T. N. Balu | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | 1981 Madras, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, director, producer |
T. N. Balu (died 1981) was an Indian writer, director and producer who worked in Tamil cinema. He was active in the second half of the 1900s, and shared a close association with the former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi. [1]
Balu worked as a writer on several notable Tamil films in the 1960s including Deiva Thai (1964), Athey Kangal (1967) and Moondrezhuthu (1968). [2] [3] [4] His work as the storywriter of Naan (1967), saw him also credited for the films Telugu and Hindi remakes, Nenante Nene (1968) and Waris (1969). He regularly collaborated as a story, screenplay and dialogue writer for productions by Modern Theatres. [5]
In the late 1970s, he regularly worked on the scripts for Jaishankar's films and directed both Nallathukku Kalamillai (1977) and Odi Vilayadu Thatha (1977). Balu's Sattam En Kaiyil (1978) featuring Kamal Haasan and Sripriya was a commercially successful venture. [6] [7] Balu was jailed soon after the film's release, and Kamal Haasan helped bail him out, after seeking permission from chief minister M. G. Ramachandran, to attend the 100th day celebration ceremony of the film. However, soon after the ceremony was over, with the help of his acquaintances from the opposition party - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Balu managed to escape to Bangalore. The incident created a strain between M. G. Ramachandran and Kamal Haasan. [8] [9] He died during the making of his production venture, Sankarlal (1981), which he was also directing and writing. The film was later completed by cinematographer N. K. Viswanathan with the assistance of Kamal Haasan. [10] [11]
Balu's son, T. N. B. Kathiravan, also known as Kathir, is a dubbing artiste who works on Tamil language films. He has provided voiceovers for actors including Vidyut Jammwal, Ashish Vidyarthi and Sharath Lohithaswa in Tamil cinema. [12]
Balu died during the making of his production venture, Sankarlal (1981).
| Year | Film | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | |||
| 1964 | Deiva Thai |  |  | | |
| 1965 | Aasai Mugam | | | | |
| 1965 | Iravum Pagalum | | | | |
| 1967 | Naan | | | | |
| 1967 | Athey Kangal | | | | |
| 1967 | Uyir Mel Aasai | | | | |
| 1968 | Kadhal Vaaganam | | | | |
| 1968 | Moondrezhuthu | | | | |
| 1969 | Manasaatchi | | | | |
| 1969 | Anjal Petti 520 | | | | |
| 1971 | Meendum Vazhven | | | | |
| 1972 | Bullet Bullodu | | | | Telugu film |
| 1973 | Pookkari | | | | |
| 1973 | Maru Piravi | | | | |
| 1974 | Vairam | | | | |
| 1977 | Andru Sindhiya Raththam | | | | |
| 1977 | Nallathukku Kalamillai | | | | |
| 1977 | Odi Vilayadu Thatha | | | | |
| 1977 | Uyarnthavargal | | | | |
| 1978 | Sattam En Kaiyil | | | | |
| 1981 | Sankarlal | | | | |
Parthasarathy Srinivasan, known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, choreographer, playback singer, lyricist, television presenter, social activist and politician who works in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, he has also appeared in some Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali films. Considered as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, Haasan is also known for introducing many new film technologies and film making techniques to the Indian film industry. He has won numerous accolades, including four National Film Awards, nine Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, four Nandi Awards, one Rashtrapati Award, two Filmfare Awards and eighteen Filmfare Awards South. He was awarded the Kalaimamani Award in 1984, the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016.
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).
Jaishankar was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a notable lead actor in the 1960s and 70s, who was credited onscreen with title of Makkal Kalaingnar or Makkal Thamizhan in most of the films starring him. He was also referred to as Thennakathu James Bond because of his roles in films such as Vallavan Oruvan and CID Shankar.
Sattam En Kaiyil is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language action film written, produced and directed by T. N. Balu. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Sripriya, while Sathyaraj made his screen debut. It was released on 14 July 1978 and became a success. The film was remade in Hindi as Yeh To Kamaal Ho Gaya (1982), with Haasan returning.
