Biography

Thattil Antony Johnson (26 March 1953 – 18 August 2011), popularly known as Johnson Master, was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema. Regarded as one of the finest composers in the industry, he was noted for his lyrical and expressive melodies together with simple but rich tonal compositions of thematic music. Johnson is a recipient of National Film Awards twice and Kerala State Film Awards five times. Johnson started his career as an assistant to G. Devarajan in the 1970s, and debuted as an independent composer in late seventies with Aaravam. He was a recurrent collaborator for directors Padmarajan, Bharathan, Sathyan Anthikkad, T. V. Chandran, Kamal, Lohithadas, Balachandra Menon and Mohan. He has composed music for more than 300 Malayalam films, the most by any composer except for Devarajan. He was the first music director from Malayalam cinema to be honoured with the National film Awards. He died of a heart attack in Chennai on 18 August 2011.