Balakumaran (5 July 1946 – 15 May 2018) was an Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

writer and author of over 200 novels, 100 short stories, and dialogue/screenplay writer for 23 films. He also contributed to Tamil periodicals such as ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'', ''

Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...

'' and ''

Kumudam ''Kumudam'' is a Tamil weekly magazine published in Chennai, India. It was founded in 1948 by S.A.P. Annamalai, and his close friend and confidante P.V. Parthasarathy. Now the magazine is published under the Kumudam Group, which also publishes ...

''. His notable works as a dialogue writer in Tamil Cinema include

Nayakan ''Nayakan'' (; ) is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language gangster film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Produced by Muktha Srinivasan, the film stars Kamal Haasan, Saranya (in her feature debut) and Karthika, with Janagaraj, Vijayan, M. V. Vasu ...

, Guna,

Baashha ''Baashha'' is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language gangster action film written and directed by Suresh Krissna. The film stars Rajinikanth, Nagma and Raghuvaran, with Janagaraj, Devan, Shashi Kumar, Vijayakumar, Anandaraj, Charan Raj, Kitty, Sath ...

and

Pudhupettai ''Pudhupettai'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. The film stars the director's brother Dhanush in the lead role, while Sonia Agarwal and Sneha play supporting roles. Plot The story is ...

Biography

Balakumaran was born in Pazhamarneri village near Thirukattupalli in

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district ...

on 5 July 1946. He was married to Kamala and Santha. They have daughter Gowri and son Venkataraman aka Surya. He was a disciple of Yogi Ramsurat Kumar. Balakumaran died at the age of 71 due to prolonged illness in a private hospital on 15 May 2018. As a child, he was highly inspired by his mother, who was a Tamil scholar and a Siromani in Sanskrit, used verses of Sangam and other ancient literature to motivate him whenever he was emotionally down. This created a deep interest in Tamil literature which made literature his passion. Despite having a poor relationship with his father due to average academic performance especially Maths, he continued his deep interest in literature with his mother's support. After completing his studies a
Wesley High School
he joined a tractor company TAFE in Chennai for a job like any middle class youth. But, with hunger for literature, he quit the job of stenographer in a tractor company and started work on poems first and gradually moved towards short stories & novels. His first stories were published in a literary magazine called 'ka-ca-da-ta-pa-Ra' and for which he was also a founding member of KaChaTaThaPaRa, a self-anointed militant literary journal that had been launched with a mission to blaze new trails in modernist literature and later in Kumudam. Balakumaran's first novel — 'Mercury Pookaal' was serialized in Saavi and his second 'Irumbu Kuthirai' (Iron horse) was serialized in Kalki.

Literary style and themes

Balakumaran's works majorly revolved around woman with great empathy. In his stories, women were not merely gendered cardboard cutouts but fully sentient individuals, with bodies, dreams, desires, yearnings and frustrations. This "legitimisation" of female existence earned him succeeding generations of devoted women readers who resonated with the female characters in his fiction. In an interview, he said that during his initial days in Chennai he spent his life amidst such people. This prompted him to develop a liking for them. Balakumaran had the habit of experiencing characters by himself when writing a book. For instance, In 'Udayar' novel, he had traveled many places where Raja Raja Cholan visited in order to bring closeness towards the novel. Also, he traveled in trucks to longer distance for his 'Irumbu Kuthirai' (Iron horse) novel. In an interview given to The Times of India, he said that after reading Kalki Krishnamurthy's novel Ponniyin Selvan he wondered why it was needed to write a fictional account of the Cholas when there was enough to write about the facts there. "The Raja Raja Chola of Kalki was a different person. He hadn't become the king yet. The Thanjai temple wasn't even in the picture. I went to the Thanjavur district and visited Pallipadai, dedicated to Panchavan Madevi. She was an anukkiyar, a category that is apart from the queens and concubines. She was a friend of Raja Raja Chola I. If you look at the paintings there, each face is unique. Whoever did it, has worked on it with real faces. I did a lot of research for my novel Gangaikonda Chozhan also. But I felt I did that work, visiting those places as a tourist. Udaiyar, a six-part novel, gave me satisfaction as a writer."

