Vairamuthu came to movies with Bharathiraja’s Nizhalgal. He has scaled several peaks in film lyrics and has written about 3600 songs. He has won the National award for best lyricist five times. He is also an accomplished litterateur and his work of poetry, Kallikaattu Itihasam won the Sahitya Academy award. His works have been translated into English as well. Now, efforts are on to compile an anthology of 1000 movie songs from his collection of 3600.