Jaishankar in guest roles.

Additionally, the Kalaimamani awardee, had composed the lyrics for various albums and dance plays for Padma Subrahmanyam, his sister and a seasoned Bharatanatyam dancer.

Here’s a bit of trivia: Ramanan's mother was the first woman music director in Tamil Cinema!

In an interview with ETimes, Ramanan said, “My siblings felt this drive to forge paths rather than follow the ones others had laid out because of my father. I was interested in radio and television advertising. By God's grace, I believe we all succeeded to a large extent.”

Ramanan was pleased with his grandchildren's accomplishments.

“Anirudh (Ravichander) is one of the best music directors in south India. I find it impressive that he is completely unaware of his celebrity status. He is someone who goes above and beyond to help others. Hrishikesh has begun appearing in movies, and his future is equally promising. Both are incredibly grounded and talented,” he added.

Ramanan, founder of Jaishree Pictures, is survived by his wife Bama, and daughters Lakshmi and Saraswathi. And, he's the maternal grandfather of music composer, Anirudh Ravichander, and actor Hrishikesh.