Sundaram Balachander (18 January 1927 – 13 April 1990) was an Indian veena player and filmmaker. He directed, produced, and also composed music for a few of his films. Balachander was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1982. He died of a heart attack at the age of 63, while on a music tour of India.[1]
S. Balachander | |
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 Balachander in 1948 | |
| Born | Sundaram Balachander 18 January 1927 |
| Died | 13 April 1990 (aged 63) Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, playback singer |
| Years active | 1934 to 1990 |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan |
Film career
editS Balachander was born to Sundaram Iyer and Parvathi alias Chellamma. Sunderam Iyer was a patron of Papanasam Sivan and many other musicians in Mylapore, Chennai.[2]
Balachander began as a child artist in the Tamil film Seetha Kalyanam in 1934, in which many members of his family acted. Balachander himself acted as a child musician in Ravana's court, and his father V. Sundaram Iyer acted as Janaka, elder brother S. Rajam as Rama and elder sister S. Jayalakshmi as Seeta.[3] This was followed by appearances in Rishyasringar (1941) and Araichimani (1942).[4][5]
In 1948 Balachander directed the film En Kanavar.[6] In 1954 he directed Andha Naal, a classic Tamil film noir thriller.[7][8]
Swati Tirunal Dispute
editS Balachander claimed that the composer Swati Tirunal was a figment of history's imagination, and he did not even exist. He accused Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer of passing off his own compositions as Swati Tirunal's. Balachander also disputed Balamurali Krishna's claims of having invented new ragas.[9]
S Balachander was actively involved in the Swati Tirunal dispute at the time of his death.[citation needed]
Awards
edit- 1954 – Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Tamil – Andha Naal[10]
- 1956 – Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Telugu – Edi Nijam[11]
- 1982 – Sangeetha Kalasikhamani, by The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai.[citation needed]
- 1982 – Padmabhushan[12]
Filmography
edit| Year | Film | Language | Actor | Director | Music Director | Singer | Producer | Note |
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| 1934 | Seetha Kalyanam | Tamil |  |
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| 1941 | Rishyasringar | Tamil | |
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| 1941 | Kamadhenu | Tamil | |
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Credited as Master Balachandar |
| 1942 | Aaraichimani | Tamil | |
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| 1947 | Baktha Thulasidas | Tamil | |
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Music Composer along with Anil Biswas | |
| 1948 | Idhu Nijama | Tamil | |
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Assistant Director | |
| 1948 | En Kanavar | Tamil | |
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Editor | |
| 1951 | Kaithi | Tamil | |
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| 1951 | Devaki | Tamil | |
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| 1951 | Rajambal | Tamil | |
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Music Composer along with M. S. Gnanamani | |||
| 1952 | Rani | Tamil | |
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| 1953 | Inspector | Tamil | |
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| 1954 | Andha Naal | Tamil | |
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| 1954 | Penn | Tamil | |
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| 1954 | Sangham | Telugu | |
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| 1955 | Koteeswaran | Tamil | |
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| 1955 | Doctor Savithri | Tamil | |
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| 1956 | Edi Nijam | Telugu | |
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| 1956 | Edhu Nijam | Tamil | |
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| 1958 | Bhoologa Rambai | Tamil | |
Director along with D. Yoganand upon the demise of K. Ramnoth | ||||
| 1958 | Bhooloka Rambha | Telugu | |
Director along with D. Yoganand upon the demise of K. Ramnoth | ||||
| 1958 | Avan Amaran | Tamil | |
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| 1959 | Maragadham | Tamil | |
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| 1962 | Avana Ivan | Tamil | |
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| 1964 | Bommai | Tamil | |
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| 1970 | Nadu Iravil | Tamil | |
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References
edit- ^ "Sundaram Balachander: The veena musician and filmmaker who introduced Carnatic culture to the world | Music Tales".
- ^ "Kalyanamalai Magazine - Serial story, Thiraichuvai - Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema, 'Dhigil' Balachander".
- ^ "Face to Face: S. Balachander". The Illustrated Weekly of India. Vol. 88. Times of India Press. 1967. p. 43.
- ^ Sundaresan, P. N. (1990). Sruti, Issues 65-76. Sruti. p. 34.
- ^ "Balachander, the musician who was maverick movie genius - DTNext.in". Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
- ^ Asian Film Directory and Who's who. 1952. p. 187.
- ^ "Andha Naal: Remembering veena S. Balachander". The Hindu. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Rajinikanth launches first look of Antha Naal". Times of India. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Decoding Balachander, the veena virtuoso from Mylapore - DTNext.in". Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
- ^ "2nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "4th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
External links
edit- S. Balachander at IMDb
- Balachander plays the Veena on YouTube
- Movies side of Veenai Balachandar on YouTube - Mysskin tells about S. Balachander's film history.