Piraisoodan, the veteran Tamil poet and lyricist, died at his residence in Chennai after suffering from a heart attack, at 4.30 pm on Friday.
He was 65.
Born on February 6, 1956, in Nannilam of Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, Piraisoodan made his debut as a lyricist in the 1985 film Sirai. In a career spanning over three decades, the late poet has worked in over 100 films as a lyricist and penned over 5,000 devotional songs. He has collaborated with leading music composers of the time, such as Ilaiyaraaja in Chinna Kannamma (1993), MM Keeravani in Telugu film Aapadbandhavudu (1992), AR Rahman in Star (2001), and Deva in Jore. The late writer is also known to have an inclination towards spirituality and literature.
Piraisoodan also wrote all five songs for the 1996 Tamil action film Thayagam, starring actor-politician Vijayakanth. The film won Piraisoodan the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist. Late and renowned music composer MS Vishwanathan also honoured Piraisoodan with the title Kavi Nyaani.
Some of his popular songs include Meenamma Meenamma from the Rajinikanth-starrer Rajadhi Raja (1989 film), Rasiga Rasiga from Star, and Aattama Therottama from Captain Prabhakaran (1991).
Several notable personalities took to social media to mourn the veteran lyricist’s demise. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin tweeted, “His demise is a great loss to the Tamil film industry. He has worked with multiple generation of music composers and has contributed thousands of songs, that will be remembered forever. I offer my deepest condolences to the family and fans who lost him.”
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Actor-politician Kamal Haasan, expressed his condolences by saying that Piraisoodan hid his talent and adapted to the music composers and directors he worked with and wrote as per the required situations.
Singer Chinmayi Sripaada wrote, “Kavignar Piraisoodan has passed on. A lovely lyricist; He truly was a well wisher, a lovely gentleman to work with. His loss is huge.”
Piraisoodan is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. His son, Daya Piraisoodan, is a music composer.