Kothamangalam Subbu (born S. M. Subramanian, 10 November 1910 – 15 February 1974) was an Indian poet, lyricist, author, actor and film director based in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He wrote the cult classic Tamil novel ''

Thillana Mohanambal ''Thillana Mohanambal'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical dance 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 ...

'' and was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

. According to novelist Ashokamitran's memoirs, Subbu functioned as the No. 2 of the giant

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 Su ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

(formerly Madras), South India for over three decades and was a close associate of movie mogul

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 ...

, who established those studios and published the popular Tamil weekly ''

Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 was not publishe ...

''.

Early life

Subbu was born Subramanian in the village of Kannariyenthal, near

Pattukkottai Pattukkottai is a major town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and also important town in Delta districts and Commercial town of Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Pudukkottai district Coastal areas. The town came to prominence th ...

, Tamil Nadu. His parents were Subbiah Ganapadigal Mahalinga Iyer and Kangammal. After losing his mother when he was young, Subbu received patronage from his aunt. He could continue his studies only up to 8th grade. After marrying his kin, Subbu settled in Kothamangalam and worked as an accountant in a business concern. However, his interests shifted toward Tamil drama, acting, singing, and composing songs. By the late 1930s, Subbu received opportunities for acting in the then-blossoming Tamil movies in Madras.

Career

Subbu directed the epic film '' Avvaiyar'' in which the great artiste of those days Smt

K. B. Sundarambal Kodumudi Balambal Sundarambal (11 October 1908 – 24 September 1980) was an Indian actress and singer from Erode district, Tamil Nadu. She performed in Tamil cinema and was referred to as the "Queen of the Indian stage."Miss Malini ''Miss Malini'' is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language satirical film written and directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and produced by K. Ramnoth, based on a story by R. K. Narayan. Subbu also starred in the film alongside Pushpavalli and M. S. Su ...

'' that was remade in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

as ''Mr. Sampath''. ''Miss Malini'' was an adaptation of RK Narayan novel ''Mr Sampath''. ''Dasi Aparanji'' was another movie in which Subbu and Sundari Bai played the leads. In addition, Subbu has acted in Tamil movies ''Thiruneelakantar'' and ''Pava Mannippu''. As a writer Subbu's most well-known work is ''Thillana Mohanambal'' that was transformed into a popularly and critically successful Tamil movie, starring

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

and Padmini. Subbu was awarded the Padma Shri for authoring this novel, which originally appeared as a weekly serial in the ''Anantha Vikatan''. Respected for his encyclopedic knowledge of music and satirical writing style, Subbu's tongue-in-cheek writing won the appreciation of many. He authored ''Rao Bahadur Singaram'', ''Bandanallur Bama'', ''Ponnivanathu Poonguyil'', ''Miss Radha'', and ''Manju Virattu'' (a collection of short stories). Subbu has written several novels using the pen name of Kalaimani and penned ''Gandhi Mahan Kathai'' narrating the life of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

in folklore form. He wrote about 120 radio plays for

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

Filmography

;Screenwriter *'' Chandralekha'' (1948) *'' Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1949) *'' Avvaiyar'' (1953) *''

Valliyin Selvan ''Valliyin Selvan'' () is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language children's film written and directed by Kothamangalam Subbu. The film stars Lalitha, Sahasranamam, M. S. Sundari Bai and S. V. Subbaiah. It was released on 11 February 1955. Plot A ric ...

'' (1955) *''

Vanjikottai Valiban ''Vanji Kottai Valipan'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language historical adventure film written by the Gemini Studios story department, consisting of K. J. Mahadevan, C. Srinivasan and Kothamangalam Subbu, while the film was directed and produced ...

'' (1958) *'' Irumbu Thirai'' (1960) *''

Motor Sundaram Pillai ''Motor Sundaram Pillai'' is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by S. S. Balan and written by Veppathur Kittoo. A remake of the Hindi film '' Grahasti'' (1963), itself based on the American film '' The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker' ...

'' (1966) *''

'' (1968) *''

Vilaiyaattu Pillai ''Vilaiyattu Pillai'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by A. P. Nagarajan and produced by Gemini Studios. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and Kanchana. It deals with the romance between a woman who raises a bull and a ...

'' (1970) (story only) ;Director *''

Kannamma En Kadhali ''Kannamma En Kadhali'' () is a 1945 Indian Tamil-language film starring M. K. Radha and M. S. Sundari Bai. The film was directed by Kothamangalam Subbu, marking his directorial debut. No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost ...

'' (1945) *''

Miss Malini ''Miss Malini'' is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language satirical film written and directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and produced by K. Ramnoth, based on a story by R. K. Narayan. Subbu also starred in the film alongside Pushpavalli and M. S. Su ...

'' (1947) *'' Avvaiyar'' (1953) *''

'' (1955) ;Lyricist *'' Naam Iruvar'' (1947) *'' Chakradhari'' (1948) *''

'' (1955) *''

Aadi Perukku Aadi Perukku, () is a cultural festival celebrated exclusively among Tamil speaking populations from Southern India, on the 18th day of the Tamil month of Adi. The festival pays tribute to water's life-sustaining properties. For the blessing ...

'' (1962) *''

Annai Annai may refer to: * Annai, Guyana, a small village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana * ''Annai'' (1962 film), an Indian Tamil-language film * ''Annai'' (2000 film), an Indian Tamil-language film by Manobala * '' Annai Velank ...

'' (1962) *''

Pazhani Palani or Pazhani () is a town in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about west of Dindigul, south-east of Coimbatore, north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal. The Palani Murugan Temple or Arulmigu Dhandayuth ...

'' (1965) ;Movies *''

Paava Mannippu ''Paava Mannippu'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and edited by A. Bhimsingh, who co-produced it under his banner Buddha Pictures, with AVM Productions. The film features an ensemble cast of Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Gane ...

Legacy

''Ananda Vikatan'' magazine is currently republishing the works of this writer, lyricist, director and actor. As an exponent of the traditional folk form of narrating stories in Tamil Nadu, the Villu Pattu, Kothamangalam Subbu popularised the lives of many Indian luminaries using the Villu Paatu. Subbu's wife, Sundari Bai, was a popular film actress, known for her versatility in playing character roles in movies such as ''Kannamma En Kadhali'', ''Sumathy En Sundari'', ''Chandralekha'', ''Bama Rukmani'' and ''Avvaiyar''.

In books

Ashokamitran Ashokamitran (22 September 1931 – 23 March 2017) was the pen name of Jagadisa Thyagarajan, an Indian writer regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-independent Tamil literature. He began his prolific literary career with the p ...

, a Tamil writer, recounts his years at

in his book “My Years with Boss”, where he mentions Kothamangalam Subbu. In

NCERT National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) () is an autonomous organisation of Ministry of Education, the Government of India. Established in 1961, it is a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Re ...

Class 12th English Course Book Named “Flamingo”, the chapter “Poets and Pancakes” is an excerpt from the same book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subbu, Kothamangalam Male actors from Tamil Nadu 1910 births 1974 deaths Poets from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian poets Indian lyricists Tamil film directors People from Sivaganga district Tamil screenwriters Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu Tamil-language lyricists 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Film directors from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian screenwriters