Balu Mahendra - Indian Cinema's Influential Filmmaker (Obituary)
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oi-IANS
By Ians English
Prolific
filmmaker
Balu
Mahendra
was
a
craftsman
who
narrated
emotional
dramas
with
minimum
characters
and
effective
visuals
for
over
three
decades,
won
five
National
Awards
and
influenced
a
whole
generation
of
filmmakers
with
his
work.
"He
had
a
knack
of
letting
his
visuals
speak
several
emotions.
His
visuals
could
create
more
impact
than
any
lines
and
words
in
a
film," Veteran
filmmaker
K
Vishwanath,
who
roped
in
Balu
as
a
cinematographer
for
Sankarabharanam,
told
IANS.
Balu
died
following
a
heart
attack
at
a
private
hospital
here
on
Thursday,
leaving
behind
a
visually
rich
filmography
and
an
era
of
realistic
cinema.
He
was
74.
He
is
survived
by
his
wife
and
son.
Born
in
a
Sri
Lankan
Tamil
Christian
family
as
Balanathan
Benjamin
Mahendran,
his
passion
for
images
started
at
a
young
age.
He
plunged
into
the
world
of
films
as
a
cinematographer
and
went
on
to
become
one
of
the
finest
filmmaker,
screenwriter
and
editor
known
for
his
distinct
style
of
visual
storytelling.
After
completing
his
schooling
in
Sri
Lanka,
Mahendra
enrolled
into
a
cinematography
course
at
the
Film
and
Television
Institute
of
India,
Pune.
In
1974,
he
started
his
career
as
a
cinematographer
in
award
winning
Malayalam
film
Nellu.
His
work
as
a
cinematographer
will
also
be
remembered
in
films
such
as
Sankarabharanam,
Prayanam
and
Mullum
Malarum.
In
1977,
Balu
called
the
shots
for
his
directorial
debut
Kokila
(Kannada),
which
featured
Kamal
Hassan
and
Mohan
in
the
lead
roles.
A
runaway
success,
the
film
cemented
the
auteur's
career
as
a
director.
But
it
was
National
Award
winning
Tamil
film
Moondram
Pirai,
later
remade
as
Sadma
in
Hindi,
that
catapulted
Mahendra
as
one
of
the
influential
filmmakers
of
the
country.
The
film's
story
was
inspired
by
Balu's
own
relationship
with
late
actress
Shoba,
whom
he
married
for
a
brief
time
before
she
committed
suicide.
IANS
Balu's
Path-Breaking
Movie
Moondram
Pirai
earned
Kamal
his
first
National
Award.
Another
path-breaking
film
in
Balu's
career
was
Tamil
drama
Veedu,
about
the
plight
of
a
middle-class
family
trying
to
construct
a
house.
Drawing
inspiration
from
the
life
of
his
mother,
the
National
Award
winning
film
is
still
considered
as
one
of
his
finest
works.
21
Movies
In
his
over
three-decade-long
career,
Mahendra
directed
21
films
across
all
southern
languages.
He
won
two
National
Awards
for
cinematography
for
Kokila
and
Pirai.
Three
National
Awards
For
His
Direction
As
a
director,
he
pocketed
three
National
Awards
for
Veedu,
Sandhya
Raagam
and
Vanna
Vanna
Pookal.
He
also
won
three
Filmfare
awards
for
his
work
in
Moondram
Pirai
and
Olangal.
Balu
believed
in
having
an
emotional
as
well
as
intellectual
connect
with
his
audience.
Balu
Mahendra
Believed
"It's
a
misconception
that
art
films
have
to
be
slow
and
unemotional.
Most
of
my
work
has
been
labelled
as
art,
but
as
a
filmmaker
I
have
always
strive
to
entertain
my
audience
with
work
that
will
appeal
to
them
on
an
emotional
as
well
as
intellectual
level,"
Balu
Mahendra
had
told
IANS.
Balu
Mahendra
Remembered
For
Sathi
Leelavathi
While
most
of
his
work
was
labelled
as
art
films,
Balu
will
be
remembered
for
one
of
the
best
Tamil
comedies
Sathi
Leelavathi,
starring
Kamal.
Balu's
Association
With
Illayaraja
Another
fascinating
aspect
of
Balu's
life
is
his
association
with
music
maestro
Illayaraja,
who
has
composed
tunes
for
all
his
Tamil
films
since
Moondram
Pirai.
Their
collaboration
resulted
in
several
memorable
chartbusters
that
will
ring
in
the
ears
of
his
fans
till
eternity.
Balu's
Thalaimuraigal
Balu's
Thalaimuraigal
incidentally
had
no
songs,
but
it
was
lauded
for
Illayaraja's
background
score.
Balu's
Legacy
Continues
His
legacy
continues
in
Tamil
cinema
in
the
form
of
his
pupils
-
most
of
his
students
such
as
Bala
Pazhanisaamy,
Vetrimaaran,
and
Ameer
Sultan
have
won
the
National
Awards.
His
Student
Speaks
"The
first
National
award
I
won
is
on
the
wall
of
his
office
room.
I
had
given
it
to
him
as
'gurudakshina'.
Had
it
not
been
for
Balu
sir,
I
wouldn't
be
here
making
films.
I
owe
my
career
to
him.
It's
not
just
me,
all
his
students
would
echo
the
same
if
you
ask
them,"
director
Bala
Pazhanisaamy,
who
won
the
National
award
for
Tamil
film
Naan
Kadavul,
told
IANS.
Balu's
Last
Wish
Balu
Mahendra's
unfulfilled
wish
was
the
archiving
of
Tamil
films.
In
a
casual
interaction
with
IANS,
he
had
said:
"So
many
rare
Tamil
films
couldn't
be
restored.
You
can't
make
such
films
again.
I
wish
to
see
that
we
take
up
archiving
seriously
and
restore
as
many
films
as
possible."