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{{Short description|Indian singer and actor (1943–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Manikka Vinayagam
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| birth_name = Vazhuvoor Manikka Vinayagam Ramaiya Pillai
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1943|12|10}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2021|12|26|1943|12|10}}
| instruments = [[Singing|Vocals]], [[Pump organ|Harmonium]]
| genre = [[Playback singer|Playback singing]], [[Folk music]]
| occupations = Singer
| years_active = 2001–2021
| label = Audiotracs
| website =
| birth_place = [[Mayiladuthurai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[British India]]
| death_place = [[Chennai]], Tamil Nadu, India
}}

'''Manikka Vinayagam''' (10 December 1943 – 26 December 2021) was an Indian [[playback singer]] and actor. He sang for South Indian language films and acted in several [[Tamil language|Tamil]] films as a character artist. He was the son of the dancer [[Vazhuvoor B. Ramiah Pillai]]. His uncle and music guru was the singer [[C. S. Jayaraman]].

== Biography ==
Vinayagam was born on 10 December 1943 in [[Mayiladuthurai]] in the then [[Madras Presidency]]. His father [[Vazhuvoor B. Ramiah Pillai]] was a [[Bharatanatyam]] dancer while his uncle [[C. S. Jayaraman]] was a singer, music director, and actor in the [[Tamil Film|Tamil film]] industry. He was introduced to [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] and [[Hindustani music]] by his uncle. He picked up the [[Nadaswaram]], a wind instrument, in his youth.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam|url=https://www.veethi.com/india-people/manikka_vinayagam-profile-4285-24.htm|access-date=27 December 2021|website=veethi.com|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227202143/https://www.veethi.com/india-people/manikka_vinayagam-profile-4285-24.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Vinayagam debuted as a playback singer in the [[Tamil cinema|Tamil film]] ''[[Dhill]]'', with the song "Kannukkulla Gelathi" composed by [[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]. His debut in acting was for ''[[Thiruda Thirudi]]'' playing the father character to [[Dhanush]]. Since then, he has sung close to 800 songs in various languages. Apart from these, he has sung close to 15000 [[Devotional song|devotional]] [[Folk music|folk]], [[Love song|love]] and [[Carnatic music]] songs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/profilesmusic/manikka-vinayagam.asp |title=Profile of Manikka Vinayagam | Lakshman Sruthi - 100% Manual Orchestra | |publisher=[[Lakshman Sruthi]] |access-date=20 January 2011 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713183251/http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/profilesmusic/manikka-vinayagam.asp |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Vinayagam also had an orchestra ''Starlings'', which consisted of musicians and singers who were children of other actors.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Balasubramanian|first=V.|date=24 November 2016|title=Notes from his life|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/Notes-from-his-life/article16693927.ece|access-date=27 December 2021|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=25 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125150125/http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/Notes-from-his-life/article16693927.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

Vinayagam died from a cardiac arrest at his home in [[Chennai]], on 26 December 2021, at the age of 78.<ref>{{Cite news|title=பிரபல பின்னணிப் பாடகர் மாணிக்க விநாயகம் மாரடைப்பால் காலமானார்… திரையுலகினர் அதிர்ச்சி!!|url=https://tamil.asianetnews.com/tamilnadu/famous-playback-singer-manika-vinayakam-passed-away--r4qcxp|url-status=live|access-date=26 December 2021|work=Asianet News Tamil|archive-date=26 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226173324/https://tamil.asianetnews.com/amp/tamilnadu/famous-playback-singer-manika-vinayakam-passed-away--r4qcxp}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=26 December 2021|title=அதிர்ச்சி.. பாடகர் மாணிக்க விநாயகம் காலமானார்.. பின்னணி பாடல்களை தாண்டி நடிப்பிலும் அசத்தியவர்!|url=https://tamil.filmibeat.com/news/manikka-vinayagam-passes-away-he-is-not-only-a-playback-singer-and-also-a-good-actor-090894.html|url-status=live|access-date=27 December 2021|work=Filmibeat Tamil|language=ta|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227025219/https://tamil.filmibeat.com/news/manikka-vinayagam-passes-away-he-is-not-only-a-playback-singer-and-also-a-good-actor-090894.html}}</ref>

