S. D. Sundharam also written as S. D. Sundaram, (22 July 1921 – 10 March 1979) was an Indian

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 ...

playwright, dialogue writer and lyricist. He also co-directed one Tamil feature film and produced and directed one documentary film. He played minor roles in a few films.

Early years

He mastered memorising Tamil poetries such as Athichoodi, Konrai Vendhan, Pattinathar songs and Vallalar's Thiruarudpa. When he was 12 years old, he joined the drama troupe of Nawab Rajamanickam. Observing his proficiency in Tamil literature, Nawab Rajamanickam admitted him to the State College of Arts in Tiruvaiyaru. He graduated from there as ''Tamil Vidwan'' in First class. In 1942 he joined the Independence struggle and was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment at Thanjavur jail.

Drama career

He again joined Nawab Rajamanickam's drama troupe after release from prison. While he was serving his sentence, he wrote a play titled ''Kaviyin Kanavu'' () that was mostly his own dreams about Independence and a better world. With the blessings of his Guru, he joined Sakthi Krishnaswamy and staged his drama under the banner of ''Sakthi Naadaga Sabha'' (). The drama was staged in 1945 with

Sivaji Ganeshan 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 ...

M. N. Nambiar Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar (7 March 1919 – 19 November 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly worked in Tamil cinema, renowned for his portrayals of villainous characters. With a career spanning over eight decades, he became a notable fig ...

and S. V. Subbaiah in the lead roles. ''Kaviyin Kanavu'' was so popular that in all it was staged more than 1500 times. Once, when the drama was staged in

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

, the railway arranged a special train called "Kaviyin Kanavu Special" and took passengers from Thiruchi to Nagapattinam.

Film career

He entered the film world writing dialogues for the film

Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a ''femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...

that featured

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 ...

paired with V. N. Janaki for the first time. In 1953 he directed the film Manidhanum Mirugamum together with K. Vembu. He also wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the film.

, K. Sarangapani, Madhuri Devi and T. R. Ramachandran featured in the film. He produced and directed a documentary film titled ''Singanaadham Kedkudhu, Cheena Nagam Odudhu'' during the India - China war of 1962. The film was screened all over Tamil Nadu. All major artistes including Sivaji Ganeshan featured in this documentary.

Public service

*He was elected and served as a member of the Upper House of the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

(upper house) from 1964 till 1968. *He served as the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Iyal Isai Naadaga Manram from 1968 till 1976.

Accolades

*He was conferred with the award for best dialogue writer by the Tamil Nadu State Music and Drama Society in 1965. *In 1973, then-Prime Minister of India

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

awarded him a bronze medal in connection with the 25th anniversary of India's independence. He was given the medal for staging a play titled ''Veera Suthandhiram'' commemorating those who died fighting for India's independence. *He was conferred with the President's Award for best dialogue writer by the Central Music and Drama Society in 1975.

Publications

*Nam Thaai () (Play) 1947) *Vaanamudham - a collection of his poems. Published in the presence of

Kannadasan Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar better known as Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important l ...

. K. Kamarajar presided over the event. (1964) *Gandhi Yugam () *Kaviyin Kural () (1974) *Sirippadhikaaram (1974) *Kaviyin Kanavu () - 4th Edition (1974) *Maha Buddhisaaligal (1976) *Indhiyaa Enge () (1976) He also published a monthly magazine titled ''Ulaga Naadagam'' () from 1977

Filmography as screenwriter and lyricist

Laila Majnu ''Layla and Majnun'' ( "Layla's Mad Lover"; ) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Arabian poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his lover Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layla-Majnun theme passed from A ...

(Telugu film dubbed into Tamil) * Manidhanum Mirugamum (1953) *

Vipra Narayana ''Vipra Narayana'' is a 1954 Telugu-language biographical film directed, produced and edited by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under Bharani Studios banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bhanumathi, and Relangi with music composed by S. Rajeswa ...

(1954) * Kalvanin Kadhali (1954) *

Kokilavani ''Kokilavani'' () is a 1956 Indian film directed by S. A. Natarajan. The film stars Raghuveer and Tambaram Lalitha. It was produced in Tamil and Kannada languages. The Tamil version was released on 30 March 1956. Cast The list is adapted from ...

(1956) *

Sarangadhara ''Sarangadhara'' is an epic story during the reign of Rajaraja Narendra. Gurajada Apparao wrote the story in long poetic form in English and published in "Indian Leisure Hour" in 1883. It is a popular Telugu drama and made into South Indian fil ...

(1958) *

Kappalotiya Thamizhan ''Kappalottiya Thamizhan'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It is based on the 1944 book of the same name by M. P. Si ...

(1961)

Death

He participated in the Vividh Bharati's ''Thaen Kinnam'' () program produced by All India Radio, Chennai Station on 8 March 1979. The program was recorded on that date but was broadcast two days later, that was the day he died. He died on 10 March 1979 due to cardiac arrest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundharam, S. D. 1921 births Actors in Tamil theatre Tamil dramatists and playwrights 1979 deaths Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu People from Salem district 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian screenwriters Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award