Aadu Puli Aattam is a 1977 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by S. P. Muthuraman, starring Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Sangeetha and Sripriya. Later in 1978, S. P. Muthuraman remade the film in Telugu as Yetthuku Pai Yetthu. A few scenes were remade in Telugu with Telugu actors like Satyanarayana and Allu Ramalingaiah and the rest of the film was dubbed.
Sankarlal is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language action film, written, directed and produced by T. N. Balu. It stars Kamal Haasan in dual lead roles as father and son. Balu died half-way during production, and the film was eventually completed with N. K. Viswanathan as director. The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu-language as Andagaadu (transl. Handsome) with Allu Rama Lingaiah and Rao Gopal Rao.
Central Studios was an Indian film studio in the neighbourhood of Singanallur, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, started by B.Rangaswamy Naidu and other prominent industrialists like Swamikannu Vincent of Coimbatore in 1935 to make Tamil and other South Indian language movies. The studio was a major hub of Tamil movie production and notable for its association with many early day Tamil Movie Superstars, directors and script writers etc. and many making their career debuts here. The studio is best remembered for movies like Sivakavi, Velaikari and Haridas.
Kamal Haasan is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter and dance choreographer who works primarily in Tamil cinema. At the age of 5, he debuted as a child actor in the 1960 Tamil film Kalathur Kannamma, directed by A. Bhimsingh, which won him the President's Gold Medal. Since then, he has acted in over 230 films in Tamil and other languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Bengali. After a few projects as a child artist, he took a break to continue his education. He later concentrated on dance choreography and worked as an assistant choreographer. During this time, he made uncredited appearances in a few films which he worked on.
Parasakthi is a 1952 Indian Tamil-language satirical drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, S. V. Sahasranamam, S. S. Rajendran, Sriranjani Jr., and Pandari Bai. It is the cinematic acting debut of Ganesan and Rajendran. Based on Pavalar Balasundaram's play of the same name, Parasakthi narrates the misfortunes that befall the members of a Tamil family during World War II.
Red Giant Movies is an Indian film production and film distribution company headed by actor, politician, and film producer Udhayanidhi Stalin. It has distributed nearly all major films in Tamil Nadu, and is often accused of having a monopoly in Tamil cinema.
Athey Kangal is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language mystery thriller film written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film stars Ravichandran and Kanchana. It focuses on a girl's family being stalked by a masked murderer, and her lover's attempts to apprehend him.
G. N. R. Kumaravelan is an Indian film director, who works in Tamil cinema. After assisting directors Balu Mahendra and Kamal Haasan in their films, Kumaravelan's directorial debut was the 2009 film Ninaithale Inikkum, and his second was the 2011 film Yuvan Yuvathi. His third film Haridas (2013), led to him being nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director.
N. K. Viswanathan was an Indian film director and cinematographer who has worked on Tamil films. After beginning his career working as a cinematographer for Tamil films during the 1980s, he branched into film direction and made commercially successful films during the 1990s.
Moondrezhuthu is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language crime film, directed by T. R. Ramanna, produced by T. K. Ramarajan and written by T. N. Balu. Music was by T. K. Ramamoorthy. The film stars Ravichandran, Jayalalithaa, Srividya and Sheela. It was released on 10 May 1968.
This is the filmography of Indian actor R. S. Manohar, who performed roles ranging from hero to villain to comedic character. He acted over 300 Tamil film. He was popular for negative roles. He also played supporting roles in films with actors M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran, Jaishankar, Ravichandran, Sivakumar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. He is known for his versatility and dominating personality.
Venkataraman Gopalakrishnan, was an Indian stage and film actor who was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. He was well known for playing negative and supporting roles, but was also a successful character actor. In a career spanning close to five decades, he acted in more than 400 movies in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. With his eloquent and stylish English. The film industry admired his strong English.
Arul Soosai Anthony Samy (1915–1998) was an Indian director and screenwriter who worked in Tamil films.
This is the filmography of Major Sundarrajan, an Indian actor and director who worked primarily in Tamil films.
Ananthakrishnan, better known as Ananthu, was an Indian screenwriter working on Tamil language films, often collaborating with K. Balachander. He was the mentor of actor Kamal Haasan.
K. Sornam was an Indian journalist, writer and director who worked in Tamil cinema. He was active in the second half of the 1900s, and shared close associations with chief ministers of Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi and M. G. Ramachandran.