Ananthakrishnan, better known as Ananthu, was an Indian screenwriter working on

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

films, often collaborating with K. Balachander. He was the mentor of actor

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

Early life

Ananthu was born as Ananthakrishnan at a village called Kandiramanickam near Karaikudi and Thirupathur. His father Thiruvengadam was working in South Indian Corporation. He studied B. S. C. chemistry. He worked as demonstrator at colleges and then later worked as clerk at A. G. S. Office where he met Balachander. He worked as dialogue writer for Balachander's plays while also participating in story discussions.

Career

Ananthu was a screenwriter and close associate of director K. Balachander. He also worked with director C. Rudraiah on his two films. In the title card, Rudhraiya had dedicated the film '' Aval Appadithan'' to Ananthu. Ananthu was sub-dialogue writer with Chitralaya Gopu for the films ''Anubhavam Pudhumai'' and ''Galatta Kalyanam'' directed by C. V. Rajendran. Ananthu acted in the film Galatta Kalyanam with Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalitha after intermission. In 1991, Ananthu directed '' Sigaram'' starring S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Anand Babu,

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

and Ramya Krishnan. A critic noted "with an eye for realism and a talent for profound dialogue, Ananthu makes this a memorable entry into the annals of parallel cinema."

Work experience with Kamal Haasan

Ananthu was considered by Kamal Haasan as a close associate and mentor. Through Ananthu, Haasan was able to maintain close ties with K. Balachander. In the early 1970s, Kamal Haasan had become jaded and suicidal with the monotonous, low-key roles that he was receiving from Tamil cinema. He later credited Ananthu for reinvigorating his interest in films, after taking up his suggestion of moving to work on Malayalam films. During the period, Ananthu continued to nurture Kamal Haasan's talent by evaluating his on-screen performances and by introducing him to world cinema. Haasan has also credited Ananthu for teaching him screenwriting. Ananthu continued to work closely with Haasan for a number of his films in the 1990s through various capacities. He was behind the title of ''Nammavar'', a term also later adapted by Kamal Haasan in his political activities. Following Ananthu's death in 1998, Kamal Haasan's first Tamil directorial venture '' Hey Ram'' (2000) was dedicated to Ananthu. After winning the Henri Langlois award in 2016, Kamal Haasan dedicated the award to Ananthu. An official portrait of Ananthu was inaugurated in 2019 at Kamal Haasan's offices as a part of celebrations marking the actor's 60th year in the film industry.

Partial filmography

References

External links

* {{authority control 1998 deaths 20th-century Indian screenwriters Film directors from Tamil Nadu Indian film directors Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu Tamil film directors Tamil screenwriters Tamil-language film directors Year of birth missing