Kailasam Balachandar was an Indian playwright, film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of unconventional themes and hard-hitting contemporary subject matter. Balachander's films are well known for their portrayal of women as bold personalities and central characters. Popularly referred to as Iyakkunar Sigaram, his films are usually centred on unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He started his film career in 1964 as a screenwriter and graduated to a director with Neerkumizhi (1965).
Sri Raghavendrar is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, portraying the title character, in his 100th film. Lakshmi, Vishnuvardhan, Delhi Ganesh and Nizhalgal Ravi play prominent roles. The film is based on the life of Hindu saint Raghavendra Tirtha. The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics were written by Vaali. The dialogues for the film were written by A. L. Narayanan.
Singaravelan is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by R. V. Udayakumar from a story by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Khushbu. It revolves around a villager who is tasked with locating his urbanite cousin and marrying her, with the intention of reuniting their separated family.
Unnal Mudiyum Thambi is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. Produced by Kavithalayaa Productions, the film stars Kamal Haasan, Seetha and Gemini Ganesan. Manorama, Janagaraj, Prasad Babu, Nassar, and Delhi Ganesh play supporting roles. The film was a remake of Balachander's own Telugu film Rudraveena (1988).
Vanambadi ( transl. Skylark) is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language thriller film, directed by G. R. Nathan, produced by K. Murukesan and Kannadasan, and written by Valampuri Somanathan. A remake of the 1957 Bengali film Sesh Porichoy, it stars S. S. Rajendran and Devika, with R. Muthuraman, S. V. Sahasranamam, T. R. Rajakumari, T. R. Ramachandran, R. S. Manohar, Pushpalatha, Sheela and Kamal Haasan. The film was released on 9 March 1963 and emerged a success.
Manmatha Leelai is a 1976 Indian Tamil-language romantic sex comedy film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Aalam. A number of actresses debuted on Tamil industry through this film, including Hema Chaudhary, Jaya Prada, Y. Vijaya among others. It was released on 27 February 1976. Though the film was criticised for its bold content when it released, it has received cult status with passing years and is considered a trendsetter.
Maro Charitra is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language romantic tragedy film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan and Saritha in the lead with Madhavi appearing in prominent roles. The film deals with cross-cultural romance between a Tamil man and a young Telugu woman. Upon release, it was commercially successful and remains a cult classic. Owing to its success in Andhra Pradesh, the film was released in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka without being dubbed into the respective languages. It held the record of being the longest-running Telugu film at theatres in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Across theatres it had an uninterrupted theatrical run of 2+1⁄2 years in Bangalore. The song Ye Theega Poovuno became popular.
Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar, also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor and carnatic singer. Critics and film historians acknowledge Bhagavathar as the first superstar of tamil cinema. Bhagavathar was born in the town of Mayiladuthurai in then-Tanjore district of the Madras Presidency, British India. He started his career as a classical singer and stage artist in the late 1920s. In 1934, he made his debut in films with the movie Pavalakkodi which turned out to be a hit.
Haridas is a 1944 Tamil language film directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Rajakumari and N. C. Vasanthakokilam.
Charukesi is a rāga in Carnatic music. It is the 26th Melakarta rāgam in the 72 melakarta rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Tarangini in Muthuswami Dikshitar school of Carnatic music.
Pavalakkodi is a 1934 Tamil language film starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and directed by K. Subramanyam. It was the first film for both of them. The film's music was composed by Papanasam Sivan.
Thiruneelakantar is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Raja Sandow and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. The film, based on the life of Tirunilakanta Nayanar, was a big hit and was known for Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's acting apart from his songs. The noted nadaswaram player T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai makes a guest appearance.
Sivakavi is a 1943 Indian Tamil-language film directed, initially, by P. K. Raja Sandow and later, S. M. Sriramulu Naidu. It starred M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, S. Jayalakshmi, Serukalathur Sama, Thirupurambal, T. R. Rajakumari, N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram. The film's screenplay was written by Thiru Muruga Kirubanandha Variyar. The film was shot at Central Studios and released by Pakshiraja Films in Coimbatore. The film was released on 10 April 1943.
Carnatic raga refers to ragas used in Carnatic music. It has several components - primordial sound (nāda), tonal system (swara), pitch (śruti), scale, ornaments (gamaka) and important tones.
Gopalan Ramanathan was an Indian music composer for Tamil movies. He is also known as Isai Methai or Sangeetha Chakravarthy and is considered to be one of the influential Tamil music composers to take Carnatic music to the masses. Notable for his association with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. G. Ramanathan also composed for films of Salem Modern Theatres and Coimbatore Central Studios. His career lasted until his death in 1963. During the 1950s G.Ramanathan's music dominated most of the box office hits of the then leading Tamil movie stars Shivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.
Sarangadhara is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language film directed by V. S. Raghavan and written by S. D. Sundharam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and P. Bhanumathi. Based on the epic of the same name by Gurajada Apparao, it has music by G. Ramanathan and was released on 15 August 1958.
Durga Prabha, known by her stage name, Hema Chaudhary is an Indian actress who has predominantly acted in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Starting her career as a lead actress in the Telugu film Pelli Kani Pelli in 1976, she switched over to supporting roles in the 1980s.
Gokuladasi is a 1948 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by K. Subrahmanyam. The film stars C. Honnappa Bhagavathar and M. V. Rajamma in lead roles, with T. R. Ramachandran, N. Krishnamurthi, Lalitha, and Padmini in supporting roles.
Praveena Bhagyaraj was an Indian actress who had worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She married director K. Bhagyaraj in 1981. Praveena starred in several films like Manmatha Leelai, Manthoppu Kiliye, Pasi, Billa and Bhama Rukmani.
Manmadha Leelai is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language adult black comedy thriller film directed by Venkat Prabhu and written by Manivannan and produced by Rockfort Entertainment. It stars Ashok Selvan, Samyuktha Hegde, Riya Suman, and Smruthi Venkat, while Chandran, Jayaprakash, Premgi Amaren, and Karunakaran play supporting roles. The film's music is composed by Premgi Amaren, with cinematography handled by Thamizh A Azhagan and editing done by Venkat Raajen. The film was released on 1 April 2022.
