AR Rahman recalls keyboard maestro Viji Manuel as the man who introduced him to jingles

CHENNAI: The Tamil film industry may remember Viji Manuel as one of its most prolific keyboard players, but composer AR Rahman recalls him as the man who introduced him to jingles, which helped him launch his career as a music director.

In interviews both Rahman and Manuel have talked of their work together. Manuel spoke of how when he fell ill he gave several of his contracts to him, and Rahman narrated how he had to work nights with Manuel after a working all day on films. Manuel breathed his last on August 15, at the age of 64, after a prolonged battle with a liver ailment, but his music lives on.

The music for the last film he did, ‘Kanithan’, whose songs were written by drummer Sivamani, will release in September. "Six months ago, I took Viji Uncle to Rahman’s studio and recorded him playing an acoustic piano. He said he hadn’t played one in 15 years. But he played like magic," Sivamani said.

"For more than 25 years, I spent 12 hours a day with him in the studio," musician R Purushothaman said. "I remember he could pick up a tune in seconds. Sadly, he could not work much in the last years," he said.

May your soul rest in peace Viji uncle . You were a musical inspiration to many studio musicians including me.

— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) August 17, 2015