MK Arjunan, legendary Malayalam music director who gave AR Rahman his break, passes away

Veteran music director MK Arjunan passed away at 84. The legendary musician breathed his last reportedly at 3:30 AM at his residence in Kochi. MK Arjunan's sad demise has shocked the Malayalam film industry and various celebrities are now sharing their condolences on social media. MK Arjunan had given musical maestro AR Rahman hs first break in 1981 as a keyboard player. 

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MK Arjunan passes away 

MK Arjunan was often regarded as Arjunan Master by many of his industry peers for his brilliant command on the craft of music. He had composed over 700 songs for 200 films. Youngest of 14 children, MK Arjunan has reportedly shown an interest in music ever since he was young. 

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At the beginning of his career, MK Arjunan composed music for small-time plays set up by amateur theatre groups in Kerala. Later on, the musician focussed for a while on theatre and associated with various top names of the industry like Desabhimani THeatres, AlleppeyTheatres, Kalidasa Kalakendraam and KPAC. He also showed an utmost commitment to the craft of theatre plays and composed over 750 songs for 300 plays. 

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Musical maestro AR Rahman received credit in a  film for the first time as a keyboard player in the 1981 film Adimachangala, the music for the film was directed by late MK Arjunan. Though the music director had an extensive body of work in the music industry, he hadn't received a state award. Only in 2018, when the director had worked for over 50 years in the industry is when Arjunan received his first state award. Bu the music director was always reportedly committed to the craft of music and wasn't interest in accolades. 

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