Novels written

*Udayar Series about the Great Emperor Raja Raja Cholan, includes the details about how he built

Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur Brihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram () by its builder, and known locally as ''Thanjai Periya Kovil'' ("Thanjavur Big Temple") and ''Peruvudaiyar Kovil'', is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on t ...

and many more. It is a reference to the culture gradient between different kingdoms during Udayar period. *Mercury Pookkal *Irumbhu Kudhiraigal *Krishna Arjunan *Thayumanavan *Agalya *Kai Veesamma Kai Veesu *Endrendrum Anbudan *Udayar (novel) *Shenbagathottam *Pani Vizhum Malar Vanam *Kadal neelam *Naan Enna Solli Vittaen *Kadarpaalam *Pey Karumbu (''on Pattinathaar'' ''Swamigal'') *Simmasanam (''on Kumara Guruparar Swamigal'') *Thangakkai (''on Seshadiri Swamigal of Thiruvannamalai'') *Guru (''on Bhagawan Sri Yogi Ram Suratkumar of Thiruvannamalai'') *Nigumbalai *Kadalora Kuruvigal *Karaiyora Mudhalaigal *Payanigal Kavanikkavum *Thunai *Meettadha Veenai *Vetrilai Kodi *Manja Kaani *Karnanin Kathai *Shakthi *KatruKondal Kutramillai *En Manathu Thamaraippoo *Kalyana Murungai *Peria Puranak Kathaigal *Kannaadi Koburangal *Kadigai *Ramayanam *Ammavum 10 Katturaigalum *Manam Uruguthey *Appam Vadai Thayirsatham *Ithuthaan Vayathu Kathalikka *Snegamulla Singam *Yeno Theriavillai *kathal Aragam *Neli Mothiram *Ean Mathil Tamarai Poo *Kathalperuman (On Arunagirinathar) *Vilvamaram *Marakal *idharkuth Thane Aasaippattaay Balakumara *Thalaiyanai Pookkal *En Kanmani Thamarai (On Abirami Bhattar) *Thozhan *Gangai Konda Cholan *Avani *Idhu Pothum *Mahabharatham *333 Ammaiyappan Theru *Kanne Vanna Pasungiliye *Brindhavanam (On Shri Ragavendra Swamigal)

Filmography

Balakumaran's contribution to films was largely in the field of screenplay making and dialogue writing. His skills in crafting the dialogue for any conceivable character are noteworthy in

Kollywood Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood ...

and his dialogues in

and Baasha are still popular and widely used. Surprisingly, he believed movies ware just a means to lift him from the lower middle-class to the upper middle-class. "For a writer of novels, cinema dialogues come easily because our mind has already been conditioned to think while writing novels." Some of Balakumaran novel names have been used in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

as movie titles -

Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara ''Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara'' (), also referred to as ''Idhaaba'' or more commonly as ''Balakumara'', is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language comedy film, written and directed by Gokul. Produced by Leo Visions, the film stars Vijay Sethupath ...

Irumbu Kuthirai ''Irumbu Kuthirai'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Yuvaraj Bose and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Atharvaa, Priya Anand and Johnny Tri Nguyen in the leading roles, while Raai Laxmi appea ...

which are samples of Balakumaran's popularity. He directed the 1988 K. Bhagyaraj starrer film 'Idhu Namma Aalu'. List of the films to which Balakumaran contributed: ;Writer *

(1987) * Guna (1991) *Shenbagathottam (1991) * Gentleman (1993) *

Kadhalan ''Kadhalan'' ( ) is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film written and directed by S. Shankar and produced by K. T. Kunjumon. The film stars Prabhu Deva and Nagma (in her major Tamil cinema debut), while Vadivelu, Raghuvaran, ...

