part0017

Bagyaraj started his career as an assistant director
to G Ramakrishnan and then to Bharathiraaja when the latter was making his first film, At The Age of Sixteen/16 Vayathinile in 1977; Bagyaraj even played a small role in the film. He wrote the dialogues for The East Bound Train/ Kizhake Pogum Rayil (1978), Bharathiraaja’s second film and made his directorial debut with the film Murals Without Walls/Suvarillatha Chithirangal in 1979. Encouraged by its moderate success, he started his own concern, Ammu Productions, and made a series of highly popular films. Most of his films were set in a rural background and the protagonist was invariably cast in an anti-hero mould. He packs his films with all the ingredients typical of a Tamil film entertainment—songs, group dances, fights, eroticism and a story that revolves around marital relationships and has a happy end. Bagyaraj laces his storytelling with ribald humour which is very popular with his audiences.

M G Ramachandran, the matinee idol-turned-chief minister, declared Bagyaraj his heir in the film world. In 1989, a year after MGR’s demise, Bagyaraj founded a political party – M G R Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam; but it folded up less than a year later. In addition to the films he has directed, including a film in Hindi, he has acted in twenty-five films and scripted twenty-six.

The Sound Of One Hand/Oru Kai Osai (1980), Silent Songs/Mouna Geethangal (1981), Wait Until Dawn/ Vidiyumvarai Kathiru (1981), Those 7 Days/Andha 7 Natkal (1981), Mundhanai Mudichu (1983), Sari Dreams/ Thavanikanavugal (1984), Sundarakandam (1991), Rasukutty (1992).

Born in Narayanathevanpatti near Kambam in Tamil Nadu, he grew up, with seven siblings, in Vadipatti and Periyakulam. After his schooling in Theni , Bala joined American college in Madurai for a degree in Tamil literature. While in college, he developed a passion for literature particularly the writings of Jayakanthan and Nanjil Nadan.

Through poet Arivumathi’s recommendation, who was in Chennai, Bala joined Balu Mahendra’s film crew as a set assistant and worked his way up. He joined the team when the director was making the film, Veedu in which he made a cameo appearance as a postman. Balu Mahendra’s team became a school for Bala where he learnt elements of filmmaking. He says of his mentor ‘He is the spark that ignited my passion for cinema’ and talks of him as the major influence in his life. He got his first screen credit as an Assistant Director for the film, Sunset Melody/Sandhyaragam. In the film Flowers of many hues/Vanna Vanna Pookkal , Bala got credited as the co-director.

He made his debut as a director with Sethu in 1999. The film, centering around a mentally deranged character, proved to be a critical and commercial success. He later went on to make memorable films like The Doyen/Pithamagan . He won the National Award for Best Director in 2009 for the film
I am God/Nan Kadavul , about a devotee of the Aghori cult and beggar mafia. One of the reasons why Bala’s film making style caught the fancy of Tamil audience was because his films were raw and riveting and included scenes of gore and violence. He engaged renowned writer B Jeyamohan to write the dialogues but kept spoken words to the essential minimum, preferring visuals to narrate the story and retaining the primacy of images. He once said, ‘Cinema is a visual medium. So I keep dialogue to minimum. There is so much a character can convey through their facial expression and body language.’

Avan Ivan (2011), Paradesi (2013).

Balachandar, after a long gestation period in the world of amateur drama units, came to cinema while he was still working in the Accountant General’s office in Madras. Earlier, he founded his own drama unit, Ragini Recreations, and staged a number of successful plays. Through M G Ramachandran, he got a break as scriptwriter for The Divine Mother/Deivathai (1964) and made his debut as a director in 1964, with the help of filmmaker A K Velan. The film, Bubble/Neerkumizhi (1965) was based on one of his successful plays. He founded his own concern, Kavithalaya, and produced a string of successful movies. Balachandar wrote the story and dialogues for many of his film and elevated the image of a director in the eyes of filmgoers in Tamil Nadu. As a director, he excercised total command over his films, consciously avoiding the undue pressure exerted by stars on the filmmaker. This greatly enabled his development as a filmmaker with a unique style.

His films are set in contemporary times and deal mostly with urban middle class issues and, in the process, reinforce the value systems and beliefs held by this class. The endings of his films in particular, conform to existing middle class mores and a sense of morality. His audience consists mainly of urbanites and he often describes himself as a “middle-of-the-road filmmaker”. His early films retained quite a few features of the theatrical convention, but in later works like We Are Not Afraid/Achamillai...Achamillai (1984) he used outdoor locales effectively and also began to handle political issues. He has so far directed sixty-five films, most of them in Tamil, but also some in Kannada and Hindi. At one point of his career, after he had made Fence of Yarn/Noolveli (1979), he began making Telugu films. He is credited with having introduced a number of artistes who later made their mark in Indian cinema. They include Kamalahasan, Rajnikanth, Sujatha and S V Shekhar. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1987. Four of his films Two Lines/Iru Kodugal (1969), Rare Tunes/Aboorva Ragangal (1975), Thanneer...Thanneer and Achamillai...Achamillai won awards from the Government of India as best regional films. In 2010, he was awarded the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award.

Reed/Nanal (1965), Swimming Against The Current/ Edhirneechal (1968), Echo/Ethiroli (1970), Smile/Punnagai (1971), The Debut/Arangetram (1973), Three Knots/Moonru Mudichu (1976), The Colour Of Poverty is Red/Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (1980), 47 Days/47Natkal (1981), Refugees of Marriage/Kalyana Agathigal (1985), One House Two Entrances/Oru Veedu Iru Vasal (1990). They Sky is the Limit/Vaname Ellai (1992).

S Balachandar’s career in films, as producer, director, music director and actor is overshadowed by his image as a Carnatic musician and a veena maestro. Making his debut as a child actor in Sita Kalyanam (Tamil, 1933) he enacted child-roles in a number of films. At twenty-one, he played the role of twins in the film, Is this Real? / Idhu Nijama? (1948) for which he also composed the music. He made his debut as a director in the film, My Husband/En Kanavar (1948). Three years later, he directed and acted in Prisoner/Kaithi (1951), a suspense drama. This was followed by films like Devaki and Rajambal (Aruna Films), both in 1951.

