S. Balachander

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

S. Balachander
Balachander in 1948
Born	Sundaram Balachander 18 January 1927 Mylapore, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	13 April 1990 (aged 63) Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India
Occupation(s)	Actor, playback singer
Years active	1934 to 1990
Awards	Padma 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.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

• 1954 – Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Tamil – Andha Naal^[10]
• 1956 – Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Telugu – Edi Nijam^[11]
• 1982 – Sangeetha Kalasikhamani, by The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai.^{[citation needed]}
• 1982 – Padmabhushan^[12]

Filmography

Year	Film	Language	Actor	Director	Music Director	Singer	Producer	Note
1934	Seetha Kalyanam	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N
1941	Rishyasringar	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N
1941	Kamadhenu	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N	Credited as Master Balachandar
1942	Aaraichimani	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N
1947	Baktha Thulasidas	Tamil	N		Y	N	N	Music Composer along with Anil Biswas
1948	Idhu Nijama	Tamil	N	Y	Y	Y		Assistant Director
1948	En Kanavar	Tamil	Y	Y	Y	Y		Editor
1951	Kaithi	Tamil	Y	Y	Y	Y
1951	Devaki	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N
1951	Rajambal	Tamil	Y		Y			Music Composer along with M. S. Gnanamani
1952	Rani	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N
1953	Inspector	Tamil	Y	N	N	N	N
1954	Andha Naal	Tamil		Y
1954	Penn	Tamil	Y
1954	Sangham	Telugu	Y
1955	Koteeswaran	Tamil	Y
1955	Doctor Savithri	Tamil	Y
1956	Edi Nijam	Telugu		Y
1956	Edhu Nijam	Tamil		Y
1958	Bhoologa Rambai	Tamil		Y				Director along with D. Yoganand upon the demise of K. Ramnoth
1958	Bhooloka Rambha	Telugu		Y				Director along with D. Yoganand upon the demise of K. Ramnoth
1958	Avan Amaran	Tamil		Y
1959	Maragadham	Tamil	Y
1962	Avana Ivan	Tamil	Y	Y	Y		Y
1964	Bommai	Tamil	Y	Y	Y		Y
1970	Nadu Iravil	Tamil	Y	Y	Y		Y