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).
Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar, is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television.
Senthil is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.
Panchaksharam Rangasamy Pillai, known professionally as Vijayakumar, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He started his film career in the Tamil film Sri Valli (1961) as a child actor and started playing a lead role from the movie Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974) then he worked in Madhura Geetham (1977) and Azhage Unnai Aarathikkiren (1979). He has also acted in Telugu and Malayalam movies. He also worked in television serials like Thangam, Vamsam, Talambralu, Nandini and Rasaathi. His son is actor Arun Vijay.
Sripriya is an Indian former actress, film director and politician from Tamil Nadu. She has acted in over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages.
Sujatha was an Indian actress who performed and starred in a variety of unique characters in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films- in addition to few in Kannada and Hindi languages as well. The actress was best known for restraint and subtlety in portrayal of varied emotions. After starring in numerous Malayalam films in her mother-tongue, Sujatha later got introduced to the Tamil film industry by veteran director K. Balachander and producer P.R. Govindarajan as a protagonist in her first Tamil film, Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974). It was a critically acclaimed film and launched the actress's first commecrical breakthrough in her acting career. Whereas, her first Telugu picture happened to be a Telugu/Tamil bilingual titled as Guppedu Manasu (1979) in Telugu and was simultaneously shot as Nool Veli in Tamil of the same year. She died of a cardiac arrest on 6 April 2011 in Chennai.
Rajesh is an Indian actor who has performed in Tamil and Malayalam films and serials. He has completed more than 47 years in films and appeared as lead roles and supporting roles in over 150 films. He has done roles ranging from a hero to character actor.
Aval Oru Thodar Kathai is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The lead role was played by Sujatha in her first Tamil film, which was also her first starring role. Kamal Haasan, Vijayakumar, Jai Ganesh, M. G. Soman and Sripriya play key roles. The story revolves around a working middle-class woman, who sacrifices her desires to support her large family
Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan, best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian screenwriter, film 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 Ganesh was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil plays and films. He had supporting roles in the films Aval Oru Thodar Kathai and Aattukara Alamelu, among others. His most popular roles have been as a supporting actor or as a villain in films such as Thaayillamal Naan Illai (1979) and Athisaya Piravi (1990). He acted as child artiste in films like Sampoorna Ramayanam and Missiamma.
Saraswathi Sundaresan Iyer, professionally known as Kumari Sachu is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in five different languages and a few television serials. She is a character actress/comedienne who nonchalantly blended into the roles she has portrayed over five decades. She made her film début in 1953 in the film Rani at the age of 4, and has since then been a prominent face on the silver screen. She started acting in television serials in 1995.
Bhavani, an Indian film and television actress best known for her work in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu cinema. She was the lead actress in the Telugu film industry.
M. R. Krishnamurthy (1940–2012) who was popularly referred to as MRK, was an Indian actor and stage artist who appeared in Tamil films. He starred in more than 100 films and in more than 500 stage plays conceived and hosted by various leading stage artistes.
Narayanan, better known as Pasi Narayanan, was an Indian stage and film actor known for performing comedic roles alongside actor Goundamani. Narayanan acted in over 500 Tamil-language films and is known for the catchphrase, "Phone wire pinchi oru vaaram aachu..."
A. K. Veerasamy was an Indian actor who acted in over 500 films in the Tamil language, in supporting and minor roles. One verse that he spoke of in the Mudhal Mariyadhai film, "Enakku Oru Unmai Therinchavunum" dialogue is still far from the minds of the people. Veerasamy was the vice president of the South Indian Actors' Association.
P.L. Sivanappan known by his stage name credited as Peeli Sivam was an Indian actor who featured around 400 Tamil-language films and plays from 1958 to 2017. He has featured in several films such as Muhammad bin Tughluq (1971) Malligai Poo (1973), Doorathu Idi Muzhakkam (1980), Poi Saatchi (1982),Mundhanai Mudichu (1983), Imaigal (1983), Azhagan (1991), Ejamaan (1993), Vetri Vinayagar (1996) and many more. He has also acted in television shows. In 1995, he was conferred the Kalaimamani award from the state of Tamil Nadu for his contributions in the field of drama.
T. K. S. Natarajan was an Indian actor and folk singer. Natarajan debuted as a film actor in the 1954 film Ratha Paasam. Since then, he has acted in more than 500 films. The song 'Ennadi Muniyamma Un Kannula Mai' sung by TKS Natarajan in the music of Shankar–Ganesh in the film 'Vanga Mappillai Vanga popularized him throughout Tamil Nadu.
Thilak Raj was an Indian actor. Also known as Kalthoon Thilak, he was known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films as an antagonist. His breakthrough performance came in the film, Kalthoon (1981), following which he adapted the film's title in his stagename.
Amarasigamani was an Indian actor and poet who worked on Tamil films and television serials.
Aval Appadithan is the soundtrack to the 1978 film of the same name directed by C. Rudraiah starring Sripriya, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan. The soundtrack featured three songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja that spans around 10 minutes and released under the label of EMI Records.