S Balachandar was a very innovative filmmaker whose works were remarkable more for their form than the content. The influence of American films was very evident in his work; his film, Is he the same Person? /Avana Ivan? (1962) was based on George Stevens’ A Place in the Sun (English, 1951). His debt to Alfred Hitchcock can be seen in The Doll/Bommai (1963; What is Truth/Edhu Nijam (1958) was an adaptation of the Italian film Il Tradimento (1949.) Although he was a Carnatic musician, his music for films showed heavy western influences. It was a blend of musical styles: jazz, Latin American, western and Indian classical.

My Husband/En Kanavar (1948), Avan Amaran (1958), At Midnight/Nadu Iravil (1966).

Born in Sri Lanka, Balu Mahendra (given name Benjamin Mahendra) is a graduate in cinematography and a gold medallist from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, in 1969. He began his career as a cameraman for the Malaylam film Paddy/Nellu (1974) which got him the best cinematographer award from the Government of India. He has been chosen the best cinematographer for as many as ten films and has worked as a cinematographer with directors like J Mahendran. His first film as director was Kokila (Kannada, 1976) which earned him a National Award and in 1979 he directed his first Tamil film, The Enduring Pattems/Azhiyatha Kolangal and went on to make a series of award-winning films. Many of his films are inspired by American movies, like Turin-tailed Sparrow/Rettaival Kuruvi (1987) based on Micky and Maude (1984). In his later films he began handling social issues like bureaucratic corruption (Veedu) and problems like old age in The Sunset Melody/Sandhyaragam (1991). Professionally competent, he crafts his films with great care and is one of the very few filmmakers in Tamil who can tell a story visually. The music in his films is well integrated with other elements. He describes himself as belonging to the realistic school of Satyajit Ray and Vittorio De Sica. In most of his films, women emerge as stronger characters, as was evident in Veedu . Balu Mahendra writes the script for his films, handles the camera and edits the films himself, thus retaining firm control over his works.2 In Chennai he runs a training centre for aspiring filmmakers with Tamil as medium of instruction.

Azhiyatha Kolangal (1979), Third Day Crescent/Moonrampirai (1982), Listeners’ Choice/Neengal Kettavai (1984), Veedu (1988).

Bharathiraaja (born Chinnasamy), a self-taught filmmaker, started his career in 1968 as an assistant to director
P Pullaiya and Kannada filmmaker Puttanna Kanagal. It was the latter who left a lasting influence on him. His first film 16 Vayathinile, for which he wrote the story and the script, made a big impact on filmgoers. The music for the film by his childhood friend, Ilayaraja, was one of the major factors behind the film’s success. His first six films proved to be remarkably successful at the box office, and started the trend of films set in a rural backdrop. With authentic rural locales, outdoor sequences, melodrama, romantic love and songs as the main ingredients, his films tend to glamourize village life where the rituals involving folk deities and rural performing arts are often depicted. A complex story structure and multiplicity of characters are the other features of his films. His techniques of using “quick-cutting” in his editing and flash-forwards added to his overall filmic narration and one of the thrillers he made, like Red Roses/Sigappu Rojakkal (1978), which is still recalled, however lacked the tight structure of that genre. By abandoning film studios for the countryside and by casting new faces in lead roles, he retains control over his work. Many artistes introduced by him rose to be stars; the best known among them are Radha, Revathi, Karthick and Bagyaraj. His Prime Honour/Mudhal Mariyadhai (1985) in Tamil won the best regional film award although he has made films in Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi also. His film Karuthamma (1994) on the theme of female infanticide won him an award for the best film with a social message.

The East Bound Train/Kizhake Pogum Rayil (1978), Moisture In The Stone/Kallukul Eeram (1980), The Smell Of Earth/Manvasanai (1983), Diary Of A Prisoner/Oru Kaithiyin Diary (1985), A New Veda/Vedham Puthithu (1986), New Paddy New Seedling/Pudu Nellu Pudu Nathu (1992).

Hailing from Chitoor in Andhra Pradesh, Bhimsingh started as a proofreader for the Telugu daily Andhra Prabha; he began his career in films as an assistant editor with the filmmaking duo, Krishnan-Panju, in the late Forties. An opportunity to direct a film came to him in the early Fifties with Ammaiyappan (1954) which was soon followed by a few others. Encouraged by their success at the box office, he started his own production concern, Buddha Pictures and directed Pathi Bakthi which established him as a director of popular films. Interestingly, in many of his films he made it a point to feature a statue of the Buddha. He made a series of films, the tides of all of which began with the Tamil syllable “pa”. Thus came Pavamannippu and Blossom of Affection/Pasamalar (1961) and all of them did very well commercially. Bhimsingh relied on his star cast (eighteen of his films had Sivaji Ganesan in the lead), songs and maudlin sentimental plots woven around family relationships. The music for his films was composed by the duo, Viswanathan-Ramamurthy; this was another factor that contributed to their success. In his work, he never expressed anything contrary to the prevalent beliefs and traditions of his audience. Bhimsingh also made films in Hindi, like Man/Admi (1963) a remake of the Tamil film The Temple Bell/Alayamani (1962).

Ammaiyappan (1954), Rajarani (1956), Kalathur Kannamma (1960), Green Lamp/Pachai Vilakku (1964), Pazhani (1964), Husband and Wife/Kanavan Manaivi (1976).

Cheran (given name P Ilancheran) was born in Pazhyurpatti village near Madurai in Southern India. His introduction to the world of images began when he started his career as a photographer in Chennai and later joined films as an assistant to K S Ravikumar and later Santhana Bharathy. By closely observing the two successful directors at work, he picked up the nuances of cinema. His debut film, Bharathi Kannamma (1997; in which he handled the sensitive subject of caste divisions in Tamil society) received critical acclaim and won him the Filmfare Best Director award. In the same year he made his next film Porkalam (The Golden Era ) on disability. This film also won him accolades such as the Best Film award from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1997. Desiya Geetham (The National Anthem) came next which was on political corruption and fetched him the Filmfare Best Director award yet again. In the film Autograph, he once again touched upon the subject of disability and the film was screened at the Montreal film festival. With Solla Marandha Kathai (The Untold Story ) directed by Thangar Bachan, Cheran turned an actor and has acted in a few films.

