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). 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.