K. Balachander

K. Balachander - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of K. Balachander

Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) 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, which tackled 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 (lit. "Director Paramount"), 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).

This profile of K. Balachander covers Early Life and Family Background, Entry into films: (1964-1969), Breakthrough and recognition (1970-1980), Career and Rise to Fame and Later Years (2000-2014).

In a career that spanned 50 years, Balachander wrote or directed 100 feature films, becoming one of the most prolific Indian filmmakers. Known among his colleagues as a tough task master, he was credited with having nurtured numerous actors. In his film career, Balachander had won nine National Film Awards, fourteen Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, five Nandi Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards. In 1987 he was honored with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, and in 2010 the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema.

Balachander also made films under his production house, Kavithalaya Productions. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages such as Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. Towards the tail end of his career, he directed a few TV serials and made a few film appearances as well.

Early Life and Family Background of K. Balachander

K. Balachander was born in Tamil family in Tanjore district (now Tiruvarur district), India. Balachander stated that, "From my eighth year I've been seeing cinema" and recalls that his earliest interest towards cinema grew after watching films of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, then the Superstar of Tamil cinema. At the age of twelve he was drawn to theatre and drama, which eventually helped him develop an interest in acting, writing and directing amateur plays. His obsession towards theatre continued even while doing his graduation (in Zoology) at the Annamalai University, as he regularly took part in stage plays. After completing his graduation in 1949, he started his career as a school teacher in Muthupet, Tiruvarur district. In 1950, he moved to Madras (now Chennai) and joined the Accountant General's office as an apprentice clerk, and during this time he joined "United Amateur Artistes", an amateur drama company. Soon he formed his own troupe and it was during this time he came to prominence as an amateur playwright with Major Chandrakanth, written in English. As the scope of English was highly limited in Madras, he re-wrote the play in Tamil, which ultimately became a "sensation" among the people. Balachander's acting troupe consisted of people from the Tamil film industry such as Major Sundarrajan, Nagesh, Srikanth and Sowcar Janaki. Sunderrajan appeared in over 900 films, Nagesh in over 1,000, Sreekanth in more than 200 films, and Sowcar Janaki appeared in more than 350 films. Other plays written by Balachander include Server Sundaram (Waiter Sundaram), Neerkumizhi (Water Bubble), Mezhuguvarthi (Candle), Naanal (Tall Grass) and Navagraham (Nine Planets). All these produced and directed by him, were received well by the critics.

Entry into films: (1964-1969) of K. Balachander

Balachander while working in the Accountant General's office, was offered to write the dialogues for the film Dheiva Thaai (1964) by its lead actor M. G. Ramachandran. Balachander was initially reluctant, as he was more theatre-oriented, but on the insistence of his friends he decided to work on the film. By this time he was promoted as a superintendent in his office. Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar acquired the rights of his play Server Sundaram, and decided to make a film based on it. The film dealt with the story of a waiting staff at a restaurant had Nagesh playing the lead. The film was directed by the renowned duo directors, Krishnan–Panju. It won a lot of accolades including the Certificate of Merit for the third Best Feature Film in Tamil and Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film. During this time another play written and directed by him - Major Chandrakanth was adapted into a film in Hindi as Oonche Log. The film won a National Film Award. Balachander then made his directional debut through Neerkumizhi (1965) which in turn was based on his own play. The film's cast consisted of actors who were a part of Balachander's regular troupe. His following efforts included Naanal, Major Chandrakanth and Ethir Neechal, all based on his own plays. Major Chandrakanth was already filmed in Hindi as Oonche Log the previous year. Major Chandrakanth had Jayalalithaa playing the lead heroine role. In 1967 he made Bama Vijayam, a full-length comedy family drama film. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film was highly successful and remade in Telugu by Balachander himself. The success of both the versions prompted a Hindi remake titled Teen Bahuraniyan, produced by Gemini pictures. In 1968, Balachandar made Thamarai Nenjam, a romantic drama film starring Saroja Devi, Gemini Ganesan and Vanisri, The film won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Third Prize), and Balachander won the award for Best Dialogue Writer. In 1969, Balachander made Iru Kodugal..

Breakthrough and recognition (1970-1980)

During the 1970s, Balachander turned indie, making realist movies revolving around family and social issues. In 1971 he made four films.

In 1973, he made Arangetram, which dealt with poverty and prostitution. The film centred on the eldest daughter of a conservative Brahmin household who becomes a prostitute to settle her siblings and support her family. It was ahead of its time in Tamil cinema mainly because of the controversial theme. The film also had Kamal Haasan playing his first major role as an adult actor. The actor would go on to act in 35 films under Balachander. He made his directorial debut in Hindi films with the film Aaina starring Mumtaz and Rajesh Khanna in 1977, which was remake of Arangetram.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Balachander), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.