Some of the discussions that followed in the press on his films proved how social messages can be packaged in an entertaining film and provoke a discourse. Cheran retains tight control over his creation and although he writes the script himself, he is not bound by words and creates powerful and riveting images. One reason for his popularity is that he works with a cinematic language which is familiar with the Tamil audiences.

Hoist the Flag /Vetri Kodi Kattu (2000), The land of the Pandavas /Pandavar Bhoomi (2001), Autograph (2004), After the Penance /Thavamai Thavamirundhu (2005), The Magic Mirror / Mayakkannadi (2007).

Durai (given name Chelladurai) entered cinema after a stint in the world of theatre. He started his career in films as a sound recordist and then as an assistant to director Yoganand and later worked with G V Aiyar in the latter’s award-winning Swan’s Song/Hamsageethe (Kannada, 1975). Determined to break new ground, he made his first film Avalum Penthane. This film, unusual in theme and structure, established him as a director of merit. From then on, he made a series of films, mostly in Tamil, but also in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. In his later films he continued to handle social issues. One Home, One World/Oru Veedu, Oru Ulagam (1985) looked at the plight of a young Brahmin widow and the rituals connected with widowhood. A number of his films won awards; the best known among them is Pasi which remains the highest watermark in his career. It was adjudged the best Tamil film of the year by the Government of India; the heroine, Shoba, was chosen the Best Actress of the year. He however later quit films and now runs a grocery store in Madras.

The Story Of A Family/Oru Kudumbathin Kathai (1975), The Wages Of Sin/Pavathin Sambalam (1977), Jungle/Kadu (1979), Maria My Darling (1979), Help/Thunai (1982), Sacred Flower/Punitha Malar (1982), One Man, One Wife/Oru Manithan Oru Manaivi (1985), A Butterfly In A Desert/Palaivanathil Pattamboochi (1988).

An American who came to India to sell cinema equipment, Ellis Roderick Dungan stayed on for seventeen years and made a number of films. Trained as a cameraman in Hollywood, he was signed on to direct Sathi Leelavathi while he was on a visit to Madras. This work brought in more contracts like Seemandhini (1936) but the film that established his reputation as a filmmaker was Iru Sakodharargal. With this film, he began to edit his films himself in order to gain more control over the structure. He reduced the number of songs, avoided separate comedy plots and went outdoors for filming. As a result, his films were distinctly more cinematic and raised the level of Tamil films from being mere photographed dramas. Unfortunately, this trend did not catch on. Dungan directed the lead stars of his times like M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in Ambikapathi (1937) a film which showed the influence of Romeo and Juliet. He also made the lead pair— Bhagavathar and Santhanalakshmi—see this film a number of times. Though he did not know Tamil, he hired interpreters (known as “rush directors”) to help him, and filmed classics like Sakunthala. Musical luminaries like
G N Balasubramaniam, M S Subbulakshmi and Rajarathinam Pillai played the lead roles in some of his films. His last Tamil film was Mandhirikumari for Modern Theatres. During the Second World War, he was engaged to make war propaganda films; he made Returning Soldier, a short film in Tamil with T S Balaiya in the lead, in support of the war effort. The Government of India commissioned him to film the transfer of power proceedings when India attained independence. Shortly thereafter, he left India. His book, A Guide to Adventure: An Autobiography (2001) contains valuable information on early Tamil cinema. A Mumbai-based filmmaker, Karan Bali is making a documentary on Dungan titled “An American in Madras”.

Sathi Leelavathi (1936), Sakunthala (1940), Kalamegam (1940), Dasipenn/Courtesan (1943), Meera (1945), Ponmudi (1949).

K S Gopalakrishnan, born in Sakkottai near Kumbakonam, lost his parents in an epidemic and joined as a child actor in Nawab Rajamanikkam Drama Company and later grew up to became a playwright. He made his entry into films when he wrote a song for the film, The Unexpected /Ethirparathathu (1954) and later dialogues for The Illiterate Genius/Padikatha Medhai (1960). After scripting a few successful films, he directed Sarada (1961), the story of an impotent husband. The film did well at the box office and he began making a series of films on similar lines. AVM’s Mother/Annai (1962) established him as a successful director. His films were very popular in the Sixties. When his film Karpagam (1964) did exceptionally well, he opened a studio and named it Karpagam. One of his films, Money or Affection/Panama Pasama (1968), was screened at the Tashkent Film Festival.

His films had maudlin, sentimental scenes, and were often verbose and theatrical. They centred on kinship roles and traditional social mores. Much of the action was set inside the house ( or the set). Inspired by the phenomenal success of director A P Nagarajan’s mythological films, Goplakrishnan also tried his hand in that genre: he made successful films like Adhiparasakthi (1971).

Sarada (1961), Deivathin Deivam/God Of Gods (1962), A Small World/Chinnanchiru Ulagam (1966), Postman’s Sister/Thabalkaran Thangai (1970), Gypsy’s Son/Kurathi Magan (1972), The Ten Avatars/Dasavatharam (1976).

A self-taught filmmaker, Jayabharathi came into films from the world of literature. He is a short story writer, as were his parents, Saroja and Ramamurthy. In order to finance his first venture, The Hut/Kudisai (1978) a neo-realistic work, he collected contributions, even as small as one rupee, from the public. This film was screened in the film society circuit and in some festivals as well. His second film, The Mute Masses/Oomai Janangal (1980) was based on a novel Theneer (Tea) by D Selvaraj and dealt with the plight of bonded labourers and the exploitation of tea garden workers during the British Raj. His third film Two plus Two is Five/Rendum Rendum Anju (1982) was about the superstitions of a woman. His fourth film Uchi Veyil centered on an old and ailing freedom fighter. This film was screened at the International Film Festival at Calcutta and also at the Toronto Film Festival, both in 1990. His literary background does not bind him to words. He understands the power of images and handles them effectively in his filmic narrations.

Kudisai (1978), Oomai Janangal (1980), Rendum Rendum Anju (1982), Uchi Veyil (1990).

