Krishnasamy Subramaniyam (20 April 1904 – 7 April 1971) was an Indian film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Dancer Padma Subrahmanyam is his daughter.

Biography

Subramanyam was involved in the establishment of the

Tamil film industry Tamil cinema is the segment of cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the nam ...

. He was born in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family. He started his film career as a scenarist and producer, working on P. K. Raja Sandow's silent films such as '' Peyum Pennum''. He started Meenakshi Cineton with Alagappa Chettiar, directing his first film '' Pavalakkodi'', in which the Tamil film star M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar debuted. He made a shift with the politically emphatic '' Balayogini'', criticizing the

caste system A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

prevalent then. In 1938, he made '' Sevasadanam'', advocating a better deal for women, the saint film '' Bhaktha Chetha'', critiquing

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

and the war effort film '' Maanasamrakshanam''. His best-known work is '' Thyaga Bhoomi''. ''Thyaga Bhoomi'' was a novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, which was banned by the British government. He also directed the

Malayalam film Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both the mainstream film industry ...

Prahlada Prahlada () is an asura king in Hindu scriptures. He is known for his staunch devotion to the preserver deity, Vishnu. He appears in the narrative of Narasimha, the lion avatara of Vishnu, who rescues Prahlada by disimboweling and killing hi ...

'' (1941), which was scripted by noted playwright N. P. Chellappan Nair. He was one of the founders of

Nadigar Sangam The Nadigar Sangam (), officially known as the South Indian Artistes' Association (), is a Trade union, union for film, television, and stage (theatre), stage actors in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, based in Chennai. Formed in 1952, the grou ...

in 1952.

Filmography

* '' Pavalakkodi'' (1934) * '' Naveena Sadaram'' (1935) * '' Naveena Sarangadhara'' (1936) * '' Kuchela'' (1936) * '' Usha Kalyanam'' (1936) * '' Balayogini'' (1937) * ''Mr. Ammanchi'' (1937) * ''Kowsalya Parinayam'' (1937) * '' Sevasadanam'' (1938) * '' Thyaga Bhoomi'' (1939) * '' Bhaktha Chetha'' (1940) * ''

'' (1941) (Malayalam) * '' Ananthasayanam'' (1942) * '' Barthruhari'' (1944) * '' Maanasamrakshanam'' (1945) * '' Vikatayogi'' (1946) * '' Vichitra Vanitha'' (1947) * ''Kapati Arakshakaya'' (1948) (Sinhalese) * '' Gokuladasi'' (1948) * '' Geetha Gandhi'' (1949)

References

External links

* * - A rare song sung by Subrahmanyam from the film Ananthasayanam (1942) {{DEFAULTSORT:Subrahmanyam, K. Film directors from Tamil Nadu Tamil film directors Tamil-language film directors Malayalam film directors 1904 births 1971 deaths People from Thanjavur district 20th-century Indian people Odia film directors