Sundararaj Theodore Baskaran (born 1940) is a

film historian The history of film chronicles the development of a visual art, visual art form created using history of film technology, film technologies that began in the late 19th century. The advent of film as an artistic medium is not clearly defined. Th ...

and wildlife conservationist 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Early life and education

Theodore Baskaran was born in

Dharapuram Dharapuram is a town situated along the banks of Amaravati River in Thiruppur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Dharapuram is one of the oldest towns in South India and was the capital of Kongu Nadu under the Cheras, Western Ganga ...

, (in present-day

Tiruppur district Tiruppur District is one of the 38 districts of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, formed in 22 February 2009. Dharapuram was the largest taluk by area in the district. The district is well-developed and industria ...

) in 1940. He completed his Intermediate at St.John's College,

Palayamkottai Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli, Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation, Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani rive ...

and obtained a BA (Hons) Degree in History from

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

in 1960.

Career

Baskaran worked as Researcher in Tamil Nadu State Archives for two years. He joined the

Indian Postal Service The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications. It is the most widely distributed postal system in ...

in 1964 as Divisional Superintendent at

Trichy Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...

. He served as the "Special Officer For War Efforts" in

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He took study leave in 1974 to research Tamil film history on a fellowship from Council of Historical Research. He eventually retired as the Chief Postmaster General of Tamil Nadu. Baskaran published his first article on film in 1972 about

Chidananda Dasgupta Chidananda Das Gupta () (20 November 1921 – 22 May 2011)—family name sometimes spelled 'Dashgupta' and ' Dasgupta'—was an Indian filmmaker, film critic, a film historian and one of the founders of Calcutta Film Society with Satyajit Ray i ...

's documentary ''The Dance of Shiva''. Encouraged by his friend Charles A. Ryerson, he decided to do research about Tamil Cinema. He joined a Film Appreciation course in 1974. He became a member of the Advisory Board of National Film Archives, Pune.Muthukumaraswamy, p. 314-5 In 1976 he joined the

Calcutta Film Society Calcutta Film Society was India’s second film society in the city of Kolkata (then Calcutta), West Bengal, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The same year, he presented his first research article titled ''Film Censorship as an Instrument of Political Control in British India'' in the

Indian History Congress Indian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 35,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

. This and other articles formed the core of his first book ''The Message Bearers'' published in 1981. His second book ''The Eye of the Serpent'' (1996) won the Golden Lotus (Best Book on Cinema) Award in 1997. He has also written several books and articles on film history in Tamil. He was a Senior Associate in

National Institute of Advanced Studies National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) is a premier institute in India engaged in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. It was founded by J. R. D. Tata for providing a ...

, Bangalore. He has lectured on cinema in many universities including

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, The Australian National University and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. In 2000, he won the Ki Va Ja prize awarded by the ''Kamban Kazhagam''. He was a Hughes Visiting Scholar in the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 2001 and taught a course on Film Studies. He was a jury member at the 2003

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

. During 1998–2001, he was the Director of the Roja Muthiah Research Library. He is a member of the library's Board of Trustees. He has also acted in a supporting role in the 2010 Tamil film ''

Aval Peyar Thamizharasi ''Aval Peyar Thamizharasi'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Meera Kathiravan. The film stars Jai, Manochitra (credited as Nandhagi), Dhiyana, S. Theodore Baskaran and Ganja Karuppu in lead roles. The mu ...

''. Baskaran is a keen bird watcher and a naturalist. He is a former honorary wild life warden and the South India Representative of the

International Primate Protection League The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) is a not-for-profit animal welfare organization founded in 1973 in Thailand by Shirley McGreal. IPPL's main focus is to promote the conservation and protection around the world of all non-huma ...

. He is a trustee of WWF-India. His collection of essays on nature and wild life conservation has been published as ''The Dance of the Sarus'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

) in 1999. He edited a book of articles on nature titled "The Sprint of The Black Buck"; Penguin (2009)

Personal life

He is married to Thilaka Baskaran and lives in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Bibliography

Books in English

* The Message Bearers: The nationalist politics and the entertainment media in South India, 1880–1945, Chennai: Cre-A (1981). Second edition by New Horizon Media.(2009) * The Eye of the Serpent: An introduction to Tamil cinema, Chennai: East West Books (1996) * The Dance of the Sarus: Essays of a Wandering Naturalist, Oxford University Press (1999) * History through the Lens – Perspectives on South Indian Cinema, Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan (2009) * Sivaji Ganesan: Profile of an Icon, Wisdom Tree, Delhi (2009) * (ed.) The Sprint of the Black Buck, Penguin (2010) * The Book of Indian Dogs, Aleph Book Company (2017)

Books in Tamil

* (ed.) ''Mazhaikalamum Kuyilosaiyum'', Kalachuvadu (2003) * ''Em Thamizhar Seidha padam'', Uyirmmai Padippagam (2004) * (ed.) ''Chitthiram Pesuthadi'', Kalachuvadu (2004) * ''Tamil Cinemavin Mugangal'', Kanmani Veliyeedu (2004) * ''Innum Pirakkadha Thalaimuraikkaga'', Uyirmmai Padippagam (2006) * ''Thamarai Pootha Thadagam'', Uyirmmai Padippagam (2005) * (trans.) ''Kaanurai Vengai'' (The way of the Tiger by K. Ullas Karanth), Kalachuvadu (2006) * ''Vaanil Parakkum Pullelam'', Uyirmmai Padippagam (2012) * ''Soppana Vaazhvil Magizhndhe'', Kalachuvadu (2014)

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baskaran, S. T. Madras Christian College alumni Tamil cinema Tamil history 1940 births Living people People from Tiruppur district Indian film historians