Mahendran (given name J Alexander), a graduate from Madurai, started his career as a writer for the magazine Porwaal edited by DMK ideologue, C P Chittrarasu. He later joined as an assistant to film director, A Kasilingam. One of his stories, Son of Sivagami/Sivagamiyin Selvan (1973), was filmed when he was still working as a sub-editor in the weekly Tughlak . He first established his reputation as a playwright with The Origins of a Sage/Rishimoolam , a play he wrote and directed, which brought him critical acclaim. He later made his mark as a scriptwriter when he wrote the dialogues for the film The Gold Medal/Thangapathakkam (1974). He worked for some time as an assistant director before he directed his first film Thorn and Flower/Mullum Malarum (1978). With Balu Mahendra at the camera, he made an immediate impact as a filmmaker. His next work, Scattered Flowers/ Udhiripookal (1979), based on a short story by writer Pudumaipithan, firmly established him as a filmmaker of importance. His Unlockable Locks/Pootatha Pootukkal (1980) centred on Kanniamma, whose husband accepts her even though she conceives a child by her lover. His work stood apart stylistically, with a penchant for realism and sincerity of approach. In his films, he dealt with issues like the aridity of loveless marriages or a woman’s search for her identity, but the promise he showed in his earlier films was absent in Johnny (1981), a story about two look-alikes, a filmic cliche. For a brief while it looked as though, he, along with other filmmakers like Durai, was ushering in a new movement in Tamil cinema. But that did not come to pass.

Mullum Malarum (1978), Udhiri Pookal (1979), Pootatha Pootukkal (1980), Nenjathai Killathe (1982), Nandu (1981), Sasanam (2005).

With a Masters degreee in Business Administration, Mani Ratnam (given name Gopalarathinam Subramanian) made his entry into the world of films in 1983 with a Kannada film Pallavi Anupallavi . In 1986 he made The Silent Tune/Mouna Ragam in Tamil which won him the national award as the Best Tamil film of the year. Hero/Nayagan (1987) a story about a youngster from Tamil Nadu who grows to be a powerful don in Bombay, closely resembled Godfather, including the sub plot about a girl who is molested by politically connected youngsters and the manner in which the don organizes vendetta. Anjali (1990) the story around a mentally challenged child, had a scene reminiscent of the fantasy scene in ET when the kids fly into the sky. Rose/Roja (1992) while it brought him money and fame, created controversy about its ideology. The film, about a cryptologist who gets kidnapped while on his honeymoon in Kashmir was set in the backdrop of the insurgency. The film, made in Tamil and Hindi, created a debate in the media about its ideological position. His films often have the backdrop of struggle, such as in Kashmir, Sri Lanka, the North East but avoided engaging with everyday basic issues. Mani Ratnam often writes the script and dialogues for his films. In his films Nayagan and Iruvar he made serious attempts to create a period flavour through relevant props, with the help of art director Thotta Tharani, and showed that he did have an eye for detail.

Rose/Roja (1992), Thiruda Thiruda (1995), A Peck on the Cheek/ Kannathil Muthamittal (1996), Thalapathi, The Duo/Iruvar (1998), Ravanan (2011).

Murugadasa (original name K Muthusamy Aiyar) graduated from St Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, and joined the Madras-based daily, The Mail. After ten years with the newspaper, he entered films through journalism, as the editor of Sound and Shadow, a film magazine in English. His filmmaking career began when he worked as an assistant to director Baburao Pendharkar in his Tamil film Sita Kalyanam (1933), which was made in Prabhat studios at Kolhapur. In this film, Murugadasa introduced two men who were to become famous later—Papanasam Sivan who wrote the songs and
S Balachandar who played the role of a musician. Then, along with cinematographer K Ramnoth and art director A Shekhar, he founded Vel Pictures at Adyar, Madras. This team played an important role in establishing filmmaking as an industry in Madras and many films including The Crowning/Padhuka Pattabishekam (1937) were made, In 1937, Murugadasa established another studio, Karthikeya Films, on Greenways Road and directed Sundaramurthy Nayanar (1937). Later when this studio was destroyed in a fire, Murugadasa went back to journalism and ran the journal Chithravani, in which he was assisted by Manikodi writer B S Ramaiya, and the duo through their articles, spread awareness of cinema as an art form.

He was called back to direct Divine Music/Venuganam (1941), the dialogues for which was written by the famous Tamil writer, Va Ra. This film is remembered for its songs which were sung by the lead actress, N C Vasanthakokilam and by V V Sadagopan. The film that brought great fame to Murugadasa was Gemini Studios’ Nandanar (1942) which dealt with untouchability. Carnatic musician M M Dandapani Desikar played the lead in the film. For several years, Murugadasa was the secretary of the Cine Technicians Association of Madras.

Baktha Ramdas (1935), Markandeya , Gnanasoundari (Gemini Studios, 1948).

Akkammapettai Paramasivam Nagarajan started as a vathiyar (playwright-composer-director) in a drama company and came into films as a dialogue writer for The Foursome/Nalvar (1953), in which he also acted. He soon began writing scripts, at a time when dialogue dominated Tamil cinema. When anti-religious and rationalistic films by writers belonging to the Dravidian movement enjoyed great popularity, Nagarajan tried to counter this trend through his scripts. This was particularly evident in the film Nalvar. He later founded a production company with actor V K Ramasamy and made The Good Alliance/Nalla Idathu Sambandham in 1958. In the same year he wrote the dialogues for the film Sampoorna Ramayanam which became a hit, thus reviving the era of mythologicals. When he started directing, his first few films were based on contemporary themes, like the one on a boy guide working in Mamallapuram (Come Raja Come/Vaa Raja Vaa, 1969). However by the mid-Sixties he began directing a series of films on religious subjects, and thereby started a trend. His films were stagy and had scant respect for appropriateness of costumes. In The Vow of Saraswathi/Saraswathiyin Sabatham (1966), Siva appears dressed like an ancient Greek warrior! Flowery dialogues, garish sets, semi-classical music, dance, glorification of Tamil, a star cast and religious mythology were the ingredients of his films and Sivaji Ganesan played the lead in many of his films.

