K. Balachander
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Renowned filmmaker Kailasam Balachander
Dec 24 2014
Renowned filmmaker K Balachander, hailed as Iyakunar Sigaram (Peak among directors) in the Tamil movie industry. The 84-year-old director was a recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award. Balachander's blockbusters include Aval Oru Thodarkathai(Tamil), which was remade as Anthula ney Katha in Telugu, Maro Charitra (Telugu), and Thillu Mullu (remake of Golmaal in Hindi).
He introduced top stars including Rajinikanth (Apoorva Ragangal), Kamal Haasan (Arangetram), Prakash Raj (Duet), comedian Vivek (Manadhil Urudhi Vendum) and character artist Nazar (Kalyana Agathigal).
Balachander will be primarily remembered among Hindi film lovers for Ek Duje Ke Liye, a tragic crosscultural love story between a south Indian boy and a north Indian girl.The box-office smash, laced with a bunch of lilting melodies, intro duced Southern superstar Kamal Haasan to Bollywood.
As a director, Balachander made his Bollywood debut in Aaina (1977), where an upper caste girl becomes a sex worker to support her family. But over a decade ago, his gripping play, Major Chandrakanth, was filmed in Hindi as Oonche Log (1965) by the notable Phani Majumdar. He also wrote the story of Lakhon Me Ek, starring Mehmood and Radha Saluja. He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. His second son, Kailasam died on August 15 2014.
