SLIDE SHOW

Sivakumar - I have known him for 50 years. He has written songs for more than 50 films of mine. He was the only equal to Kaviarasar Kannadasan. On so many occasions, Kannadasan himself has called up Vaali to clarify if a song was his or Vaali’s.

Life wasn’t very easy for him. He had to toil to get his career kick started. Just when he wanted to give up, Kannadasan’s song “Mayakkama Kalakkama” instilled confidence in him and brought him back into the race. Since then there was no looking back and until last June the great man has written more than 10,000 songs. None of us need to be sad about his demise. He lived a very satisfied life. Let the soul of the great man rest in peace.

K. Bhagyaraj - Even before I entered films, I was a huge fan of Vaali. One of the reasons that made actors like MGR into heartthrobs was Vaali’s songs.