Tribute to the Master: K. Balachander

KB as he is popularly referred in South India is a director who has created actors (not stars) like Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth.

I have been exposed to his work since childhood owing to the fact that my dad is a die-hard fan of KB.

His first film that I watched as a kid was Sindhu Bhairavi. (a movie which dealt with extra-marital affair)

Ofcourse, I lacked the maturity to understand the concept at that time, but years down the line when I watched it again I was stumped by the nuances of a relationship dealt by KB.

I have watched a lot of his movies and TV serials. (Thanks to Sun TV, Jaya TV, Vijay TV :-) )

There are many things that I adore in KB’s work,

· Dialogues; simple yet so very deep
· Characters that you can totally relate to
· Progression of the script; KB ensures that the viewer never loses the interest at any point of time
· KB’s passion for Carnatic Music and Tamil Literature(like Thirukural)
· Treatment of complications that arise in any relationship

This maverick director has always taken up subjects that are way ahead of time.

As a writer, I would rate him as the Ayn Rand of South India.

He has more than 100 films under his belt as a director and lot of TV serials too.

Some of his recommended classics:

- Server Sundaram(Writer)
- Thillu Mullu
- Sindhu Bhairavi
- Apoorva Raagangal
- Punnagai Mannan
- Ek Duje ke Liye(Hindi)
- Duet

This list can go on and on.

I am sure many of my friends will it difficult to relate to this post.

But, I had to introduce this maestro to all those who think Tam-movies are all about unrealistic stunts, fat actresses and wigs. :-)

Cheers to cinema!