Malayalis who grew up in the 1990s would associate some of their fondest movie-viewing memories with composer SP Venkatesh. He breathed his last on Tuesday, at 70. Venkatesh proved himself to be a versatile conjurer of tunes, with some of his best works made in the 1980s and 1990s. He was as gifted when it came to writing sombre, sorrowful tunes as he was with highly energetic, stylish dance numbers, aside from thrilling scores for action movies, as well as poignant lullabies and romantic melodies.
Venkatesh did the composition for some of Mohanlal's most iconic 80s films — the ones that turned him into a superstar — such as Rajavainte Makan and Bhoomiyile Rajakkanmaar, directed by Thampi Kannanthanam, with whom he went on to collaborate further into the 90s.
Other milestones came in the form of collaborations with actor Mammootty (Mahanagaram, Kauravar) and filmmakers such as Priyadarshan (Kilukkam, Minnaram, Chandralekha), Siddique-Lal (Mannar Mathai Speaking), Sathyan Anthikad (T.P. Balagopalan M.A.), Joshiy (Dhruvam, Sainyam, Lelam, Vaazhunnor), Jayaraj (Paithrukham), and more.
Venkatesh had proved himself adept with musical instruments at an early age, playing his father's mandolin at the age of 3. His journey in cinema began in 1971 as a guitarist in Kannada cinema alongside music director Vijayabhaskar. He later became an independent composer with the 1981 Telugu film Premayudha. However, it was Rajavinte Makan writer Dennis Joseph and Thampi Kannanthanam who put SP Venkatesh on the radar.
What followed was history. He made his presence felt in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada cinema. However, it was his strong orchestra-backed work in Malayalam that felt more accomplished.
His association with Malayalam cinema goes back to when he worked under the masters such as Kannur Rajan, Devarajan Master, Baburaj, Arjunan Master, Dakshinamoorthy Swamy, and Raghavan Master.