On another note, Nagarajan was instrumental in organizing junior artistes into a union. He often patronized retired stage actors and associates from his drama days by engaging them to act in his films. So far as his political leanings were concerned, he identified himself with the Thamizharasu party led by Ma Po Sivagnanam, his political mentor. Nagarajan was for sometime the editor of Saattai, which served as the mouthpiece of this party, in which he bitterly attacked the Dravidian movement.

Virtuous Woman/Kulamagal Radhai (1963), God’s Ways/Thiruvilaryadal (1965), From Tirupathi to Cape Comerin/Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970), The Exhibition/ Kankatchi (1971), Rajarajachozhan (1973), The Western Daughter-in-Law/Melnattu Marumagal (1975).

Narayanan was the man who laid the foundation for cinema in South India, and was a prolific filmmaker during the silent era. He started his career in a film distribution company in Mumbai and later set up his own unit, Exhibitor Film Services in 1927 in Madras. He toured western countries to promote Indian films and also visited the Universal City Studios in the US. In August 1929, he founded the General Pictures Corporation (GPC) in Tondiarpet in Madras as a public limited company and linked it to a network for film distribution and exhibition. GPC played a major role as a production centre and as a training ground for many individuals who later shaped cinema in this region. These included Y V Rao, R Prakasa and C Pullaiya. Beginning with Dharmapathini (1929), GPC produced eighteen films which were also screened in Burma (now Myanmar) and Singapore.

Narayanan supported the nationalist struggle and advocated propaganda through films. Va Ra, of the Manikodi group of writers, was a major influence on Narayanan and he was also associated with Rajaji and S Satyamurthi and made bonfires of foreign textiles as part of the Swadeshi movement. He wrote articles on cinema in The Hindu and for a while edited a film magazine, Movie Mirror. He also made documentaries and assisted Robert Flaherty in making The Elephant Boy (English, 1937).3

Silent: Nandanar or The Elevation of the Downtrodden (1929), Gnanasoundari (1930), Destruction of the Pride of Garuda/Garuda Garva Bangam (1930).

Credited as the man who made the first feature film in South India, Nataraja Mudaliar, was in the bicycle business, and recognized the possibility of making films in Madras when he saw the silent films from the West. He travelled to Pune, where he met cinematographer Stewart Smith who taught him how to handle a movie camera. The aspiring filmmaker’s first efforts were screened after dinner at Smith’s Pune residence. Mudaliar returned to Madras and with the help of business associate, S M Dharmalingam Mudaliar, formed the India Film Company.

They set up South India’s first studio with a second hand Williamson camera, in a bungalow called Tower House in Millers Road, in Kilpauk, Madras. Nataraja Mudaliar directed while Narayanasamy, trained in processing, was in charge of the laboratory established in Bangalore, a city which had a climate suitable for such work. Exposed film rolls were rushed daily to Bangalore; Mudaliar visited the city once a week. C Rangavadivelu, an actor from Suguna Vilas Sabha was engaged to train actors. Within thirty-five days, Mudaliar brought out the first film to be made in South India, Keechakavatham (1916). The company’s second film, Draupathi Vasthirabaranam was released in 1917. The title cards in his films were in Tamil, Hindi and English. Madan of Calcutta and Ardeshir Irani of Mumbai, renowned in their respective fields, distributed Mudaliar’s films throughout India. Later, he left the company to start his independent production and travelled to Vellore, his native town, to set up a studio in Sathuvachari and single handedly produced Mahiravanan and Markandeya, both in 1919. These films were shot in and around the hills of Vellore. In 1923, when his studio was burnt in a fire accident and his son died, Mudaliar gave up films. He died in 1972 in Madras.

Silent: Keechakavatham (1936), Draupathi Vasthirabaranam (1917) Maitreyi Vijayam (1918), Lava and Kusa/Lava Kusa (1919), Vanquishing Kalinga / Kalinganarthanam (1920), The Wedding of Rukmani/ Rukmani Kalyanam (1921).

Born in Villupuram, Neelakantan began his career as a journalist with the magazine called Jeevamani , in Tiruchi. He later worked for the journal, Kumaran and began writing plays for radio. His play Rose among Thorns/Mullil Roja staged by TKS Brothers brought him fame. His other play, Nam Iruvar was bought by the movie Moghul, A V Meyyappa Chettiar and made into a film in 1947. Then, Neelakantan wrote the dialogues for films like, The Demon World/Vedala Ulagam (1948) and Life/Vazhkai (1949). The first film he directed was One Night/Oor Iravu (1951), the dialogues for which were written by C N Annadurai. From then on, his fortunes rose steadily; he directed many films in Tamil, Kannada and even Sinhalese (Suneetha) . Two films in particular brought him fame: ALS Productions’ Ambikapathi (1957), starring Sivaji Ganesan and Do Not Steal/Thirudathe (1961) with M G Ramachandran. He later directed a large number of films with MGR in the lead, including My Brother/En Annan (1970) and The Globetrotting Young Man/Ulagam Sutrum Valiban (1973). In 1979 he was appointed principal of the Institute of Film Technology in Madras, when M G Ramachandran was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

Oor Iravu (1951), Mudhal Thedhi (1955), Poompuhar (1964), The Watchman/Kavalkaran (1967), Enclave of MaidenslKumarikottam (1970), Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow/ Netru Inru Nalai (1974), Divine Marriages/Deiva Thirumanangal (1981).

Padmanabhan was one of the pioneers in the South Indian film industry and his innings lasted long into the era of talkies. He began his career in 1926 as a film distributor and dealer in cinema equipment. In 1928, he started Associated Films, with financial backing from a lawyer from Nagapatinam, K S Venkataraman (father-in-law of film director, KSubrahmanyam), and set up a studio in Saidapet in Madras. K Subrahmanyam and Raja Sandow joined him and they made a series of films like The Pride of Hindustan (1931). In the silent era, this was the second biggest production centre in South India, next only to GPC and Padmanabhan even recruited technicians from Mumbai like K P Bhave and
G G Gogate. After the advent of sound, he entered filmmaking under the banner of Oriental Films, in partnership with Ramalinga Mudaliar, and produced a number of films including The Illusory Market/Maya Bazaar (1935). He was active in the industry till the end of the Fifties.

