Thamarai

After three years of struggle to create a niche for herself as a lyricist, Thamarai put pen to paper in a single-room apartment in Chennai.

The result, sheer poetry that touched a chord in every listener's heart — Vaseegara in Gautham Menon's Minnale.

At a time when love in film songs had degenerated to mere lust, she came up with a sparkler of a number that brought to the fore a woman's feelings. Till then, male lyricists ruled and wrote love songs from their perspective.

Vaseegara grew on people and made sensuousness acceptable.

Thamarai, its lyricist, is now basking in the popularity of her words in Gautham's latest, Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu, especially the racy title song, Karka Karka, and the immensely moving Paartha Mudhal Naale.

For someone who worked with three straight disadvantages — Thamarai has a policy to write only in Tamil, never use vulgar words and not allow double entendre to creep into her lyrics — she rose up the popularity chart quite fast.