Abhayadev(1913-2000)

Writer, dialogue writer and songwriter of Indian cinema. Born in Pallam, India, in 1913, to prominent poet Karimalil Kesava Pillai. He himself began writing poetry and traveled throughout India writing about and promoting the non-violence creed of Gandhi. At one point, he was asked to write some songs for a traveling theatre company and then first realized the commercial potential of work as a songwriter. He wrote songs for several successful theatre troupes and also wrote numerous plays (though few if any were produced). He began his film career in 1947, composing songs for a Malay language film, Vellinakshatram. He found a close friend and partner in V. Dakshinamurthy, and the two wrote songs for many films together. He also translated both songs and dialog for films dubbed into Malay. He edited the Malaysian version of two films, one in Hindi (Badal) and one in Telugu language (Natya Tara). Late in his career, he put his multi-lingual talents to work translating classic works and creating a highly successful Hindi-Malayalam dictionary. He died in 2000.