Kovai Chezhiyan was an Indian senior leader of the

Dravidian movement Dravidian politics is the main political ideology in Tamil Nadu that seeks to safeguard the rights of the Dravidian peoples. Dravidian politics started in British India with the formation of the Justice Party on 20 November 1916 in Victoria ...

in the

Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu, also known as Kongu Mandalam, is the geographical region comprising the western and north-western part of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu and in some instances, parts of southeastern Karnataka a ...

region and film producer who worked in the 1950s up to late 1990s. He was also the vice-chairman of the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission when

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...

was the Chief Minister. He had produced films with famous stars including Ramachandran,

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

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 ...

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 as Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films. G ...

Sivakumar Palaniswamy Gounder (born 27 October 1941), better known by his stage name Sivakumar, is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has appeared in Tamil cinema and television. He made his acting debut in '' Kaakum Karangal'' (1965) and has ...

, R. Muthuraman, J. Jayalalithaa,

Vijayakanth Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

, Mammotty, etc. Chezhiyan, originally from

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 ...

, also produced Telugu and Hindi films also and was the first president of

Tamil Film Producers Council Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC), is a union for film producers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, based in Chennai. Formed on 18 July 1979, the group has a charitable trust fund to provide financial support to retired producers, voiced supp ...

. He was earlier the Honorary Secretary of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce. He was involved in politics and closely associated with

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...

, Anna, Kalaignar, and Ramachandran. He was later introduced to Tamil films as a producer by his friend Kavignar Kannadasan, who initially produced films with Kannadasan as partner and later individually from the movie ''Sumaithangi'' directed by Sridhar. He produced and distributed various films in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi successfully. He was the first President of the Tamil Film Producers Council. Kovai Chezhiyan was the founder President of Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai. He was elected as an MLA of Kangeyam in 1971. He was also the selection committee chairman of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. During the later part of his life he worked tirelessly for the uplifting the folks of the Kongu region and the Kongu Vellala Gounders. He was one of the main person, who along with his colleagues got the Backward Community Status for the

Kongu Vellalar Kongu Vellalar is a community found in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology The Vellalar of the Kongunadu, Kongu country came to be known as Kongu Vellalar. They are also known by names such as "Bupaalan", Gangavamsam, Kudiyaanava ...

s who are the numerically powerful community in Western Tamilnadu , during the tenure of chief minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi. He died on March 14, 2000. After his death in 2000, the Kongu Vellala Gounder Peravai constructed a memorial and arch in his native place at Kungarupalayam, near Kangayam in Tirupur district where thousands from Kongu region visit every year on his anniversary (14 March) to pay respects to him. Kamalam Chezhiyan, wife of Kovai Chezhiyan died on April 24, 2021, due to age related ailments.

Filmography

*''

Sumaithaangi ''Sumaithaangi'' () is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language drama film, written and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Radha and R. Muthuraman. Based on Ra. Ki. Rangarajan's novel of the same name that was serialised in '' Ku ...

'' (1962) *'' Ooty Varai Uravu'' (1967) *'' Kumari Kottam'' (1971) *'' Uzhaikkum Karangal'' (1976) *'' Circus Ramudu'' (1980) *''

Chandamama ''Chandamama'' was a classic Indian monthly magazine for children, known for its illustrations and long-running mythological and magical stories. Originally launched in Telugu language, Telugu by Aluri Chakrapani, Chakrapani and Nagi Reddi, ...

'' (1982) *'' Asha Jyoti'' (1984) *'' Enakku Nane Needipathi'' (1986) *''

Mounam Sammadham ''Mounam Sammadham'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language legal thriller film written by S. N. Swamy, directed by K. Madhu and produced by Kovai Chezhiyan. The film stars Mammootty (in his Tamil film debut) and Amala. It revolves around a lawy ...

'' (1990) *'' Azhagan'' (1991) *'' Pudhayal''(1997)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chezhiyan Indian film producers Tamil film producers Trade unionists from Tamil Nadu 1931 births 2000 deaths People from Tiruppur district Film producers from Tamil Nadu