K. Balaji

K. Balaji
Born	(1934-08-05)5 August 1934
Died	2 May 2009(2009-05-02) (aged 74)[1] Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Film actor, producer
Years active	1951–2010
Known for	Billa (1980) – Producer
Spouse(s)	Anandavalli (died in 1995)
Children	Suresh Sujatha Suchitra
Relatives	Mohanlal (son-in-law) Pranav Mohanlal (grandchild) Yecha Gunja Rajalakshmi (sister) Y. G. Mahendra (nephew)

K. Balaji (5 August 1934 – 2 May 2009) was an Indian film producer and actor best known for his Tamil films including Billa (1980) and Vazhvey Maayam (1982).

Early life

Balaji was born to a Tamil family. He was the grandson of colonial era advocate T. Rangachari. His interest in acting began when he performed in school plays and amateur theatre shows.^[2]

Career

Balaji contacted S. S. Vasan, then owner of Gemini Studios in 1951, looking for work. He was offered a minor role in Auvaiyar, in which he played the Hindu god Muruga.^[3]

Balaji soon understood that he was better off playing a villain or the hero's understudy with a negative angle in films that included Padithaal Mattum Podhumaa, Bale Pandiya, En Kadamai and Thillana Mohanambal.

While working as an actor, he was hired as a manager in Narasu Studios in the southwest suburbs. In the 1960s, after coming into contact with top Hindi actors such as Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar and Tamil stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and actress Savithri, he began to remake Hindi hits in Tamil. His first production was Annavin Aasai, a remake of Chand Aur Sooraj directed by Dulal Guha. The debut production film starred Gemini Ganesan and Savithri in the lead.

He then went on to remake popular Hindi films such as Dushman (1971) and Namak Haraam (1973) both starring Rajesh Khanna, Deewaar (1975), and Qurbani.

He founded Sujatha Cine Arts in 1966. He was also the founder of Sujatha Recording Studio, where sound recordings for most of the big-budget movies of the 1980s and '90s were done.

In 1979 began to produce films in Hindi, including the successful Amardeep.

Family

His wife Anandavally died in 1995. The couple had three children, Suresh Balaje, Sujatha and Suchitra Mohanlal. Malayalam actor Mohanlal is his son-in-law. He was also the grandfather of Pranav Mohanlal and Sooraj Balaji. The comedian Y. G. Mahendra is his nephew through his sister Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy.

Death

Balaji died on 2 May 2009 evening due to multiple organ and renal failure. He had been hospitalised for over a month.

Filmography

References

• "http://movies.ndtv.com/Ndtv-Show-Special-Story.aspx?ID=107&StoryID=ENTEN20090092624&&cp"
• "Veteran Tamil actor-producer K. Balaji is dead". Thaindian News, 2 May 2009. Retrieved on 27 June 2009.
• "K. Balaji Breathes His Last". IndiaGlitz, 2 May 2009. Retrieved on 27 June 2009.
• "Actor-producer K Balaji passes away". Sify Movies, 3 May 2009. Retrieved on 27 June 2009.

External links

• K.Balaji on IMDb
• http://www.malayalachalachithram.com/movieslist.php?a=5463