M. K. Arjunan
Indian composer (1936–2020)
Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan (1 March 1936 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as Arjunan Master.
Early life
Arjunan was born at Chirattapalam in Fort Kochi (now part of India) on 1 March 1936 as the youngest of 14 children born to Kochukunju and Parvathi (Paru), among whom only four survived childhood. He lost his father at a young age and his mother, unable to provide for all her children, sent Arjunan and his brother, Prabhakaran, to Jeevakarunyananda Ashram at Palani where Arjunan got his first lessons in music. After school, the students would sing bhajans; his singing led the head of the ashram to give him music lessons. For the next few years Arjunan learned music from Kumarayya Pillai. He later learnt music under K.N. Vijayarajan Master.
Career and death
After composing music for amateur plays, he became a professional and worked with Changanassery Geedha, People's Theatre, Kalidasa Kalakendram, Desabhimani Theatres, Alleppey Theatres and KPAC. Arjunan went on to compose around 800 songs for 300 plays.
Arjunan's first movie as a composer was Karuthapurnami, released in 1968. His association with the leading lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi in almost 50 films was one of the most prolific composer-lyricist partnerships in Malayalam film industry.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2053416. VIAF identifies the subject as 317105435. The Library of Congress control number is n2015250626. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1936, 2020 and 1968.
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