Unsung Directors

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Unsung Directors

Topic started by Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 0:05:19 2006.

Uthiri Pookal, Ninaivella Nithya, Jhonny, Mullum Malurum, Illamai Oonjaladugirathu....these are movies directed by yesteryear legend Sridhar and Mahendran. Mahendran was one of the few directors who could give us challenging subjects as stories and defined it with a pulsating screenplay. He has also the distinction of proving Rajinikanth as a versatile actor in Mullum Malurum and Jhonny. Sridhar along with Balachander started the style of sensitive stories laced with human relationships and emotions.

Although i know the older generation do remember this directors...they are still not held in the same breath as MR and BR outside the tamil film industry and that is a big loss for India. It would be good if the hubbers here post their views and thoughts on these directors and maybe on other directors whom i might have missed.

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Responses:

From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:11:30 2006.

i guess n the late 70s to mid 80s there was a real boom for the industry ... directors n many other technicians came like mushroom ... n they kept concentrating only in the local subjects .... and keep their cam revolving around TN only ... ie the subject did not get familarity out of TN .... appo chumma oru crazekkaaga padam panninavangelellam irukkanga ... some directors were like actors cum directors ... did some one or two films .. just for the sake of ... then they were gone !
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:17:09 2006.

u may include Bharathiraja (16 vayathinile) who brough village to silver screen...
Balu mahendra (Moonram pirai), who displayed the people's innerfeelings thru camera...
Mahendran's Nenchathai killathey....
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 0:19:09 2006.

Aryaz raasa...Bharathiraja and Balu Mahendra are household names in Tamil films and also outside....i mean directors who directed good movies but were not talked about in the same breath as Maniratnam..K Balachander..AP Nagarajan...Bharathiraja etc
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 0:20:10 2006.

Good selection of movies though Aryaz....the first two were groundbreaking movies in tamil cinema.

From: great on Wed Apr 19 0:24:19 2006.

Hulkster wrote:

Aryaz raasa...Bharathiraja and Balu Mahendra are household names in Tamil films and also outside....i mean directors who directed good movies but were not talked about in the same breath as Maniratnam..K Balachander..AP Nagarajan...Bharathiraja etc

Hulk, You are wrong !!!! do you mean to say Mahendran is not know to people outside TN . He has carved niche for himself and his movies speaks volumes

From: nilavupriyan on Wed Apr 19 0:24:33 2006.

what abt santhana barathi?

kamal may have been a mentor off screen!..i guess he is a good director with good taste!

what abt the over hyped directors like shankar
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:26:05 2006.

the time before 50 n now ... ppl were global

before 50 coz many english directors were involved and also they funded movies .... even Sivaji was known in Hollywood ! he had met Brando i guess !
well now ... we are famous on our own !
From: great on Wed Apr 19 0:26:22 2006.

nilavupriyan wrote:

what abt santhana barathi?

kamal may have been a mentor off screen!..i guess he is also talented!

Hmmm regd Santhana Bharathi, apart from Kamal movies and Karagatakaran i cant think of any movies
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:27:43 2006.

Santhana Bharathi ... guess he was an area and childhood friend of Kamal ... Nilavu can u show light on some of his movies ????
From: great on Wed Apr 19 0:28:30 2006.

bingleguy wrote:

Santhana Bharathi ... guess he was an area and childhood friend of Kamal ... Nilavu can u show light on some of his movies ????

Mahanadhi
Karagatakaran
From: nilavupriyan on Wed Apr 19 0:29:15 2006.

pratap pothan...

vetRi vizha
MY DEAR MAARTHANDAN
meendum oru kadhal kadhai
From: nilavupriyan on Wed Apr 19 0:29:38 2006.

guna
mahanadhi by santhana barathi

From: great on Wed Apr 19 0:30:25 2006.

great wrote:

bingleguy wrote:

Santhana Bharathi ... guess he was an area and childhood friend of Kamal ... Nilavu can u show light on some of his movies ????

Mahanadhi
Karagatakaran

even Guna

From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 0:32:03 2006.

You forgot guna...santhana barathis classic which was sadly not accepted by our cinema fans then as it was abit ahead of our times...santhana barathis movies were quite offbeat too. Yes Mahendran is known outside TN but not as much as his talent should have been....i believe bharathiraja, Balu mahendra overshadowed him outside TN....i think i made a mistake of putting the word unknown..let me edit to make it a bit clearer..thanks for pointing out great.
From: great on Wed Apr 19 0:39:23 2006.