The Illusory Market/Maya Bazaar (1935), Construction of the Bridge/Sethubandhanam (1937), The Illusory Light/ Mayajothi (1941), Baktha Kalathi (1945), Changing Fortune/Sakata Yogam (1946), The Maiden/Kumari (1952), Everything is Delightful/Ellam Inba Mayam (1955).

Son of pioneer film distributor, R Venkiah, Prakasa was a major force in the South Indian film industry during its formative years. He was trained for a year in filmmaking in England and returned to India after visiting Metro Studios in the US, Pathe in France, and Milano Film Company in Italy. In Madras, he set up the Star of the East Film Company, behind Roxy theatre. Equipped with a laboratory, work began in this glass-roofed studio with Bhishma Pratignai. Encouraged by its success, he made a number of films; yet the company ran into financial difficulties and was attached by the court in 1924. Then he joined Narayanan in the General Pictures Corporation. When GPC folded up, Prakasa took to film distribution. He built three cinema houses in Madras. Later when Narayanan founded his Srinivasa Cinetone studio, Prakasa joined him as technical adviser and directed a few films. Later, he freelanced and made Krishna Arjuna (1935) in Calcutta. His film Anadhaipenn (1938) is remembered for the sequences containing nationalist propaganda. But most of his works were mythological and his favourite locale was Gingee fort near Madras. His last completed film was Three Girls/Moonru Pengal (1956). He made Telugu films also; when he died in 1956, he was in the midst of directing a Telugu film, The Celestial Beauty/Devasundari, which was released in 1960.

Prakasa saw a bright future for cinema in this country. Apart from regular features, he made a number of short films as well. He also had plans to run a regular newsreel service. To begin with he covered some important happenings in the city and made shorts like The Inauguration of the Royal Bath. He even assisted in the production of a film titled The Catechist of Killarney for T G Duffy, an Irish missionary, which was shot in a village near Tiruvannamalai. The film was exhibited widely in England; however in India, there were protests against its screening. He is also well known for his film on the prevention of cholera for the government of India.4

Silent: Deliverance of the Elephant/Gajendra Moksham (1923), Mahatma Kabirdas (1923), Stage Girl (1926), Kovalan (1929), The Rose of Rajasthan (1931), The Coral Queen (1931), Leila or the Star ofMangrelia (1931).

A leading filmmaker of the Fifties and Sixties, Raghunath started as an assistant to his brother, Raja Chandrasekhar, when the latter directed Srinivasa Cinetone’s Gnanasoundari (1935). He worked with A Narayanan of Srinivasa Cinetone in films like Tarasasankam (1936). Raghunath’s first effort at filmmaking was a 3-reeler titled The Aged Bridegroom/Kizhattu Mappillai in 1936. He then went on to make his first feature film Jothi alladhu Srimath Ramalinga Swamigal in Calcutta in 1939. However the film that brought him fame was Kannagi with Kannamba and P U Chinnappa in the lead. In a number of his films, he gave MGR minor roles. His best years were the Fifties, when he made a series of very successful films like Husband is a Palpable God/Kanavane Kan Kanda Deivam (1955). He cast top stars and told folk tales, packed with fencing, songs and dances, without any regard to period or plausibility. Most of the stars of the Fifties and Sixties made films with him. He later worked for some years as a technical adviser in Karpagam Studios in Madras. When M G Ramachandran became the chief minister, Raghunath was appointed the president of the Films Division of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Birth of Sita/Sita Jananam (1940), The God Who Had Mastered Tamil/Tamizhariyum Perumal (1942), Jungle Beauty/Vanasundari (1951), Whose Boy/Yar Paiyan (1957), Allavudin And His Wonderful Lamp/Allavudinum Arputha Vilakkum (1957), Welcoming The Bridegroom/Mappillai Azhaippu (1972).

A pioneer filmmaker, Raja Chandrasekhar was bom in Tiruchi and trained in Mumbai to be a textile engineer. But his primary interest was in movie making. He started his career in films as an assitant to Fatima Begum, probably the first woman film director in India, in 1929. Later, he joined General Pictures Corporation. His first film was Mohini Rukmangatha which was followed by a few more. He made about twelve silent films, the most well-known among them being Pandava Nirvahan (1930). After the advent of sound, he made Raja Desingu and Chandramohan (1936) in Mumbai Film City. At East India Films Studio in Calcutta, he made Baktha Thulasidas (1937) for Murugan Talkies of Madurai. In his films like Ashokumar he, similar to T R Raghunath, gave M G Ramachandran, then a struggling actor, small roles and helped him to build his career. When MGR made his Vagabond King/Nadodi Mannan (1958), he engaged Raja Chandrasekhar as technical adviser.

Silent: Milan Dinar (1930), Pandava Nirvahan (1930).

Raja Sandow (given name P K Nagalingam) was born in Pollachi. While he was growing up in Pudukottai, he trained to be a gymnast. He later went to Mumbai and after a short stint there as an actor, started directing films in Ranjit Studios, and worked for a monthly salary. When R Padmanabhan founded Associated Films, Raja moved to Madras and directed many movies. When sound came, he went back to Mumbai and shone as an actor, pairing with stars like Gohar. In Mumbai, he was commissioned to direct his first Tamil film, Menaka. Enthused by the reception to this film, he came to Madras and established his credentials as a filmmaker. As a director, actor, scriptwriter and producer, his contribution to Tamil cinema is significant. Many of the stars of the Forties and Fifties have worked with him. He was very competent at coaching actors and maintained complete control over his films. He was a martinet on the sets and was often compared to a ringmaster in a circus. In his films, the emphasis shifted from songs to the spoken word. He directed and acted in Vasanthasena (1936), made in Pune. When Orr’s Gramophone and Talkies Limited made Vishnu Leela (1938), they chose Raja Sandow to direct and act in the film, which was also shot in Pune. He was fluent in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and Telugu and had directed a few Hindi films while at Mumbai. He was one of the earliest to establish a link between the world of Hindi and Tamil cinemas and left his mark on both. In 1941 he started his own film company, Janaki Pictures and made Choodamani (Telugu, 1941). He died on 24 November 1943 of a heart attack in Coimbatore.

Silent: Devil and the Damsel (1930), Rajeswari (1931), Usha Sundari (1931), Bakthavathsala (1931).

