Kailasam Balachandar 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).
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. He made his acting debut in A. C. Trilogchander's Kakkum Karangal (1965). He has acted in over 190 movies in Tamil. He has won three Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Kabita is a 1977 Indian Bengali-language film directed by Bharat Shumsher, starring Mala Sinha in the lead role. The film is a remake of the Tamil classic film Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974) where Kamal Haasan had a supporting role as a neighbor. He played the same role in the Bengali remake, thus his only foray into Bengali film industry. He also acted in the Telugu remake Anthuleni Katha (1976) with Jaya Prada, playing a different role as her boss and suitor. He also did a guest role in another remake, the Kannada film Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu (1983) with his real-life niece Suhasini playing the lead role. The only remake he didn't appear in is the Hindi film Jeevan Dhaara (1982) starring Rekha.
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.
Vennira Aadai Moorthy is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. degree in addition to a PhD in astrology. He is married to actress Manimala who played Suhasini's mother in Sindhu Bhairavi and the heroine in Vallavanukku Vallavan (1965). He is also a well known script-writer. Kamal Haasan's first full-fledged film as hero Maalai Sooda Vaa, had Murthy as a script writer.
Kandhan Karunai is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film, written and directed by A. P. Nagarajan. It features an ensemble cast including Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, K. B. Sundarambal, Savitri, Jayalalithaa, K. R. Vijaya and Sivakumar. This was the debut film for Sridevi, who had starred as Lord Murugan at the age of 3.
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.
Velmurugan Thangasamy Manohar, professionally credited as Charle, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He has acted in more than 800 Tamil films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was named after the English comedian Charlie Chaplin.
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
Jayalakshmi, whose popular screen name was Fatafat Jayalakshmi, was an Indian actress active mainly in Tamil and Telugu films. In Malayalam movies she was known as Supriya. She acted about 66 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada within a decade of her career.
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.
Srikanth was an Indian actor who has performed in around 200 Tamil films since his debut in 1965. He is also referred to as Venniradai Srikanth. He has played the lead hero in around 50 films between 1965 and 1979 and has also played supporting roles in films with actors Sivaji Ganesan, Muthuraman, Ravichandran and Jaishankar in the lead roles. In the late seventies to early nineties, he appeared as a villain opposite actors including Sivakumar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
B. S. Lokanath was an Indian cinematographer who worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. He is well known as the cinematographer of K. Balachander and has worked in 55 films with him. During his career, he won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for Apoorva Raagangal (1975) and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer for Ninaithale Inikkum (1979). He died of a heart attack in Chennai on 9 December 2011.
K. Rajeshwar is an Indian film director, who has worked in Tamil films. He was active primarily as a film maker and a writer in the 1990s collaborating in ventures which often included Pratap Pothan.
Vijayakumar is an Indian actor and politician. Along with predominant work in Tamil cinema since 1973, he has acted in some Telugu films. He also works in television serials.
Ponnukku Thanga Manasu is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film, produced by P. Madhavan and directed by Devaraj–Mohan. The film stars Sivakumar, Jayachitra, Vijayakumar and Vidhubala, with Manorama, K. A. Thangavelu and M. R. R. Vasu in supporting roles. It was released on 2 June 1973. The film was remade in Malayalam as Bhoomidevi Pushpiniyayi.
Thanga Pazham, known by his screen name Jaguar Thangam, is a stunt choreographer in the Indian film industry who works in almost all regional languages in India primarily in Tamil Cinema. He began Silambam when he was 6 years old. In the middle of 1978, he was given the name Jaguar Thangam by a Malayalam director Mr. Chandrakumar. Following his debut in Chandrakumar's Hindi drama Meena Bazzar (1978) as a stunt coordinator, his stunt career commenced with a brief phase of stunt sequences in nationwide film industry.
Manam Oru Kurangu is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language satirical film directed by A. T. Krishnaswamy and produced by T. V. Arasu. Based on the play of the same name, itself inspired by the 1913 George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, the film stars Cho Ramaswamy, R. Muthuraman, T. S. Balaiah, A. V. M. Rajan, K. R. Vijaya and Vijayarani. It was released on 14 January 1967 and became a commercial success.
Subbiah Muthulingam (Tamil:முத்துலிங்கம்) is an Indian songwriter. He wrote over 1,500 Tamil film songs, and was the winner of Kalaimamani, Pavender Bharathidasan Award, Best Songwriter Award, Artist Award. Muthulingam was appointed as the Tamil Nadu poet laureate in 1980s by the then Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran and was also a Member of Legislative Council (MLC), before it was abolished.
