Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (21 August 1912 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in
Tamil films. Born in
Sundankottai, near
Sathankulam in
Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...
, Balaiah was introduced to the cine field by director
Ellis R. Dungan in
''Sathi Leelavathi'' (1936), along with
M. G. Ramachandran,
N. S. Krishnan and
M. K. Radha. He was one of the very few actors who excelled as a villain, as well as in character roles and comic roles.
Early life and death
T. S. Balaiah was born on 21 August 1912.
He was born in
Sundankottai, now in
Thoothukudi district
The Thoothukkudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. On 20 October 1986, an M. G. Ramachandran-led government bifurcated the Tirunelveli district to form the district. It is shared by its boundaries w ...
,
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 ...
Balaiah lived in
T. Nagar, and died at the age of 59.
Career
Being Part of various drama troupes, his career in films started with 'Madurai Original Boys' drama company which had several talented youngsters who created history in Tamil cinema, including M.K. Radha, M. G. Ramachandran,
and N. S. Krishnan. Balaiah began his film career through the Tamil film
Sathi Leelavathi in 1936. Balaiah played first lead role in
Mohini paired opposite
Madhuri Devi
Madhuri Devi (19 September 1927 – June 1990) was a lead actress in Tamil films from the late 1940s until the 1950s. She has paired opposite leading heroes like M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. G. R and known for acting in the films ''Man ...
, where he played an elder brother to
V. N. Janaki and supporting role by M.G.R . He gained a lot of weight at the age of 40 in 1954, hence started getting more character roles. Among his villain roles,
Ambikapathy 1937, Andhaman Kaithi,
Madurai Veeran,
Thaikkupin Tharam,
Hello Mister Zamindar and
Thiruvilaiyadal were critically acclaimed. Balaiah also excelled in comedy roles in movies such as
Kavalai Illaadha Manithan,
Kadhalikka Neramillai,
Bama Vijayam and
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 ...
. Actor
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 ...
had once mentioned that Balaiah along with
M. R. Radha was his most admired actor.
Personal life
Balaiah had two wives (Padmavati, Leelavati) and seven Children among them Actress
Manochithra is his daughter, while one of his sons
Junior Balaiah has also appeared in films. One of his sons, Sai Baba, was part of MSV's troupe and sang a few songs.
Partial filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaiya, T. S.
1914 births
1972 deaths
20th-century Indian comedians
20th-century Indian male actors
People from Thoothukudi district
Tamil comedians
Tamil male actors
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners