S. Balachander

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]

In this Indian name, the name Sundaram is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Balachander.

S. Balachander
Balachander in 1948
Born
Sundaram Balachander

18 January 1927
Mylapore, Madras Presidency, British India
Died13 April 1990 (aged 63)
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India
Occupation(s)Actor, playback singer
Years active1934 to 1990
AwardsPadma Bhushan

Film career

S 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

S 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.

Awards

Filmography
YearFilmLanguageActorDirectorMusic DirectorSingerProducerNote
1934Seetha KalyanamTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XN
1941RishyasringarTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XN
1941KamadhenuTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XNCredited as Master Balachandar
1942AaraichimaniTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XN
1947Baktha ThulasidasTamilRed XNcheckYRed XNRed XNMusic Composer along with Anil Biswas
1948Idhu NijamaTamilRed XNcheckYcheckYcheckYAssistant Director
1948En KanavarTamilcheckYcheckYcheckYcheckYEditor
1951KaithiTamilcheckYcheckYcheckYcheckY
1951DevakiTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XN
1951RajambalTamilcheckYcheckYMusic Composer along with M. S. Gnanamani
1952RaniTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XN
1953InspectorTamilcheckYRed XNRed XNRed XNRed XN
1954Andha NaalTamilcheckY
1954PennTamilcheckY
1954SanghamTelugucheckY
1955KoteeswaranTamilcheckY
1955Doctor SavithriTamilcheckY
1956Edi NijamTelugucheckY
1956Edhu NijamTamilcheckY
1958Bhoologa RambaiTamilcheckYDirector along with D. Yoganand upon the demise of K. Ramnoth
1958Bhooloka RambhaTelugucheckYDirector along with D. Yoganand upon the demise of K. Ramnoth
1958Avan AmaranTamilcheckY
1959MaragadhamTamilcheckY
1962Avana IvanTamilcheckYcheckYcheckYcheckY
1964BommaiTamilcheckYcheckYcheckYcheckY
1970Nadu IravilTamilcheckYcheckYcheckYcheckY

References
  1. "Sundaram Balachander: The veena musician and filmmaker who introduced Carnatic culture to the world | Music Tales".
  2. "Kalyanamalai Magazine - Serial story, Thiraichuvai - Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema, 'Dhigil' Balachander".
  3. "Face to Face: S. Balachander". The Illustrated Weekly of India. Vol. 88. Times of India Press. 1967. p. 43.
  4. Sundaresan, P. N. (1990). Sruti, Issues 65-76. Sruti. p. 34.
  5. "Balachander, the musician who was maverick movie genius - DTNext.in". Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
  6. Asian Film Directory and Who's who. 1952. p. 187.
  7. "Andha Naal: Remembering veena S. Balachander". The Hindu. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  8. "Rajinikanth launches first look of Antha Naal". Times of India. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  9. "Decoding Balachander, the veena virtuoso from Mylapore - DTNext.in". Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
  10. "2nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  11. "4th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  12. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
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