MUMBAI: Popular southern composer Rajamani has passed away. He was 60.

“He suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and passed away last night (Sunday),” a source close to his family told IANS.

Born into a family of Carnatic musicians, Rajamani’s first tryst with music happened when he accompanied his father B.A. Chidambaranath on a devotional album ‘Gangayar Pirakkunnu’. He was just 13 years old.

Besides learning Carnatic music, Rajamani also dabbled in Western and Hindustani music.

His first independent venture was 1983 Tamil film ‘Gramathu Kiligal’, followed by ‘Kalloori Kanavugal’ in the same year.

In 1985, Rajamani made his Malayalam debut with ‘Nullinovikkaathe’.

He went on to score music for successful Malayalam films like ‘Ekalavyan’, ‘Commissioner’, ‘The King’, ‘Aram Thampuran’ and ‘Narasimham’.

He composed music for nearly 70 films and rendered background score for over 700 films.

His last film as a composer was 2012 Malayalam romantic-drama ‘Hide n’ Seek’.

He is survived by his wife and son, Achu Rajamani, who too is a music composer.

(Source: IANS)