==Selected discography==
===Films===
<small>Source(s):<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/2654585-Manikka-Vinayagam|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Discogs|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227063646/https://www.discogs.com/artist/2654585-Manikka-Vinayagam|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam Best Songs List: Top, New, & Old|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/manikka-vinayagam-mn0002677066/songs|access-date=27 December 2021|website=AllMusic|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227202558/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/manikka-vinayagam-mn0002677066/songs|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam|url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/5sehJiCiH15ihXYCKyEALX|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Spotify|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227202819/https://open.spotify.com/artist/5sehJiCiH15ihXYCKyEALX|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam - MusicBrainz|url=https://musicbrainz.org/artist/7b4cb6b0-48a2-4a38-bc33-9072ab52ee7d|access-date=27 December 2021|website=musicbrainz.org}}</ref></small>
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Song
!Film
!Music director
!Co-singer(s)
!Notes
|-
|2001||"Kannukkulle" ||''[[Dhill]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]|| ||
|-
|2001||"Yelai Imayamalai" || ''[[Thavasi]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]|| ||
|-
|2002||"Vidai Kodu" || ''[[Kannathil Muthamittal]]'' ||[[A. R. Rahman]]||[[M. S. Viswanathan]], Balram||
|-
|2002||"Dhaya Nee"||''[[Dhaya_(film)|Dhaya]]''||[[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]]||[[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]]||
|-
|2002||"Pombalainga Kadhal"||''[[Unnai Ninaithu]]''||[[Sirpy]]||[[P. Unnikrishnan]] ||
|-
|2002||"Theradi Veethiyil" || ''[[Run (2002 film)|Run]]''||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Karthik (singer)|Karthik]]||
|-
|2002||"Thala Keezha"||''[[Gemini (2002 film)|Gemini]]''||[[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]]|| ||
|-
|2002||"Subbamma Subbamma" || ''[[Roja Koottam]]''||[[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]]||[[Malgudi Subha]]||
|-
|2003||"Vandi Vandi" || ''[[Jayam (2003 film)|Jayam]]''||[[R. P. Patnaik]]||[[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]]||
|-
|2003||"Kadhal Vandhal" || ''[[Iyarkai]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]]||
|-
|2003||"Ayurveda Azhagi" || ''[[Thiruda Thirudi]]'' ||[[Dhina]]||[[Srilekha Parthasarathy]]||
|-
|2003||"Koduva Meesai" || ''[[Dhool]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||Vidhu Prabhakar||
|-
|2003||"Chinnaveeda" || ''[[Ottran]]'' ||[[Praveen Mani]]||[[Srilekha Parthasarathy]]||
|-
|2003||"Theeratha Dum" || ''[[Parthiban Kanavu (2003 film)|Parthiban Kanavu]]''||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]]||
|-
|2004||"Markandeya" || ''[[New (film)|New]]'' ||[[A. R. Rahman]]||[[Nithyashree]] ||
|-
|2004||"Punnakunnu" || ''[[Arul (film)|Arul]]'' ||[[Harris Jayaraj]]||[[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]]||
|-
|2004||"Arjunar Villu"||''[[Ghilli]]''||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Sukhwinder Singh]]||
|-
|2004||"Pattu Pattu" || ''[[Shankar Dada M.B.B.S.]]'' ||[[Devi Sri Prasad]]||Kalpana||Telugu
|-
|2005||"Kokku Para Para" || ''[[Chandramukhi]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]]||
|-
|2005||"Kattu Kattu" || ''[[Thirupaachi]]'' ||[[Devi Sri Prasad]]||Sumangali||
|-
|2005||"Thaai Sollum" || ''[[Kana Kandaen]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]|| ||
|-
|2005||"Hey Pangali"||''[[Majaa]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Udit Narayan]], [[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]]||
|-
|2006||"Mannargudi Kalakalakka" ||''[[Sivappathigaram]]''||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||Rajalakshmi, Chinnaponnu ||
|-
|2006||"Allave Yengalin Thaai Bhoomi" ||''[[Keerthi Chakra (film)|Aran]]'' ||Joshua Sridhar||Sajid Farth||
|-
|2006|| "Ennamma Devi" || ''[[Thambi (2006 film)|Thambi]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||[[Karthik (singer)|Karthik]], [[Balesh]]||
|-
|2006||"Chethavadam" || ''[[Veyil (2006 film)|Veyil]]'' ||[[G. V. Prakash Kumar]]||||
|-
|2006||"Aiyyyayyyo" || ''[[Paruthiveeran]]'' ||[[Yuvan Shankar Raja]]||Krishnaraj, [[Shreya Ghoshal]], [[Yuvan Shankar Raja]]||
|-
|2007||"Vaa Mahaney Vaa" || ''[[Onbadhu Roobai Nottu]]'' ||[[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]]||||
|-
|2007||"Jigu Jickan" || ''[[Oram Po]]'' ||[[G. V. Prakash Kumar]]||||
|-
|2008||"Namma Ooru Nallarukku" || ''[[Seval]]'' ||[[G. V. Prakash Kumar]]||[[Tippu (singer)|Tippu]], [[Anuradha Sriram]], [[Mahathi (singer)|Mahathi]], [[Shreya Ghoshal]], [[Prashanthini]]||
|-
|2008||"America Endralum" || ''[[Santhosh Subramaniam]]''|| ||Naveen, [[Premgi Amaren]], [[Pushpavanam Kuppusamy]], [[Priya Himesh]]||
|-
|2008||"Veeramulla" || ''[[Kaalai]]'' ||[[G. V. Prakash Kumar]]||||
|-
|2010||"Theakku Maramaattam" || ''[[Magizhchi]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]||||
|-
|2010||"Naane Inthiran" ||''[[Singam]]'' ||[[Devi Sri Prasad]]||||
|-
|2010||"Antharathil Aadum" || ''Thoppul Kodi'' || |||| Film unreleased
|-
|2011||"Aaduvome Pallu Paaduvome"|| ''[[Sadhurangam (2011 film)|Sadhurangam]]'' ||[[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]|| ||
|-
|2014||"Vettaiyadu Koottam" || ''[[Sandiyar]]'' ||Yadhish Mahadev|| ||
|-
|2015||"Virugambakkam Vettu Kili" || ''Pathiladi'' ||Thomas Rathnam||||
|-
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Film
!Song
!Music director
!Co-singer(s)
!Channel
|-
|2005||''Vikramadithyan''||"Vikramadithya"||Rajesh Vaidhya|| ||Sun TV
|-
|2009||''Aadhi Parasakthi''||"Aadhi Parasakthi"||Rajesh Vaidhya||Rajesh Vaidhya||Raj TV
|-
|}

