Legendary music director M S Viswanathan, who had scored music for over 1000 films, passed away at his residence early Tuesday morning following illness.
88-year-old Viswanathan was being treated at a private hospital for geriatric problems. The music director is survived by four sons and three daughters. His last rites are scheduled to be performed on Wednesday, family sources said.
Viswanathan was a much sought after music director, who had scored music for a number of yesteryear hits, starring the then screen idols M G Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan.
He had scored music in all South Indian languages and also acted in many movies. Born in Palakkad in Kerala, Viswanathan had scored music for over 1,000 films, some of them in association with his partner Ramamurthy. Later they parted ways.
The Tamil cinema industry condoled the death of Viswanathan with actors and producers describing his death as an irreparable loss.
