K. Balachander

Kailasam Balachander was an Indian director, producer, writer, actor, playwright, stage conductor, and comedian who worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. He was well known for his distinct filmmaking style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of unconventional themes and hardhitting contemporary subject matter. Balachanders films are well known for their portrayal of women as bold personalities and central characters. Popularly referred to as Iyakkunar Sigaram , his films are usually centred on unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. Starting his cinematic career as a screenwriter, Balachander soon graduated as a director with Neerkumizhi in 1965. He was given a break into Tamil films by M. G. Ramachandran.

K. Balachander was born in 1930 into a Tamil Iyer household, at Nannilam in the then Tanjore district , India. Balachander stated that, From my eighth year Ive been seeing cinema and recalls that his earliest interest towards cinema grew after watching films of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, then the Superstar of Tamil cinema. At the age of twelve he was drawn to theatre and drama, which eventually helped him develop an interest in acting, writing and directing amateur plays. His obsession towards theatre continued even while doing his graduation at the Annamalai University, as he regularly took part in stage plays. After completing his graduation in 1949, he started his career as a school teacher in Muthupet, Tiruvarur district. In 1950, he moved to Madras and joined the Accountant Generals office as an apprentice clerk, and during this time he joined United Amateur Artistes, an amateur drama company. Soon he formed his own troupe and it was during this time he came to prominence as

Source: Wikipedia