Tributes to SUJATHA (Born 3 May 1935 – Died 27 February 2008)
Tributes to SUJATHA (Born 3 May 1935 – Died 27 February 2008) the pseudonym of the Tamil author S. Rangarajan, on his Death Anniversary today. He was an Author of over 100 novels, 250 short stories, ten books on science, ten stage plays, and a slim volume of poems. He was one of the most popular authors in Tamil literature, and a regular contributor to topical columns in Tamil periodicals such as Ananda Vikatan, Kumudam, and Kalki. He had a wide readership, served for a brief period as the editor of Kumudam, and has also composed screenplays and dialogues for several Tamil movies.
As an engineer, he supervised the design and production of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) during his tenure at Bharat Electronics Limited, a machine that is currently used in elections throughout India. As an author, he inspired many authors, including Balakumaran, Madhan, Charu Nivedita.
Sujatha Rangarajan was born in Triplicane, Chennai but spent his childhood in Srirangam near Tiruchirapalli under the care of his paternal grandmother owing to his father’s frequent transfers in his job.
He extended his composing skills and expertise from science to movies. The first of these efforts was Gayathri and Priya. In Priya, his fictional character Ganesh was played by Rajinikanth. Kamal Hassan’s Vikram was composed by him. He penned dialogues for the movie Roja, directed by Maniratnam. In recent times he has been associated with Mani Ratnam (for Iruvar, Kannathil Muthamittal, Aayitha Ezhuthu, etc.), Shankar (for Boys, Anniyan, Indian, Mudhalvan, Sivaji, and Enthiran), and Azhagam Perumal is Udhaya. He was also a co-producer for the banner MediaDreams, which went on to produce the critically acclaimed Bharathi, a biopic of the great Tamil poet Bhaarathiyaar.
He was working on Shankar’s Enthiran before he died on 27 February 2008.