''M. L. Tandon'', (Manik Lal Tandon) was one of the early movie directors of Tamil and Telugu films. He is considered one of the pioneers in social-realist film of Tamil cinema.

Early life

Manik Lal Tandon is from

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

(then called Bombay). Tandon was one of the first Indians to study film making in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He studied at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. There he made student films and became the first Indian to work in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. After returning to India he made many successful movies in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

in the early Indian cinema industry. His classmates at the United States were Michael Omalov and Ellis R. Dungan. Tandon invited both of them to work in Indian cinema industry.

Filmography

* Bama Vijayam (1934) *

Nandanar Nandanar (also spelt as Nantanar), also known as Thirunaallaippovaar () and Tirunallaipovar Nayanar,Other names include: Nandan (Nanda, Nantan), Tirunalaipovanar, Nalaippovar, Nalaippovan was a Nayanar saint, who is venerated in the Hindu se ...

(1935) * Dumbachary (1935) * Bhakta Nandanar (1935) *

Thukkaram ''Thukkaram'' is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language biographical film directed by B. N. Rao and produced by Central Studios in Coimbatore. The film featured Carnatic vocalist Musiri Subramania Iyer as the eponymous saint. Plot The film depicts th ...

(1938) * Yayathi (1938) * Arundhathi (1934) *Raja Rajeswari (1944) along with T. R. Sundaram *

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

(1946) *Deivaneethi (1947) *

Devadasi In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

along with T. R. Sundaram (1948) * Deenabandhu

References

{{reflist Tamil film directors Telugu film directors