==Acting filmography==
Source(s):<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/paravai-muniyammas-innocence-turned-dhool-shoot-into-a-fun-experience-director-dharani/articleshow/74873364.cms|title=Paravai Muniyamma's innocence turned Dhool shoot into a fun experience: Director Dharani|work=The Times of India|author=M. Suganth}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam|url=https://spicyonion.com/actor/manikka-vinayagam-movies-list/|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Spicyonion.com|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227204953/https://spicyonion.com/actor/manikka-vinayagam-movies-list/|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Manikka Vinayagam - Movies, Biography, News, Age & Photos|url=https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/manikka-vinayagam/IEIN019695|access-date=27 December 2021|website=BookMyShow|archive-date=15 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015210929/https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/manikka-vinayagam/IEIN019695|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Check out lists of Movies by #ManikkaVinayagam #Filmography|url=https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/manikka-vinayagam/filmography.html|access-date=27 December 2021|website=FilmiBeat|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227203450/https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/manikka-vinayagam/filmography.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{colbegin}}
* ''[[Dhill]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Thiruda Thirudi]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Gambeeram]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Perazhagan]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Donga Dongadi]]'' (2004; Telugu)
* ''[[Giri (film)|Giri]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Arivumani]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Bose (film)|Bose]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Kalvanin Kadhali (2006 film)|Kalvanin Kadhali]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Thimiru]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Thullal (film)|Thullal]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Puli Varudhu]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Santosh Subramaniam]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Mathiya Chennai]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Thozhi]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Vettaikaaran (2009 film)|Vettaikkaran]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Bale Pandiya (2010 film)|Bale Pandiya]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Va Quarter Cutting]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Yuddham Sei]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Aadu Puli]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Singam Puli]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Avargalum Ivargalum]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Enbathettu]]'' (2017)
{{colend}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs artist|Manikka Vinayagam}}
* {{IMDb name|11881550}}
* {{IMDb name|12785600}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinayagam, Manikka}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian male film actors]]
[[Category:Indian male playback singers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Male actors in Tamil cinema]]
[[Category:People from Mayiladuthurai district]]
[[Category:Tamil male actors]]
[[Category:Tamil-language playback singers]]

Manikka Vinayagam - Revision history

Red apple learning at 00:25, 8 January 2026