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Balu Mahendra is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor, Other and Cinematography Indian born on 20 may 1939 at Batticaloa (Sri Lanka)
Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (20 May 1939 – 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor, who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Born into a Sri Lankan Tamil household, Mahendra developed a passion towards photography and literature at a tender age. He was drawn towards film-making after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai in Sri Lanka. A graduate of the London University, he started his career as a draughtsman before gaining an admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in cinematography. Mahendra entered films as a cinematographer in the early 1970s and gradually rose to becoming a film-maker by the end of the decade.
Making his directorial debut through Kokila, a Kannada film, Mahendra made over 20 films in all South Indian languages apart from two in Hindi. He was one of the earliest film-makers in Tamil cinema to introducing realism, and is considered to be a part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters who re-vitalised the Tamil film industry. Towards the tail-end of his career, he established a film school in Chennai which offers courses in cinematography, direction and acting. Following a brief phase of poor health, Mahendra died of cardiac arrest in Chennai.
Widely regarded as an auteur, Mahendra wrote the script for his films, handled the camera and edited the film himself apart from directing. He is a recipient of six National Film Awards—including two for Best Cinematography, Filmfare Awards South apart from a few state awards from the governments of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Source : Wikidata
Balu Mahendra
Birth name Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran
Nationality Inde
Birth 20 may 1939 at Batticaloa (Sri Lanka)
Death 13 february 2014 (at 74 years)
Awards Filmfare Awards South
Nationality Inde
Birth 20 may 1939 at Batticaloa (Sri Lanka)
Death 13 february 2014 (at 74 years)
Awards Filmfare Awards South
Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (20 May 1939 – 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor, who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Born into a Sri Lankan Tamil household, Mahendra developed a passion towards photography and literature at a tender age. He was drawn towards film-making after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai in Sri Lanka. A graduate of the London University, he started his career as a draughtsman before gaining an admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in cinematography. Mahendra entered films as a cinematographer in the early 1970s and gradually rose to becoming a film-maker by the end of the decade.
Making his directorial debut through Kokila, a Kannada film, Mahendra made over 20 films in all South Indian languages apart from two in Hindi. He was one of the earliest film-makers in Tamil cinema to introducing realism, and is considered to be a part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters who re-vitalised the Tamil film industry. Towards the tail-end of his career, he established a film school in Chennai which offers courses in cinematography, direction and acting. Following a brief phase of poor health, Mahendra died of cardiac arrest in Chennai.
Widely regarded as an auteur, Mahendra wrote the script for his films, handled the camera and edited the film himself apart from directing. He is a recipient of six National Film Awards—including two for Best Cinematography, Filmfare Awards South apart from a few state awards from the governments of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
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Filmography of Balu Mahendra (50 films)
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Thalaimuraigal (2013)
Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Drama
Actors Balu Mahendra, Vinodhini, M. Sasikumar
Roles Grandfather
Rating77%
Aditya (Master Karthik) is a city bred child of a doctor couple who had an inter caste marriage. Due to circumstances Aditya is forced to spend a long time in village with his grandfather (Balu Mahendra) an old man who is fanatical about his religion, caste and his language. The old man turns the city bred English speaking Aditya into a real Tamil who speaks the language and understands the culture and traditions.
Celluloid Man (2012)
, 2h30Directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Genres Biography, Documentary
Themes Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry
Actors Krzysztof Zanussi, Lester James Peries, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Gulzar, Naseeruddin Shah
Rating75%
P. K. Nair’s fascination with cinema began as a child and he watched his first few films lying on the white sand floor of a cinema in Trivandrum. He was a collector even then - collecting ticket stubs, lobby cards, even weighing machine tickets sporting pictures of the stars of the day. He grew up to be a great collector of films.
Indira Vizha (2009)
Actors Srikanth, Shruti Marathe, Namitha, Ragasiya, Nassar, Vivek
The movie revolves around sexual harassment occurring at work. This movie is loosely based on the Hollywood movie "Disclosure" starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore.
Director
Thalaimuraigal (2013)
Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Drama
Actors Balu Mahendra, Vinodhini, M. Sasikumar
Rating77%
Aditya (Master Karthik) is a city bred child of a doctor couple who had an inter caste marriage. Due to circumstances Aditya is forced to spend a long time in village with his grandfather (Balu Mahendra) an old man who is fanatical about his religion, caste and his language. The old man turns the city bred English speaking Aditya into a real Tamil who speaks the language and understands the culture and traditions.
Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam (2005)
Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Romance
Actors Dhanush, Priyaman, Delhi Ganesh, Karunas Sethu, Thalaivaasal Vijay, Kalairani
Rating49%
Srinivasan (Dhanush) escapes from jail and hitches a ride on a truck to meet his love Thulasi (Priya Mani). He reveals his flashback to the lorry driver, telling him of the disputes between his ambitious father and himself. When the parents leave home for a week, Srinivasan is left in the maid's care.
