Kailasam Balachander | |
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Balachander in 2006
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Born |
Kailasam Balachander 9 July 1930 Thanjavur district, British India (now Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu, India) |
Died | 23 December 2014 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
(aged 84)
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Occupation | Playwright, film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor |
Years active | 1964–2014 |
Spouse(s) | Rajam |
Awards |
Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian filmmaker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. 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 (lit. "the director who scaled the peak"), 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).
In a career that spanned 50 years, he had contributed to nearly 100 feature films either as a screenwriter or director, thus becoming one of the most prolific filmmakers in the country. Known among his colleagues as a tough task master, he was credited with having nurtured numerous actors, notably Nagesh, Sujatha, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Jayaprada, Jayasudha, Saritha, Renuka, Nassar, Prakash Raj, Ramesh Aravind and Vivek.
In his film career, Balachander had won nine National Film Awards and 13 Filmfare Awards. He was honored with the Padma Shri (1987), India's fourth highest civilian award, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema.