Kailasam Balachander was an Indian filmmaker and playwright 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).
Sundaram Balachander was an Indian veena player and filmmaker. He directed, produced, and also composed music for a few of his films. Balachander was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1982. He died of a heart attack at the age of 63, while on a music tour of India.
Prakash Raj is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, English, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi-language films, he is the recipient of several accolades, including five National Film Awards, eight Nandi Awards, eight Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, five Filmfare Awards South, four SIIMA Awards, three CineMAA Awards, and three Vijay Awards. Apart from his mother tongue Kannada, Raj's fluency in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, English, Tulu and Marathi has placed him among the most sought after actors in Indian cinema.
Paarthale Paravasam is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Balachander, for whom this was his 100th film. It was produced by Balachander's home banner Kavithalayaa Productions and stars Madhavan and Simran, with Raghava Lawrence and Sneha playing roles alongside them. The film's music was composed by A. R. Rahman, whilst A. Venkatesh was cinematographer. It tells the story of a couple going through a breakup after the husband is exposed for having had a child from a juvenile relationship. It also shows the introduction of love interests for the couple, and if they reconcile, forms the crux of the plot.
Poi is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by K. Balachander in his 101st and final film as a director. Produced by Prakash Raj, the film starts Uday Kiran and Vimala Raman, while Geetu Mohandas, Prakash Raj, Adithya Menon, and Avinash play supporting roles along with the director in a guest appearance. The music was composed by Vidyasagar with cinematography by Biju Viswanath. The film released on 22 December 2006.
The Filmfare Best Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The awards were extended to "Best Director" in 1972.
Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter. who primarily works in Tamil cinema. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and two Filmfare South Awards.
Mahalingam Sasikumar is an Indian film director, actor, singer and producer. He worked as an assistant director for director Bala in Sethu (1999), also worked for director Ameer in his first two films Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Raam (2005). He is best known in the Tamil film industry for his debut film Subramaniapuram (2008), which became a blockbuster.
Abhinaya is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in Tamil and Telugu films. She is both hearing and speech impaired. She made her acting debut in Naadodigal (2009) and then she has appeared in many Tamil and Telugu films.
Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan, best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian writer, director, stage, film and television actor and talk-show host. Visu initially worked as an assistant to director K. Balachander until becoming a director himself. He later began acting, with his first film being Kudumbam Oru Kadambam (1981), directed by S. P. Muthuraman.
Jai Akash, also known as Akash, is an Indian actor, who acted as hero in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films as a hero. He is the hero of the Telugu blockbuster movie Anandam Anandam (2001).
Visaranai is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film written and directed by Vetrimaaran. It is based on the novel Lock Up by M. Chandrakumar. The film stars Dinesh, Anandhi, Samuthirakani, Aadukalam Murugadoss, Kishore, Pradheesh Raj, and Silambarasan Rathnasamy. The film deals with lives of two men before and after thrown into a kafkaesque scenario in which they get tortured for confession.
Namo Narayana is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil films. He made a breakthrough as an actor with his performances in Naadodigal (2009) and Komban (2015).
A. L. Ramesh is an Indian film editor, who has worked on Tamil and Telugu films. He has often collaborated on ventures associated with directors Samuthirakani and Sasikumar. Before entering into film industry he worked in the Tamil serial industry. Especial Chitti a serial from Radaan Media Works For his work in Naadodigal (2009), he received a nomination from the Vijay Awards for Best Editor. (2014) won Tamilnadu state award for Best Editor
Badava Gopi is an Indian stand-up comedian and actor.
Jacki also referred to as Jakie/Jackson/Jaxon or Jacky is an Indian film Production Designer and an Art Director in the South Indian Film Industry predominantly focusing on the Tamil Film Industry. He was widely recognized in the film industry for his works in National Award-winning films such as Paruthiveeran, Aadukalam and Visaranai.
Sattekalapu Satteyya is a 1969 Indian Telugu-language film written and directed by K. Balachander, starring Chalam, Sobhan Babu and Rajasree. It was released on 19 June 1969. The film was later remade in Tamil as Patham Pasali (1970) by Balachander himself, in Hindi as Mastana (1970) and in Kannada as Manku Thimma (1980).
Naadodigal 2 is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Samuthirakani and produced by S Nandagopal under the banner of Madras Enterprises. It stars Sasikumar and Anjali. The film released on 31 January 2020. The film is a namesake sequel to the highly successful 2009 film Naadodigal.
Ajay Ghosh is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Telugu and Tamil-language films in negative roles. He is known for his roles in Jyothi Lakshmi (2015) and Visaranai (2016), Mookuthi Amman (2020) and Pushpa: The Rise (2021).
Ramany vs Ramany is a Tamil-language sitcom, directed by Naga and produced by K. Balachander under the banner Min Bimbangal. It is the first ever Tamil comedy play in the "sitcom" format. The sitcom follows the happenings in the daily life of a wife and a husband both named Ramany. Mr. Ramany is an innocent sales respresentative while Mrs. Ramany is a housewife who complains about how she wants a better husband. The first season starred Vasuki Anand and Prithvi Raj. First season was first telecasted in 1998 in Sun TV and ran for 25 episodes. The second season starred Ram G and Devadarshini. Second season was telecasted in 2001 in Raj TV and ran for 51 episodes. It was one of the most popular Tamil comedy shows. Both the seasons were re telecasted in Vasanth TV.