Unsung Director, I can think only singeetham sreenivasa rao

Magalir Matum
MMKR
Raja paarvai
aboorva sagotharargal
Pushpak
MX

From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:40:38 2006.

great wrote:

bingleguy wrote:

Santhana Bharathi ... guess he was an area and childhood friend of Kamal ... Nilavu can u show light on some of his movies ????

Mahanadhi
Karagatakaran

Actually, Santhana Bharathi and P Vasu directed a film together (Bharathi Vasu). Panneer Pushpangal....it was a decent movie!

From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:41:05 2006.

Rightly said ... Guna was a real classic ... many didnt understand.... Kamal has really proved worth countless in that movie ! sad that it didnt get recognised ... guess it came along with thalapathy !

well true Pratap Pothen was also a good director ... but i guess he was known in Telugu industry as well !

From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:42:48 2006.

Hulkster wrote:

Mahendran was also popular.... unfortunately, he didnt direct any movie after poor show of Metti!

From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:43:47 2006.

Singeetham wasnt known in Telugu ? i guess he was known beyond that yaar ... his abborva sahatharargal was remade i guess in Hindi too i guess or probably dubbed ,....

wow Panneer Push .... that was a good one ... i guess pratap pothen acted in that movie

From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:45:09 2006.

great wrote:

bingleguy wrote:

Santhana Bharathi ... guess he was an area and childhood friend of Kamal ... Nilavu can u show light on some of his movies ????

Mahanadhi
Karagatakaran

I guess Karagatakaran is by Gangai Amaran?

From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:45:14 2006.

metti had a good blend of actors ... but still do well !

pushpak was also a big hit in bollywood n ofcourse kannada too !

From: great on Wed Apr 19 0:45:18 2006.

bingleguy wrote:

Singeetham wasnt known in Telugu ? i guess he was known beyond that yaar ... his abborva sahatharargal was remade i guess in Hindi too i guess or probably dubbed ,....

wow Panneer Push .... that was a good one ... i guess pratap pothen acted in that movie

yep !!! the movie was dubbed as APPU RAJA

From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:45:58 2006.

karagattakaaran is bharathi's movie is it ?
From: imsai on Wed Apr 19 0:46:21 2006.

robert-rajasekar

From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:46:32 2006.

bingleguy wrote:

Suresh and Shanthi Krishna

From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 0:46:50 2006.

Good choices guy...Paneer Pushpangal highlighted the emotions of teenage love..another groundbreaker in that style of script....Singeetham had a knack of producing Kamals best comedy movies..who can forget bheem boy bheem boy in Michael Madhana Kamarajan. Aboorva sagotharar is one of the thrillers that you will rarely get to see and also produced one of kamals best performances.
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 0:47:55 2006.

Wasnt Karagattakaran Gangai Amaran's movie?

Wizard raasa yaaru pa robert rajasekhar..avarai pathi konjam sollavum.
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:49:19 2006.

wizard wrote:

robert-rajasekar

What's their first movie? forgotten
There is a song...Mehame mehame sung by Vanee Jayaram
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 0:53:30 2006.

Hulkster wrote:

Wasnt Karagattakaran Gangai Amaran's movie?

Wizard raasa yaaru pa robert rajasekhar..avarai pathi konjam sollavum.

Robert and Rajasekhar are fotografers of Oru Thalai Ragam. Rajasekar acted in Nizhalgal as a hero.
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 0:54:31 2006.

Robert-Rajasekhar is a duo i guess !

Patti Sollai Thattathe (1988);
Kallamellam Un Mediyil (1986);
Gangvaa (1984);
Malayur Mambattiyaan (1983);
Kalyana Kalam (1982)

cinematographer for the movie Minnalae too !

Rajasekhar directed bamma maata bangaru maata in telugu too !
From: nilavupriyan on Wed Apr 19 0:57:36 2006.

did u mean the director of "thambikku endha ooru" "padikadhavan" "vikram" "maveeran " etc...

rajasekhar...he had good sense of humour
From: imsai on Wed Apr 19 0:57:53 2006.

wizard wrote:

robert-rajasekar

pAlai vana sOlai.
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 1:03:07 2006.

nilavupriyan wrote:

did u mean the director of "thambikku endha ooru" "padikadhavan" "vikram" "maveeran " etc...

rajasekhar...he had good sense of humour

No..he is different!
From: nilavupriyan on Wed Apr 19 1:03:39 2006.

that raja sekhar is also a very good director
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 1:05:35 2006.

Yeah...good choices people...perhaps there are quite alot of directors we have missed...thambikka endha ooru was a laugh riot..vikram was like a sci-fi story..padikadhavan was one of the biggest grossers of its time...Palai vana solai was also another movie which was talked less...
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 1:16:08 2006.