Julie Ganapathi (2003)
, 2h21Directed by Balu Mahendra
Origin Inde
Genres Thriller, Horror
Actors Jayaram, Saritha, Ramya Krishnan, Delhi Ganesh, Mohan Raman, Vatsala Rajagopal
Rating60%
Julie Ganapathi (Saritha) is a staunch fan of a popular television show, Manga. Over the years, Julie grows to identify herself obsessively with the main character of the show. The author of the series, Tenkasi Balakumaran (Jayaram), leaves his home for a few days to be alone to write the last few episodes of Manga. On his way back home after completing his work, his vehicle gets into an accident which leaves him seriously injured and crippled. Julie rescues Balakumaran and takes him home but is revealed to be emotionally unstable, and deliriously obsessed with the character in Bala's story. Julie asks Bala to allow her to read the scripts for the concluding episodes that he has just completed.
Raman Abdullah (1997)
Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors Sivakumar, Karan, Vignesh, Easwari Rao, Babloo Prithiveeraj, Charle
Rating55%
Raman Abdullah has Karan and Vignesh as friends, one Musilm and the other a Hindu, their misadventures to save their face from a strict Haji, played by Sivakumar.
Aur Ek Prem Kahani (1996)
Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Ramesh Aravind, Revathi, Heera, Akshay Anand
Rating73%
Ranganathan (Sudhir Ahuja), a middle aged engineer who lives in a middle class home in Madras with his wife Kamala (Sushma) and daughter Kokila (Heera Rajgopal), who is a medical student. Manga (Revathy) a maid lives with them and is treated like a member of the family. As Ranganathan travels a lot and his wife is not well, the family decides to keep a paying guest. Sathyamoorthy a bank executive (Arvind Ramesh) comes to live in the Ranganathan household. Kokila and Sathyamoorthy fall in love and plan to get married with her parents consent. Meanwhile one night perchance Sathya and the maid Manga are alone in the house. One thing leads to another and before they realise they end up making love. Kokila remains unaware of this incident even as Manga knows about Kokila's affair with Sathya. Sathya soon forgets the Manga episode and continues his romance with Kokila. One day while Kokila is away on a college tour Satya is informed by Manga that she is pregnant and hopes he will not let her down. Sathya suggests that Manga abort the child. Manga is shattered and leaves the Ranganathan house. Kokila comes back from the college tour and finds Sathya missing. He has vacated the room, says her mother and all attempts by Kokila to trace him remain futile. Kokila and Sathya meet each other accidentally, after few years in a village where she has gone as a doctor. She discovers Satya has married Manga and they have a young daughter whom they have named Kokila.
Sathi Leelavathi (1995)
, 2h24Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about sexuality
Actors Ramesh Aravind, Kamal Haasan, Kalpana, Heera, Kovai Sarala, Raja
Rating80%
Arun (Ramesh Arvind) is married to Leelavathi (Kalpana) in a resigned marriage. He is embarrassed by his wife's plain looks and her weight. When he meets Priya (Heera Rajagopal)- who works in a building construction company, he omits to tell her he is married and has an affair with her.
Nammavar (1994)
Directed by Balu Mahendra, K. S. Sethumadhavan
Genres Drama
Themes Films about education
Actors Kamal Haasan, Gautami, Nagesh, Sreevidya, Karan, Delhi Ganesh
Rating76%
Dr.Selvam (Kamal Haasan) is the new Vice-principal History professor in a college ruled by the Donor's son Ramesh (Karan) who is essentially a spoiled brat who owing to the lack of parental guidance turns into a no-gooder and also influences the other students in the college by his tyrannical use of money and power. Sparks fly between the two, but Selvam manages to transform most of the college.
Marupadiyum (1993)
, 2h19Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Drama
Themes Films about sexuality
Actors Revathi, Nizhalgal Ravi, Arvind Swamy, Rohini
Rating74%
Marupadiyum is an emotional and psychological drama that focuses on the central female protagonist, a wife caught up in marital discord played by Revathi and her life henceforth. Revathi is married to Ravi, a movie director who has an extra-marital affair with his star heroine, played by Rohini. Revathi discovers this intimacy between her husband and Rohini but is treated with indifference by her husband. Ravi moves on to get a divorce from Revathi. Revathi pleads with Ravi not to proceed with the divorce and asks Rohini to leave her husband but both disagree to do so. Arvind Swamy, a stranger, helps and befriends Revathi after she leaves her husband.
Sandhya Raagam (1989)
, 1h24Directed by Balu Mahendra
Genres Drama
Actors Archana, Bala
Rating81%
Chokkalingam, an octagenarian, leaves his village upon the death of his wife. He migrates to Madras, where his nephew Vasu, a lower middle-class man lives along with his family. Chokkalingam becomes an additional burden for Vasu, who is not able to meet the demands of his own family.
Thangamani Rangamani (1989)
, 2h15Directed by Balu Mahendra, Rama Narayanan
Actors Prashanth, Murali, S. V. Sekhar, Vinodhini, Mounika, Charle
Rating59%
After saving Manoranjitham (Vinodhini) from committing suicide in the forest, the kindhearted Siva (Prashanth) brings her home to live in his house, much to the despair of his neighbor Shenbagam (Mounika), who secretly loves him. Things become even more complicated when Siva falls in love with his houseguest and arranges for them to be married, but on the day of the wedding, she mysteriously disappears. Siva comes to know that Manoranjitham is going to die because for her serious health conditions. He finally finds her at her death bed in hospital where she dies.