Two-time National Award winning lyricist Na Muthukumar died on Sunday morning due to complications from jaundice. He was 41. He is survived by his wife Jeevalakshmi, son Aadhavan, and daughter Yogalakshmi.
Hailing from Kannikapuram in Kanchipuram district, Muthukumar lost his mother at the age of four. Even as a child, he found solace in books. He used to accompany his father, a school teacher, to libraries. He graduated in Physics and did his Masters in Tamil Literature. With aspirations of becoming a film director, he went on to work as an assistant to Balu Mahendra. Later, he decided to write poetry and lyrics professionally.
Introduced by Seeman in the film Veera Nadai in 2000, Muthukumar has written songs for over a 100 films. Although Veeranadai was his first film, by the time the film released, he had written more than 100 songs.
He has collaborated extensively with music directors Yuvan Shankar Raja and GV Prakash. He worked with Yuvan in almost 65 films. Some of his most memorable work was in 7G Rainbow Colony, Pudhupettai, and Kadhal Konden.
He won his first National Award for Best Lyrics for ‘Ananda Yaazhai’ from Thanga Meengal. The album was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja.
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His collaboration with GV Prakash Kumar started with his debut album, Veyil and continued with music in films like Kireedam, Madrasapattinam, Deiva Thirumagal, Thalaivaa, Kaakka Muttai, and Theri. He won his second National Award with ‘Azhagu’ from Saivam (2014).
He has worked with nearly every well-known music composer, including Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman, Harris Jeyaraj, Vijay Antony, Vidyasagar, and Joshua Sridhar.
He has also published several collections of poetry, essays, and novels. His book Anilaadum Mundril was serialised by Ananda Vikatan magazine. Considered a rare feat, Na Muthukumar wrote 103 songs in the year 2012 alone.
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