(1994) *Kizhakku Malai (1995) *

Ragasiya Police ''Ragasiya Police'' () is a 1995 Indian Tamil language action thriller film written and directed by R. S. Elavarasan. The film stars R. Sarathkumar and Nagma, while Raadhika, Anandaraj, Goundamani, Devan, and Senthil play supporting roles. The ...

(1995) * Baasha (1995) *

Sivasakthi ''Sivasakthi'' is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language crime film directed by Suresh Krissna. The film stars Sathyaraj, Prabhu and Rambha. The film, was produced by M. G. Sekar and S. Santhanam, had musical score by Deva and was released on 6 Sep ...

(1996) *

Ullaasam ''Ullaasam'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic film directed and co-written by the duo J. D. and Jerry and produced by actor Amitabh Bachchan. The film featured Ajith Kumar, Vikram and Maheswari with Raghuvaran, S. P. Balas ...

(1997) *

Velai ''Velai'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by J. Suresh and written by Balakumaran, starring Vignesh, Indraja and Nassar. The film, produced by J. Vasudevan, had musical score by Yuvan Shankar Raja and was released on 26 Febr ...

(1998) * Jeans (1998) *

Mugavaree ''Mugavaree'' () is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by V. Z. Durai and produced by S. S. Chakravarthy. The film stars Ajith Kumar and Jyothika, with Raghuvaran, Vivek, Manivannan, and K. Viswan ...

(2000) *

Uyirile Kalanthathu ''Uyirile Kalanthathu'' is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by K. R. Jaya which stars Suriya, Jyothika and Raghuvaran, with Sivakumar and Raadhika in supporting roles. The film opened in September 2000, to mixed rev ...

(2000) * Citizen (2001) *

Majnu ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layl ...

(2001) *

Kadhal Sadugudu ''Kadhal Sadugudu'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Durai and produced by S. S. Chakravarthy. The film stars Vikram, Priyanka Trivedi, Prakash Raj, and Vivek. The music was composed by Deva with ...

(2003) *

Adhu ''Adhu'' () is a 2004 Tamil-language horror film directed by Ramesh Balakrishnan, starring Sneha as a spirit possessed girl. The film, that has Aravind, a newcomer, Suha, Kazan Khan and Vijayan in supporting and Abbas in a cameo role, is a ...

(2004) *

Jananam ''Jananam'' () is a 2004 Tamil language action drama film directed by Ramesh Selvan. The film stars Arun Vijay and Priyanka Trivedi in lead roles, while Ashish Vidyarthi, Raghuvaran, Charle, Vadivelu and Nassar play supporting roles. The mu ...

(2004) * Manmadhan (2004) *

Vallavan ''Vallavan'' ( ''Expert'') is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Silambarasan, starring himself as the titular character along with Reema Sen and Nayanthara as lead heoines whilst Sandhya, Santhanam, Pr ...

(2006) *

(2006)

Literary works

*Epic on Rajendra Cholan *Monthly Novels on various themes..

Awards

*Literary Awards won : **Irumbu Kudhiraigal – Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiyar Trust Awards **Mercury Pookal – Illakkiya Sindhanai Awards **Kadarpalam – State Award (II Prize) (Short Story Collection) **Sugajeevanam – State Award (I Prize) (short story collection) *Cinema Awards Won : **Guna – Cinema Express Award **Kaadalan –

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they w ...

*Other Awards : **Honoured with "Sindhanai Chemmal" title (From Lions Club Madras) ** Kalaimaamani Award from Government of Tamil Nadu

References

External links

Official SiteOfficial BlogBalakumaran Thoughts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakumaran, V. 1946 births 2018 deaths Tamil-language writers Tamil screenwriters Indian male novelists People from Thanjavur district 20th-century Indian novelists Indian male short story writers Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian short story writers Novelists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian male writers