Ramasamy Ganesan, better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the Kaadhal Mannan for his romantic roles in films. Ganesan was one of the "three biggest names of Tamil cinema", the other two being M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. While Sivaji Ganesan excelled in dramatic films and M. G. Ramachandran was popular as an action hero, Gemini Ganesan was known for his romantic films. A recipient of the Padma Shri in 1971, he had also won several other awards including the Kalaimamani, the MGR Gold Medal, and the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award. He was one of the few college graduates to enter the film industry then.
K. S. Gopalakrishnan was an Indian screenwriter, director, producer, and lyricist, who worked in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. Since the early 1960s, he directed 70 films. He spent most of his career directing and producing movies with social and devotional themes. Most of his movies are melodramas. His son K. S. G. Venkatesh is an actor who has acted in television serials and in films like Sathuranga Vettai.
Bedara Kannappa is a 1954 Indian Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. L. N. Simha and written by G. V. Iyer. The film stars Rajkumar playing the title character along with Pandari Bai, Kushala Kumari, G. V. Iyer, Sandhya and Narasimharaju in other prominent roles. The film is an adaptation of a stage play by the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company, which was based on the folk tale of the hunter Kannappa who proves his extreme devotion to the Hindu God Shiva by gouging out both his eyes.
Sukumari Amma was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, along with few Hindi and one each in Sinhala, French, Bengali, Tulu, English and Kannada films. Sukumari began acting at the age of 10. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions toward the arts. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil film Namma Gramam (2010). Sukumari died on 26 March 2013 in Chennai, following a heart attack.
The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, to recognise artists in the state for their achievements.
Pandari Bai was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroine and mother to stalwarts such as Rajkumar, M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan. She was the heroine in Rajkumar's debut movie Bedara Kannappa and also Sivaji's debut movie Parasakthi. She has acted in over 1,000 films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Bai was honoured by Kalaimamani from the Tamil Nadu government.
Sankaramanchi Janaki, popularly known as Shavukaru Janaki (Telugu) or Sowcar Janaki (Tamil) or Sahukar Janaki (Kannada), is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 300, films, predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. She also performed on stage in over 300 shows and was a radio artist during her earlier years. She is the recipient of two Nandi Awards, Kalaimamani and India's fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri. Her younger sister Krishna Kumari, is also a noted actress.
Karaikal Arunachalam Thangavelu popularly known as "Danaal Thangavelu", was an Indian actor and comedian popular in the 1950s to 1970s. Not known for physical, acrobatic comedy like his contemporaries J. P. Chandrababu and Nagesh, Thangavelu's humour is recognised for his impeccable timing in verbal agility and the characteristic twang of his delivery. He exclusively acted in Tamil films.
T. S. Durairaj was a Tamil film comedian, drama artist, producer and director in the early stages of the Tamil film industry (Kollywood). He received a Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu Government in 2006.
D. Selvaraj was an Indian writer who wrote novels, short stories, and plays in the Tamil language. A lawyer by profession, he was involved in various Communist and left-leaning writers' organisations such as the Democratic Writers Association of India and the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Association (TNPWA), of which he was an executive committee member. He received the Tamil Nadu Government's literary award for the best novel of 2011 for his work on tannery workers of Southern Tamil Nadu titled Thol. He did the field work for Thol for a decade before writing it. The novel was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for Tamil in 2012.
The Nadigar Sangam, officially known as the South Indian Artistes' Association (SIAA), is a union for film, television, and stage actors in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, based in Chennai. Formed in 1952, the group has a charitable trust fund to provide pensions to retired actors, voice support for actors caught in controversy, and have collectively protested socio-political issues.
Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy (1913–1987) was a veteran Tamil drama author, celebrated screenwriter and lyricist in Tamil films from the 1950s through the 1970s. He mostly wrote stories, screenplay and dialogue for films starring M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. He has authored historical, mythological and social Tamil films spanning over 3 decades. He was considered one of the best film script writers of Tamil Cinema, and was hailed as such by noted screenwriters like C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi publicly. His most acclaimed works are Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Karnan.
Kutty Padmini is an Indian actress who mainly works in Tamil cinema. She was a child star in her debut movie Ambala Anjulam (1959). She has also acted in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. She made her debut in Tamil cinema at the age of 3. She has acted with prominent personalities of Tamil cinema, including Sivaji Ganesan, M. G. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan, Jaishankar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. She was the first female artist from Tamil Nadu to win the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for the movie Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum.
Sennalkudi Narayana Lakshmi was an Indian actress, who appeared in supporting roles, often playing roles of a mother or grandmother in films. A recipient of the state government's Kalaimamani and Kalaiselvam awards, Lakshmi acted in more than 1,500 films and 6,000 dramas.
Naalvar is a 1953 Tamil-language drama film directed by V. Krishnan. The film stars A. P. Nagarajan, Kumari Thankam, N. N. Kannappa, M. N. Krishnan and T. P. Muthulakshmi in major roles. Nagarajan, who played the main lead was also the writer of the film. The film revolves around a family consisting of four siblings.
K. K. Rathnam, known as Judo. K. K. Rathnam, was an Indian action choreographer in Kollywood, Bollywood, Mollywood, Sandalwood and Tollywood. He made his debut as an actor in the film Thamarai Kulam in 1959, and later made his debut as a stunt master in the film Vallavan Oruvan in 1966. He made his last appearance as an actor before retirement in the film Thalainagaram in 2006. Stunt masters and actors such as Vikram Dharma, Super Subbarayan, Thalapathy Dinesh, Jaguar Thangam, Rocky Rajesh, Rambo Rajkumar, FEFSI Vijayan, Ponnambalam, Judo. K. K. Ramu, Indian Baskar, Rajasekhar, Ambur. R. S. Babu, M. Shahul Hameed and Kundrathur Babu have worked as fighters and assistants to him. His son Judo. K. K. Ramu is also a stunt master, while his grandsons Judo Lenin and John Prince are stunt artists.
Meenakshi Chitharanjan, an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, is known as an exponent of the Pandanallur style of the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. She is the founder of Kaladiksha, an institution promoting Bharatanatyam and striving to preserve the Pandanallur tradition. A disciple of the father-son duo of Chokkalingam Pillai and Subbaraya Pillai, she is a recipient of several honours including Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Natya Kala Sarathi of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for her contributions to classical dance.
Padmini Priyadarshini was an Indian actor, dancer and choreographer. She acted in supporting roles during the 1950s and 1960s in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. She established a dancing school in Bangalore named Natya Priya and trained students in dancing. In 2013, she received Shantala Natya Sri Award from Karnataka Government.
Thamarai Kulam is a 1959 Indian Tamil language film directed by Muktha Srinivasan, written by S. R. Natarajan and produced by him along with S. R. Veerabahu. It features Sowcar Janaki, V. Gopalakrishnan, M. R. Radha, N. N. Kannappa, K. Sarangapani, V. S. Raghavan, S. A. Ashokan, Kaka Radhakrishnan, S. N. Lakshmi, Padmini Priyadarshini, and Nagesh in his film debut.
K. R. Indira Devi (1949–2017) was an Indian actress who was active in Tamil Cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. She was well known for her supporting roles, but was also a successful dubbing artist. In a career spanning close to five decades, she acted in more than 250 films in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Indira debuted as heroine in Konjum Kumari (1963). She was awarded the Kalaimamani by Government of Tamil Nadu.
