Legendary
filmmaker
Balu
Mahendra
has
passed
away
at
a
private
hospital
in
Chennai
on
Thursday
(February
13).He
was
admitted
to
the
hospital
after
he
suffered
a
heart
attack.
His
assistant
has
confirmed
the
news
and
has
said
that
Balu
Mahendra
breathed
his
last
around
11
am
today.
His
body
will
be
taken
to
a
school
in
Saligram
for
the
public
homage.
He
will
be
cremated
as
per
the
Hindu
customs
tomorrow.
Balu
Mahendra
was
born
on
20
May,
1939,
in
Batticaloa,
Sri
Lanka.
He
had
developed
an
interest
towards
photography
at
a
very
early
age
when
his
father
had
gifted
him
a
camera.
But
his
passion
towards
cinema
started
taking
shape
after
watching
David
Lean's
making
of
'The
Bridge
on
the
River
Kwai'.
The
filmmaker
had
not
quit
his
education
to
pursue
a
career
in
films.
Indeed,
he
had
gone
to
London
to
get
a
bachelor's
degree
in
science.
It
is
only
after
completing
his
education,
he
turned
towards
film
industry
by
joining
Film
and
Television
Institute
of
India,
Pune.
He
did
a
cinematography
course
and
passed
out
with
a
gold
medal.
The
Beginning
Of
Film
Career
His
first
break
in
film
industry
came
in
the
form
of
Nellu,
a
Malayalam
movie,
directed
by
Ramu
Kariat,
in
1974.
Not
surprisingly,
he
won
the
Best
Cinematographer
Award
from
Kerala
Government.
He
worked
in
20
odd
films
between
1974-77
as
a
cinematographer.
Especially,
he
was
the
most
wanted
cameraman
in
Malayalam
film
industry.
Continue
reading
the
story
on
the
slideshow...
Directorial
Debut
It
is
not
Tamil
or
Malayalam,
but
Kannada
film
industry
marked
his
directorial
debut.
His
first
movie
was
Kokila
starring
Kamal
Hassan,
Mohan,
Shoba
and
Roja
Ramani.
The
movie
earned
him
the
Best
Cinematography
Award
at
the
24th
National
Film
Awards.
20
Movies
Balu
Mahendra
directed
above
20
movies
in
different
languages.
His
first
Blockbuster
in
Tamil
was
Moondram
Pirai.
Bollywood
Entry
He
entered
Bollywood
with
Sadma
starring
Kamal
Hassan
and
Sridevi.
The
film
remained
one
of
the
best
movies
of
Balu
Mahendra.
Last
Movie
His
last
work
as
a
director
was
Thalaimurigai
in
2013.
He
had
also
acted
in
the
film
in
the
role
of
a
grandfather,
which
was
appreciated
by
audience.
Highlight
The
highlight
of
his
direction
was
he
himself
edited
and
handled
the
camera.
It
is
because
he
wanted
to
have
the
full
control
over
his
films.
Awards
Balu
Mahendra
won
five
National
Awards,
four
Filmfare
Awards,
two
State
Awards
each
from
Kerala
and
Andhra
governments
and
one
Karnataka
State
Award.