Krishnamachari Balaji (24 June 19342 May 2009) was an Indian film producer and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He was a prominent actor in the 1960s and 70s, playing lead, supporting and antagonist roles. He appeared in many

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

films.

Early life

Balaji was born to Krishnamachari and Janaki Devi in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. He was the grandson of colonial era advocate T. Rangachari. He started acting at an early age, when he performed in school plays and amateur theatre shows.

Career

Balaji contacted

S. S. Vasan Subramaniam Srinivasan (4 January 1904 – 26 August 1969), popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon. He is the founder of the Tamil-language maga ...

, then owner of

Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Sub ...

in 1951, looking for work. He was offered a minor role in '' Auvaiyar'', in which he played the Hindu god Muruga. Balaji soon understood that he was better off playing a villain or the hero's understudy with a negative angle in films that included ''Padithaal Mattum Podhumaa'', '' Bale Pandiya'', En Kadamai and ''

Thillana Mohanambal ''Thillana Mohanambal'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and T. S. Balaiah, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh and Manorama in supporting r ...

''. While working as an actor, he was hired as a manager in Narasu Studios in the southwest suburbs. In the 1960s, after coming into contact with top Hindi actors such as

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...

and Tamil stars

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

and actress Savithri, he began to remake Hindi hits in Tamil. His first production was ''

Annavin Aasai ''Annavin Aasai'' () is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Dada Mirasi and produced by Balaji. A remake of the Hindi film ''Chand Aur Suraj'' (1965), it stars Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Balaji and Vijaya. In the film, after a m ...

'', a remake of ''Chand Aur Sooraj'' directed by

Dulal Guha Dulal Guha (1929–2001) was an Indian film director of Bollywood films in the 1960s and '70s. He was born in Barisal city. His father Ruhini Guha died when he was one month old after which he was cared for by his uncle Harendra Lal Guha. He di ...

. The debut production film starred Gemini Ganesan and Savithri in the lead. He then went on to remake popular Hindi films such as '' Dushman'' (1971) and ''

Namak Haraam ''Namak Haraam'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The music is by R.D. Burman, the screenplay by Gulzar (lyricist), Gulzar, and lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The film stars ...

'' (1973) both starring Rajesh Khanna, ''

Deewaar ''Deewaar'' () is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim–Javed ( Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It stars Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy and Parveen Babi. The ...

'' (1975), and ''Qurbani''. He founded Sujatha Cine Arts in 1966. He was also the founder of Sujatha Recording Studio, where sound recordings for most of the big-budget movies of the 1980s and '90s were done. In 1979 began to produce films in Hindi, including the successful '' Amardeep''.

Family

His wife Anandavalli died in 1996. The couple had three children,

Suresh Balaje Suresh Balaji is an Indian film producer, primarily concentrating in Malayalam and Tamil language, Tamil films. He is the son of producer and actor K. Balaji. He has produced many successful ventures like ''Billa (1980 film), Billa'', ''Vazhvey ...

, Sujatha and Suchitra Mohanlal. Malayalam actor Mohanlal Viswanathan is his son-in-law. He was also the grandfather of

Pranav Mohanlal Pranav Mohanlal (born 13 July 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. The son of actor Mohanlal, began his acting career as a child artist in '' Onnaman'' (2002) with his father in the lead role, and won the Kerala State Film Awa ...

and Suraj Suresh. The comedian Y. G. Mahendran is his nephew through his cousin sister

Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy Yecha Gunja Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy (27 November 1925 – 6 August 2019), better known as Mrs YGP, was an Indian journalist, educationist and social worker. She was the founder and dean of the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan. Rajalakshmi was award ...

Death

Balaji died on 2 May 2009 evening due to multiple organ and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

. He had been hospitalised for over a month.

Partial filmography

As producer

As actor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaji, K. 2009 deaths Film producers from Chennai Tamil film producers 1934 births Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors from Chennai Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema