Rajagopala Kulashekharan (1933 – 1976), shortly called R. K. Shekhar, was a music composer, conductor and arranger of the 1960s and 1970s, who predominantly worked in the Malayalam film industry. Remained one of the leading music arrangers and conductors of the classic era; his association with music directors M.K. Arjunan and V. Dakshinamoorthy gave countless timeless classics to Malayalam cinema. Apart from it, he also composed a few memorable songs, of which his debut song – Chotta muthal chudala vare of Pazzassi Raja (1964) and last song – Manasu manasinte kaathil rahasyangal manthrikkum of Chottanikkara Amma (1976) are widely regarded as his masterpieces. Famous music composer A. R. Rahman is his son, and composer-actor G.V. Prakash Kumar is his grandson.
R. K. Shekhar – Malayalam Music Composer of the 1960s and 1970s
R. K. Shekhar’s association with theatre gave him entry to films
R. K. Shekhar was born into a Tamil Mudaliyar family in Tamil Nadu. His father, Rajagopala Bhagavathar, was a Harikathai exponent. Shekhar’s wife, Kasthuri, is a Malayali, and the couple had 4 children. He was a school dropout. Shekhar was initially an electrician, and later he moved to the world of music and arts. He even worked part-time as a Bhagavatar, who composes and sings religious songs for temples.
His paternal uncle taught him harmonium, which proved to be the turning point of his career. He even taught the harmonium to children in the neighbourhood. He played at Carnatic concerts in the halls of Mylapore in Chennai, during its glorious years, which opened him doors to theatre. He joined the drama troupe of R. S. Manohar as a harmonium player and earned recognition.
V. Dakshinamoorthy gave him his first break in the film industry
V. Dakshinamoorthy once happened to listen to his performance in the theatre and hired young Shekhar as his assistant, when the harmonium used to be an integral part of recording orchestras. From this great musician, Shekhar learnt the first lessons of arranging and reading music. Apart from Dakshinamoorthy, he frequently worked with leading composers, M.K. Arjunan, Raghavan Master and Baburaj. M. B. Sreenivasan was one of the early composers with whom he worked. Ever since he joined the movies, he stayed in Chennai with his family till his death.
He was a true artist, extremely talented, and hence many times he used to replace some tunes with his own creations and never took credit. Also, he worked hard, spending hours, to create the background score of the songs they tuned to match their purity and standard. Though he turned into an independent composer with Pazhassi Raja in 1964, he continued working as an assistant under his gurus as conductors & arrangers were in high demand those days. He worked in more than 100 films, in different roles.
R. K. Shekhar was mostly associated with Malayalam music
The philosophical song, Chotta muthal chudala vare of his debut flick as a composer, Pazzassi Raja (1964) became immensely popular. After one more movie, Aisha, he turned back to arranging and conducting for other composers. He returned to composing songs with the 1971 movie, Anaathashilpangal. He delivered hits through Taxi Driver and a series of more than 20 films. As most of those movies failed at the box office, he couldn’t gain the recognition he actually deserved. Throughout his career, he overworked, and he became ill, which took away his age in his early 40s.
Thiruvabharanam, Pen Pada, Kuttichathan, Yudhabhoomi, Swimming Pool, Anadha Shilpangal, Sumangali, Akashaganga, Aradi Manninte Janmi etc some of his noted works. The title tracks of Aradi Manninte Janmi, Thamarapoo Nanichu Ente of Taxi Driver, Neeyente Velicham of Miss Mary, Ushasso Sandhyayo Sundari of Sumangali, and Aashada Maasam from Yudhhabhoomi are among his popular songs.
He did his last work on his deathbed, which became his masterpiece
He was undergoing treatment while he did his last film, Chottanikkara Amma (1976). The romantic song he composed, Manasu manasinte kaathil became an evergreen classic. Read the lyrics and English translation of this iconic song.
No other song has recreated the magic of this song, which truly expresses the emotions of the first night and consummation to this much perfection. He was 43 when he passed away, leaving his last work unfinished. His mentor M. K. Arjunan not only arranged & recorded his songs, but he also supported the family by giving A. R. Rahman his first break, who was only 10 or 11 years old. In fact, he used to take young Rahman to different studios in Chennai to find a job, and most times they faced bad experiences. At last, he gave Rahman a break in his own film. By that time, the glorious era of Arjunan Master had come to an end.
Shekhar’s name can be counted among the list of immensely talented artists of Indian cinema who didn’t gain the recognition they truly deserved, even after dedicating their lives to the field of art and cinema. His entire musical journey spanned only 19 years, and most of the time he spent was as an assistant & arranger. His undisciplined lifestyle & food habits, and overwork took away his life at a young age, says his friend and mentor, M. K. Arjunan. He died of stomach-related disease.
R. K. Shekhar – Some interesting and lesser-known facts
1. It was Shekhar who introduced electronic music instruments to the South Indian music scene. He mostly brought them from Singapore & never allowed anyone to touch them.
2. He was so obsessed with musical instruments that he spent huge amounts to buy them. When he left the world at a young age, to support the family, his son Rahman used to rent those instruments to financially support the family.
3. He introduced singer Brahmananthan into Malayalam cinema, and also gave the first Malayalam songs to legendary singers, Balamurali Krishna and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam.
4. He was such a wonderful artist that, while working with leading composers, he replaced some tunes with his own creations and never took credit. He simply wanted to impress the composers and was bothered about earnings, more than recognition.
5. During his busy days, he had seven or eight recordings a day. He was in high demand those days, worked with all the leading composers, and he hesitated to say no. Thus, he worked restlessly, giving less importance to health.
6. He composed the background score of the movie Thiruvonam.
7. Shekhar used the tune composed by young Rahman in one of the movies (now I can’t recollect).
8. Unlike Rahman, he was short-tempered who can’t compromise with anything, solely because of his dedication in work. He had little patience with artists, who came late or made mistakes, and often shouted in recording sections.
9. As a music composer, he is credited with 22 movies.
10. Bharanikkavu Sivakumar, who frequently worked as his lyricist, has once admitted that he was on the verge of suicide before he wrote the Manassu Manassinte Kathil song. The song earned him recognition.
11. It was Devarajan Master who introduced young Shekhar to Arjunan master. From the debut work of M. K. Arjunan – Karutha Paurnami (1968), he assisted him in all his movies till his death. Master completed Shekhar’s last unfinished work, Chottanikkara Amma.
12. During his last days, even when he was seriously ill, he used to lie on a bench in the recording studios, to give notations to the orchestra and give rehearsals. In and out of hospitals, he continued with his work, suffering in pain.
13. His daughter A. R. Reihana is also a composer. His grandson, G. V. Prakash Kumar (son of Reihana), is married to popular playback singer Saindhavi.
End note: Shekhar passed away when he had just begun to gain recognition in Malayalam cinema. If Shekar had lived a few more years, perhaps Malayalam cinema would have witnessed a great father-son pair like Bollywood’s S. D. Burman – R. D. Burman; a big loss to Malayalam cinema. In fact, the second work of Rahman was a Malayalam movie, Yoddha (1992), which was well-received before he completely switched to other languages and earned recognition across the globe.
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