Kannadasan was one of the most important lyricists in India who has made immense and notable contributions to the Tamil film industry. He was frequently called Kaviarasu (King of Poets) as well. In his lifetime, he has written more than 5,000 lyrics, 6,000 poems and 232 books. After Subramania Bharati, he was regarded as the most prominent modern Tamil poet. But, did you know that once he composed the tune for a song which was then written by Vaali and it became a huge hit?

In 1964, A Bhimsingh released the movie Pachhai Vilakku which featured Sivaji Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, SS Rajendran, CR Vijayakumari, AVM Rajan and Pushpalatha to name a few. The music department was handled by the duo M S Viswanathan and TK Ramamoorthy. Kannadasan wrote the lyrics of the songs. The movie was produced by Rama Arangannal, AR Hassan Khan and TS Aadhi Narayanan, and was overseen by AV Meyyappa Chettiar.

When MS Viswanathan composed the song, Kannadasan was quite impressed and expressed his love for the song with much enthusiasm. He wrote songs which included beautiful and meaningful metaphorical phrases that added a layer of depth to romance. But, when the song was presented to AV Meyyappa Chettiar, he critiqued it by saying that the opening lines of the song were too long.

But, Kannadasan could not get over the song. When he was heading to compose for a different movie, he told MS Viswanathan to not create a new tune and to use the one he made, the Ponmalar Sendu tune for the new song. As per the wish of the composer, the tune of the song was offered to Vaali to pen the lyrics. After listening to the song Maiyendhum Vizhiyodu song from the movie Poojaikku Vandha Malar, Kannadasan was happy and impressed with the outcome. He went to Vaali’s house and appreciated him for writing an excellent song.

Vaali is yet another famous lyricist in Tamil cinema whose music compositions incorporate various themes of love. Upon his entry into the industry, there were speculations of an ongoing rivalry between Vaali and Kannadasan. However, their relationship evolved into friendship. Together, the duo have penned chartbusters. Vaali has collaborated with multiple generations of actors including MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth, Suriya and others.