Any one knows who is the director of Rosappu Ravikkaikari?
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 1:21:44 2006.

I guess the movies i quoted were his ... wat say wizard !?
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 1:25:14 2006.

Devaraj Mohan directed Rosappo Ravikkaikari
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 1:26:19 2006.

bingleguy wrote:

Devaraj Mohan directed Rosappo Ravikkaikari

thats right!
I think he directed Annakkili also!
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 1:33:11 2006.

Ys ... he directed annakili i guess !

He is famous for giving musical films thru IR !

His other works are:

# Angane Oru Avadikkalathu (1999)
# Sakshyam (1995)
# Pakshe (1994)
# Mukham (1990)

# Isabella (1988)
# Shurthy (1987)
# Sruthi (1987)
# Theertham (1987)
# Oru Katha Oru Nunnakkatha (1986)
# Mangalam Nerunnu (1984)
... aka Mangalam Neerunnu (India: Malayalam title: alternative transliteration)
# Rachana (1983)
... aka Writing (India: English title)
# Alolam (1982)
# Edavela (1982)
# Ilakkangal (1982)
... aka The Emotional Upsurge (India: English title)
# Ita Vela (1982)
# Niram Marunna Nimishangal (1982)
# Kathayariyathhe (1981)
# Vida Parayum Mumbe (1981)
# Sujata (1980)

# Kochu Kochu Thettukal (1979)
# Poonthalir (1979)
# Rosaappo Ravikkai Kaari (1979)
# Surya Daham (1979)
... aka Soorya Daaham (India: Malayalam title: alternative transliteration)
# Aaru Manikkoor (1978)
# Chittu Kuruvi (1978)
# Randu Pen Kuttikal (1978)
# Shalini Ende Kootukari (1978)
# Vadaka Veedu (1978)
# Kavikuyil (1977)
# Annakili (1976)
... aka Annakkili (India: Tamil title: alternative transliteration)
... aka Annam the Parrot (India: English title)
# Uravaadum Nenjam (1976)
... aka Uruvadum Nenjam (India: Tamil title: alternative transliteration)
# Anjaan Raahen (1974)
# Upaasna (1971)
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 1:46:40 2006.

Adengappa.....IMDBlirinthu adicha lista BG ellei unga memory avala poweru...i recognise the name abit though.
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 1:53:13 2006.

"Pasi" Durai - became unnoticed although the heroine Shoba won National award in that movie!
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 1:54:38 2006.

Kanni Paruvathile - super hit movie! but the director disappeared!
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 1:59:55 2006.

IMDB list dhaan ..... enna HULK maati vuttuteengalae that is the best db for movie names !
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:00:32 2006.

Yes Pasi was a extremely critically acclaimed movie..it also introduced Vijayan to cinema too...what happened to him is a mystery too....yaaru pa kanni paruvathile director?
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:06:32 2006.

Pasi was an excellent movie .. around 80 s i guess .... ys adhukku Shoba National award vaanginaanga !
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:09:07 2006.

Veenai Balachandar

S.Balachandar's career in films, as producer, director, music director and actor is overshadowed by his image as a Veena mastero. He made his debut in films, as a child actor. His first film was Sita Kalyanam (1933), he enacted child roles in a number of films. At 21, he played the role of twins in the film Idhu Nijama (1948) for which he also composed the music. He made his debut as a director in the film En Kanavar (1948). The influence of Western movies in his work is very evident his film Avana Ivan ? (1962), was based on George Steven's A Place In The Sun.

Avaroda movies !

En Kanavar, Andha Naal,Avan Amaran,Nadu Iravil
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:11:17 2006.

Durai started his film career as an assistant to director Yoganand and later he worked as an assistant to director G.V.Aiyer in the latter's award winning film Hamsageetha (Kannada.

Avalum Penthane was his first film as a director. This film with a an unsual theme and structure established him as a director. His film mainly dealt with social issues. After his film he made a serries of films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. A number of his films won awards.

His best film is Pasi, it dealt about the life of the people living in the slums of Chennai. It was chosen as the Best Tamil film of the year by the Government of India. Actress Shoba who played the role of a rag-picker won the Country's Best Actress award

His Landmark Films

Oru Kudumbathin Kathai
Pavathin Sambalam
Thunai
Oru Manithan Oru Manaivi
Oru Veedu, Oru Ulagam
Palaivanathil Pattamboochi
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:20:46 2006.

Those were the days where movies has some subtle screenplays and emotions were presented before the audience in a easy and brilliant manner....All those who watched pasi must have shed a tear i can bet that with you
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:28:07 2006.