Hailing from a family of musicians, Rajendar graduated from Annamalai University and entered films with (Unrequited Love/Oruthalai Ragam (1980) as the dialogue-writer and lyricist. His first directorial venture was The Calls of Spring /Vasanthathin Azhaipugal ( 1980) for which he wrote the dialogues and songs, and also composed the music. This became a pattern in his subsequent films, in which he assumed responsibility for nearly all the major departments; they did extremely well at the box office. Soon he started handling the camera himself and came to be referred to as “the one man production unit”. His films are a combination of melodrama, implausible situations, fights, dances and songs. He rarely goes outdoors for shooting, preferring the studio sets. With garish decor, psychedelic lighting and group dances, his films provide heavy doses of cinematic kitsch. The dialogue is replete with unnecessary rhymes, which are often contrived and meaningless. The stories usually revolve around the travails of a woman and a large majority of his fans are women. He introduced many new artistes who rose to be stars, like Amala and Anand Babu. He featured his five-year-old son in a major role and fan clubs were started in the latter’s name. In 1984, at the height of his popularity, Rajendar joined politics and allied himself with the DMK, then an opposition party. He was sought after as a speaker at political meetings and rallies. When he fell out with the DMK, he started his own party, Thainadu Marumalarchi Kazhagam (Motherland Renaissance Party). Under this banner, his wife Usha contested for a seat in the national parliament from Palani and lost. He himself stood against Jayalalithaa in the Kangeyam constituency during the elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1991 and lost.

During Train Journeys/Rayil Payanangalil (1981), A Melody In The Heart/Nenjil Oru Ragam (1982), A Song For The Sister/Thangaikor Geetham (1983), Love Me, Maithili/Maithili Ennai Kathali (1986), My Sister Kalyani/En Thangai Kalyani (1988).

A significant figure in South Indian film history, Ramnoth started as an assistant with Kodak, Madras. When Vel Pictures was founded in 1934, he joined as a technician, along with A Sekhar and Murugadasa, who were to make a mark later, respectively as an art director and filmmaker. It was Ramnoth who was responsible for all the technical aspects in this studio. It was here that he blossomed into a cinematographer when he filmed Sita Kalyanam (Telugu, 1934). He later worked with the famous filmmaker B N Reddy and filmed Vandematharam (1939) and Baktha Pothanna (1942) both in Telugu. He worked in Gemini Studios as production chief and was the cinematographer for many films produced by them, including The Vow of Mangamma/Mangamma Sabatham (1943). He shot a good part of Chandraleka also—notably the circus sequences and the drum dance. The acme of his work as a cameraman was Kalpana (Hindi, 1948) made by dancer Uday Shankar. When he switched over to directing films, he proved so successful that he was sought after by many companies. He worked for big banners like AVM and Jupiter and made important films like Ezhai Padum Padu. He later turned producer, founded New Era Films and made Freedom/Viduthalai (1954) which got enmeshed in legal tangles and ruined him financially.

Ramnoth was versatile; he could handle the camera expertly, edit effectively and also proved his mettle as a director. A graduate, he was deeply interested in English literature and adapted Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as Kanniyin Kathali. It was in this film that Kannadasan was introduced as a songwriter. He and art director Shekhar worked as a team in many films of the Forties and early Fifties. He was aware of the creative potential of cinema at a time when filmmaking was seen merely as a commercial proposition. He founded the Cine Technicians Association in Madras in 1940, which is still going strong. M G Ramachandran desired that he direct his film Nadodi Mannan; but before work on the film could begin, Ramnoth died at the age of forty-five in Hyderabad in 1956.5

Mohini (1948, only partly), Kanniyin Kathali (1949), Ezhai Padum Padu (1950), Marmayogi (1951), Mother’s Heart/Thai Ullam (1952), Where Is Comfort/Sugam Enge (1954), Viduthalai (1954), The Man/Manithan (1954), The Heroine/Kathanayaki (1955), Boolokarambai (1958, only partly).

While working in a government office in Chinglepet, Sridhar made his mark as a playwright, with the successful play The Bond of Blood/Ratha Pasam (1954) which was staged by TKS Brothers Drama Company. He entered films as a dialogue writer when this play was adapted as a film. He wrote the dialogues for The Unexpected Turn/ Ethirparathathu (1954) and established a reputation through Amaradeepam. His directorial debut Kalyanaparisu was a blockbuster. Based on the eternal triangle—which was to be a recurrent leitmotif in his work—it was a mix of romance and melodrama. Sridhar founded his own production concern, Chithralaya, in 1961 and made a series of commercially successful films, including the memorable A Temple in the Heart/Nenjil Oor Alayam (1962), a story around three people in a hospital, which he scripted and directed. He planned his shooting schedules meticulously and worked on a tight budget. He could thus make his films in record time. In all his films, he used the stars-melodrama-and-songs combination. The work of cinematographer, A Vincent, who was his business partner and who later emerged as a filmmaker in his own right, and music by the Viswanathan-Ramamurthy duo, were important features of his early films. Some of the stars of the Sixties like Jayalalithaa, Ravichandran and Kanchana were introduced by him as lead characters in his films. Sridhar, who said that his guru in cinema was V Shantaram, made films in Hindi, Kannada and Telugu also. In 1962 he started a film fortnightly, Chithralaya in a newspaper format. It carried a lot of serious matter, including news of the industry.

The Morning Star/Vidivelli (I960), The Honeymoon/Thenilavu (1961), Constable’s Daughter/ Policekaran Magal (1962), No Time To Love/Kathalika Neramillai (1964), The Riotous Wedding/Gallatakalyanam (1968), The Voice Of Right/Urimaikural (1974), Youth Swings / Ilamai Oonjaladukiradhu (1978).

