M. B. Sreenivasan

September 19, 1925 – March 9, 1988

Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh

Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, as he was called, was one of the finest ever composers in Malayalam cinema who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries. He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 September 1925 in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. He had his schooling at P.S. High School, Chennai. During his college days at Madras Presidency College, he was attracted to communist ideals and joined the Madras Students Organisation. His acquaintance with Nemai Ghosh, a Bengali director, paved his entry into films. His first film song was written to the words of noted Tamil lyricist, Jayakanthan, for the Tamil film Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar. He played a major part in the formation of Indian People Theatre Association (IPTA). 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 also acted in a Tamil movie, Agraharathil Kazhutai. MBS produced many hits in Malayalam films. His style of music involved only minimal orchestration and were noted for their simple lucidity. He is the one who introduced the legendary singer K. J. Yesudas to film industry.