True Hulk !
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:32:36 2006.

Pa Neelakantan

Neelakantan graduated to movies from stage play. His stage play Nam Iruvar was brought by movie mogul A.V.Meyyappa chettiar and made into a film in 1947. Then he wrote the dialogues for films like Vedala Ulagam. The first film he directed was Oru Iravu , the dialogue for which was written by C.N.Annadurai.

Two films that made him very famous are ALS productions Ambikapadi and Thirudathe. He has directed movies in Kannada and Sinhalese.

Some of his movies !

Oru Iravu - i ve seen this ...an excellent movie
Mudahal Thedhi - this movie i ve seen, very different
Poompuhar - good one !
Kavalkaran - good one too !
Kumarikottam - guess MGR movie !
Netru Inru Nalai - this too an MGR movie
Deiva Thirumanangakl - not sure abt this movie !
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:37:01 2006.

Yes Kumarikottam and Netru Inru Nalai are MGR movies...they went away from his usual Mother themes.....im not that sure about him since im a youngster who only knows certain movies from the golden era....but i have heard of his name before.
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:38:48 2006.

does somebody know about director Sridhar ???? he is one of his kind ! very good movies !
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:42:25 2006.

Guess Sridhar directed Kalyaana Parisu n Nenjil or aalayam ! nice movies ...
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:42:27 2006.

That is the director i posted earlier....i do not recognise movies from his golden era but from what i can see he is a class director who specialises in human relationships and emotions.

Ninaivellam Nithya,Illamai Oonjaladugirathu are some of the famous movies done by Sridhar.
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:43:38 2006.

illa Hulk ... i am mentioning about C V Sridhar !
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:46:49 2006.

CV Sridhar has directed some Hindi movies too ... like Pyaar kiye Jaa, Saathi .... some telugu too ... dont remember his telugu movie names !
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:51:41 2006.

Kaadhalikka neramillai ... Urimai kural ... indha movies kooda avaroda dhu dhaan ...

KN padam paathu sirikaadhavangale kidaiyaadhu !
indha padatha dhaan Pyaar kiye Jaa nnu Hindi yeduthaanga ... Ravichandran character la Shashi Kapoor um... Muthuraman character la Kishor Kumar(singer KK) um nadichaanga ... guess RajShree played her usual role in the movie .. superb songs hindi layum ...

First intro song ... is Dil .. meine de diya ... sung by KK himself .
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:51:43 2006.

is this C V Sridhar the one who said who will only work with MSV and nobody else?
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:52:51 2006.

Oh then it is different...kadhalikka neramillai was a laugh riot......eppo nalla theriyethu
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:55:10 2006.

no idea HULK !
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 2:57:48 2006.

ya ... KN was really awesome ... ethana dhadavai paarthaalum sirippu varum ... even today u can watch it n laugh !

galatta kalyanam kooda avar dhaan direct panninaaru .... Sivaji kalakki irupparu ... also JJ, manorama, Nagesh ... ellarum super !
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 2:59:32 2006.

Galatta Kalyanam will be best remembered for the baby kidnapping by nagesh...athu sirrichikitae saagulam...nice screenplay and humor by sridhar in that movie
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 3:04:13 2006.

ya ! super paatu onnu varum ...

appappa naan appan allada
thappappa naan thaayum allada
enge eveno petha pillayo
inga vandha thathu pillayo ... ariraroooooooooo !

super song ...
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 3:11:34 2006.

...one of the songs which were situational in those days...the picturisation was nice.
From: bingleguy on Wed Apr 19 3:16:46 2006.
From: Shakthiprabha. on Wed Apr 19 3:59:42 2006.

K.bhagyaraj (for his unique presentation skills)
bheemsingh (family oriented stories)
SP muthuraman (good entertainment movies)
ac tholokachandar (oldie dir who was good and given many hits)
Shridhar (I need not elaborate)

are some apart from celebrated kb, br, mahendran, balumahendra etc.

Of the recent days, though ppl celebrate maniratnam, shankar etc. I feel CHERAN, THANGAR BHACHAN etc are very good too
From: Aryaz on Wed Apr 19 4:06:50 2006.

Kalyana Parisu is by Sridhar! KA Thangavelu comedy is pretty populour!

Another director is KS Gopalakrishnan. his Panama Pasama was a good movie!
From: Hulkster on Wed Apr 19 5:16:32 2006.

Of corse...SP Muthuraman..the man who identified Rajini as a superstar...he not only gave good entertainers..he also gave a variety of subjects like Aarilirnthu arubathu Varai...

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