In this Indian name, the name Manamadurai Balakrishnan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sreenivasan.
Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director 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 Peoples 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.
He was married to Zahida Kitchlew, a Kashmiri Muslim, who was the daughter of the freedom fighter Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew. They had a son named Kabir. None of them are still alive.
M. B. Sreenivasan died suddenly of a heart attack while conducting a choir in the Lakshadweep islands on 9 March 1988. His body was later taken to his homeland, and was cremated there. Zahida, his wife, outlived him for 14 years, dying on 23 October 2002. Kabir, who suffered from advanced schizophrenia, died on 4 April 2009.
Major work: Malayalam film music
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.
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