Gangai Amaran was born in Pannaipuram in Theni district, Tamil Nadu in December 1947, as the youngest son of Daniel Ramaswamy and Chinnathayi.
[8] Regarding his name, Gangai was taken from a magazine of the same name which he read during his childhood, while Amaran is derived from a pseudonym Amar Singh, which he wanted to adopt for himself when he aimed to be a lyricist.
[9] Amaran revealed that his debut film as a composer for Malargalile Oru Malligai starring Malaysia Vasudevan remained unreleased despite the soundtrack being released.
Apart from composing, Amaran made his directorial debut with Kozhi Koovuthu (1982) and went on to direct many films including the highly successful Karagattakaran (1989).
Themmangu Paattukaran was his last film as a director while Poonjolai which would have been the acting debut of his son Venkat Prabhu remains unreleased.