Trained to be a lawyer, Subrahmanyam joined Associated Films as a scriptwriter in 1928. In 1934, he produced Pavalakodi under the banner Meenakshi Cinetone, in which he introduced M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. He started his own concern in 1935, the Madras United Artistes Corporation, and made New Satharam /Naveena Satharam (1935) in just nineteen days. He shot his first few films in Calcutta and later set up his own studio, the Motion Picture Combines in Madras, in which he employed well-known technicians from Calcutta. A votary of the nationalist movement, he used cinema to further its cause; criticized caste oppression in Balayogini, advocated a better deal for women in Sevasadan and attacked untouchability in Baktha Chetha (1940). Thyagabhoomi was undoubtedly the best of his films. Subrahmanyam believed in organizing the film industry on more professional grounds and worked for setting up the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, of which he was president for four terms. He founded the South Indian Artistes Association and the Film Producers Guild of South India as well. He pleaded for an insurance scheme for the industry, a common bank and a school for acting. A number of artistes who were introduced by him rose to great heights and the best known among them were T R Rajakumari and M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. He introduced Papanasam Sivan in a lead role in Baktha Kuchela. Subrahmanyam himself played a role in Ananthasayanam (1942).6

The Wedding of Usha/Usha Kalyanam (1936), Balayogini (1936), Kachadevayani (1937), Thyagabhoomi (1939), Ocean of Love/Premsagar (Hindi, 1949), Manasamrakshanam (1944), Vichithravanitha (1947), Geethagandhi (1949), Pandithevan (1957), The Journey/Yatra (Hindi, children’s film, 1960).

A pioneer of the studio system in India, Sundaram came from a wealthy family of yarn merchants and began his career as a textile engineer, with a degree from Leeds. Back in India, he started Angel Films in Salem, along with S S Velayudham Pillai, and made two films in Calcutta. With the money he earned, he set up his own studio, Modern Theatres, in Salem. His first film was Sathi Akalya (1937) and soon there was a steady stream of films from Modern Theatres, averaging three a year. The films were mostly in Tamil but sometimes also in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam (the first ever called Balan in 1938) and Sinhalese. There was even an English film titled, The Jungle (1952).

It was in Modern Theatres that Sundaram directed the first colour film of South India, Alibaba and the Forty Thieves /Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum. His films were geared at entertainment, without any pretensions to social or political comment. Some famous stars of Tamil cinema were introduced by Sundaram such as M R Radha in Santhanathevan (1939). Sundaram had himself acted in two films, Burma Rani and Sulochana (1946). He later directed Manonmani and Valaiyapathi (1952), films based on two of the five great Tamil epics and was instrumental in hiring poet Bharathidasan as a writer and produced his story Ponmudi . Sundaram also ran a Tamil film magazine, Chandamarutham, for a few years, with lyricist Kannadasan as the editor.

Burma Rani (1944), Sulochana (1946), Athithan Kanavu (1948), The Phantom Woman/Mayavathi (1949), Digambara Samiyar (1950), The Dictator/Sarvadhikari (1951), Thief of Baghdad/Baghdad Thirudan (1960).

Born in Ceylon, in Sri Lanka, Swamy developed an interest in drama through his father who was engaged in organizing shows by drama companies from the Madras presidency. Swamy came to India where his play Bilhana was staged by the TKS Brothers Drama Company. He was then hired to script a war effort film, My Son/En Magan (1945) and later found regular employment with Jupiter Pictures of Coimbatore and directed his first film, Sri Murugan in 1946 and followed it up with The Princess/Rajakumari (1947). This was also M G Ramachandran’s first film as a hero. Swamy was also associated with the film careers of other DMK leaders of the time. For instance, the film that brought Swamy fame as a director, Velaikari, was written by C N Annadurai. Riding on its success, Swamy was engaged to direct a number of films and was one of the leading filmmakers of the Fifties. He was also instrumental in introducing M Karunanidhi, who later became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for three terms, as a dialogue writer. Swamy relied on established stars; his films followed all the filmic conventions of the times. They were theatrical, with songs, dances and melodrama. Spoken words and indoor sets predominated and many of his films were based on folklore. He later served on the faculty of the Institute of Film Technology, Madras.

Vijayakumari (1950), A Drop of Poison/Thulivisham (1954), The Judge/Neethipathi (1955), The Golden Statue/Thangapadumai (1958), Kalyani is Getting Married/ Kalyaniku Kalyanam (1960).

Subramanyan Srinivasan came from Tiruthuraipoondi to Madras to study and started an advertising agency. With the money he earned, he bought a small press and a magazine and established Anandavikatan which is still a very popular weekly in Tamil Nadu. His entry into films was with his novel Sathi Leelavathi in 1936. Three years later, he started a film distribution company in 1939, Gemini Studios, and also financed films. He spent a lot of time in National Movietone studios in Madras learning filmmaking techniques. When the Motion Picture Combines studio came up for auction, Vasan bought the facility. Here, he set up Gemini Studios and produced his first film, Madanakamarajan, in 1941; it earned him a lot of money. He established Gemini as a major production centre in the country and also started directing films and his most memorable work was Chandraleka, which was made in Tamil and Hindi, of which 603 prints were made. It was also released in the United States as Chandra with English sub-titles.9

Vasan believed that films were meant to entertain and that filmic narration should be structured to enable even the most ordinary man to follow it. Songs, dances, fencing, small skits, humour and spectacular sets were featured in every film and as a result, his films were akin more to variety entertainment programmes than cinema. He also relied on elaborate, and often innovative, promotion strategies. Even when nationalist fervour was at its peak in the mid-Forties, his films did not deal with political issues. In 1958, he started Gemini Colour Laboratories, a premier processing laboratory in the country today. He believed in establishing the film trade on professional lines and his contribution was more in the realm of organizing the industry than in the development of cinema. He was the president of the Film Federation of India for two terms and was also nominated as Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1969.10

Chandraleka (1948), The Strange Brothers/Aboorva Sakodharargal (1949), Family Life/Samsaram (1951), Avvaiyar (1953), Iron Curtain/Irumbu Thirai (1960).

3. Meena Narayanan, wife of filmmaker A Narayanan, was the first woman sound-recordist of India. When her husband founded Srinivasa Cinetone, he engaged Poddar as a sound-recordist and Meena who was proficient in Carnatic music, assisted him in recording music; in the process, she learnt the technique of recording. When Poddar left the company suddenly, Meena took his place. The first film she worked in was Visvamithra (1936), followed by Worshipping Krishna/Krishna Tulabaram (1937). She worked in six films made by her husband. For all these films the recording was done on a BTH sound system. She also made a short film on the Eucharistic Congress held in the Island grounds in Madras.