S. Rajam Biography 
S. Rajam was a Tamil actor, Carnatic singer and painter from Tamil Nadu. He appeared in a few Tamil movies in early talkies playing lead in the 1930s and 1940s. In his life time, he had a glorious musical journey and got many honours for the contributions towards this field. He is best also known for popularizing Koteeswara Iyer's musical compositions. He is the elder brother of Tamil film director and musician S. Balachander and actress S. Jayalakshmi. A music expert, he also served as a committee member of the Madras Music Academy.
Rajam was born on 10 February 1919 into a musical family in Tamil Nadu in British India. Noted vocalist Veenai S. Balachander was his brother. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar used to frequently visit his home. An eminent Carnatic music of 20th century, he received musical training from Papanasam Sivan, a leading Carnatic vocalist, before he started appearing in kacheris as a performer. As a film actor, he marked his debut in 1934 with the movie, Seetha Kalyanam. He played Rama’s role, while his real-life sister S. Jayalakshmi played Sita. It might be one of the rare occasions in Indian cinema, where siblings played lead pair for a movie on silver screen. Radha Kalyanam, Rukmini Kalyanam and Sivakavi are other releases.
He has performed on All India Radio, and also remained as a staff artiste and music supervisor. Painting and temple photography also remained his passion. Known for his series of portraits of the Trinity of Carnatic music, he was a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1991, Sangeeta Kala Acharya By the Music Academy, Chennai and Sangeetha Kalasikhamani 2008 by The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. He passed away on 29 January 2010, aged 90.
Published: July 28, 2018
Updated: July 28, 2018
