Remembering Master Director A.C. Thirulokachander on his 95th Birth Anniversary
A.C. Thirulokachander was born on 11 June in 1930. He began his film career as an assistant director in MGR’s 1952 film, Kumari. After working on the story and script for Vijayapuri Veeran and Paarthaal Pasi Theerum, he made his directorial debut in the hit film Veerathirumagan. His second directorial, Naanum oru Penn, released on […]
Justin Prabhakaran – Carving his own musical path
Justin Prabhakaran was born in Madurai on 10 June 1986 to Christian parents. He showed an early interest in music and dabbled with music composition while he was still in college. He began his film music career in 2010 as an assistant to music composer Harris Jayaraj, assisting in soundtracks like Nanban, Thuppaki, Ko, 7aum […]
Pandiraj – A Director with Fresh Perspectives
Pandiraj was born on 7 June 1976. He began his working career as an office assistant in K. Bhagyaraj’s weekly publication, Bhagya. He soon moved up to writing articles for the publication. Afer showing a keen interest in Tamil cinema, he was appointed first as an assistant to director Cheran, and then to Thangar Bachchan […]
Actress Saritha turns 65 today.
Saritha is a veteran of more than 150 films in a career spanning more than 45 years. She was introduced to the Tamil screen by K. Balachander who cast her in the female lead opposite Rajinikanth in Thappu Thaalangal. She went on to have a successful career in Tamil films, often playing challenging and unusual […]
OPINION PIECE: Kamalhaasan’s Thug Life Response to Karnataka
The recent controversy surrounding Kamalhaasan’s comments about the Kannada language have ignited lots of discussions on both sides of the issue after Kamalhaasan announced that Thug Life will not release in Karnataka. This follows a threat to ban the film if he did not apologise for comments he made about the Kannada language. It is […]
Remembering the Golden Voice of S.P. Balasubramanyam on his birth anniversary.
S.P. Balasubramanyam was born on 04 June 1946 into a Telugu family in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. He received six national awards across songs in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi – a feat that will be extremely difficult to replicate. He has also won 32 national awards, the Padmashri, Padma Bhushan and the Padma […]
Radha – Kanavu Kani of the 1980s – turns 60
Udaya Chandrika is better known by her screen name, Radha. Born on 03 June 1965, she made her acting debut in Bharathiraja’s 1981 film, Alaigal Oyvathilai opposite fellow newcomer, Karthik. The film was a huge hit and won for her the Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Female Debut. Her second role was a small […]
A fresh look at Illaiyaraja on the eve of his 82nd Birthday – with 100 of his best songs
Illaiyaraja was born in Pannaipuram on 03 June 1943. He had a close friendship with former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi. It was Karunanidhi who first referred to Illaiyaraja as “Isai Gnani”. Since Karunanidhi’s birthday was also on 03 June, Illaiyaraja decided to celebrate his birthday on 02 June as a mark of […]
Mani Ratnam’s 69th birthday comes three days before his ambitious film “Thug Life”: Here is a peek into his impressive career in films.
Mani Ratnam, whose real name is Gopalaratnam Subramaniam, is one of India’s most respected directors. He was norn on 02 June 1956 in Madurai. He has won seven National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, six Filmfare South Awards and the Padmashri Award from the Government of India. He made his directorial debut in the Kannada […]
Exploring the Enigma Called Illaiyaraja – Episode 10
Illaiyaraja’s first release for 1981 – Meendum Kokila – had an interesting history. It was to have been directed by Mahendran and was meant to mark the Tamil debut of actress Rekha, daughter of Gemini Ganesan. Mahendran and Rekha both dropped the project and Kamalhaasan then approached G.N. Rangarajan to direct the film, where the […]