Balu Mahendra

Alias	Balanathan Mahendra
Age	79 years
Height	5'7"
Occupation	Director
Language Worked in	Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam
Spouse	Shoba, Ahileshwari Mahendra
Birth Place	Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Eye Color	Black
Hair Color	Black
Religion	Hinduism
Marital Status	Married
Favourite Cuisine	South Indian
City	Chennai

Summary

Balanathan "Balu" Mahendran (born 20 May 1939 in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinematographer widely regarded as part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters from the Chennai film industry who revitalized Tamil cinema. He initially developed an early interest in photography.

A cinematography graduate and a gold medalist from the FTII in Pune. He started his film career as a cameraman for the Malayalam film Nellu in 1974, which earned him the best cinematographer award from the Government of Kerala. He has been chosen as the best cinematographer for as many as ten films. He pioneered innovative camera style for colour in South India. He has won five National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South for Best Director.

Biography

Balu's first film as a director was Kokila, a Kannada film, which earned him a National Film Award. Azhiyadha Kolangal (1979) was his first directorial venture in Tamil. He is considered as one of the few film makers in Tamil who can tell a story visually. He writes the script for his films, handles the camera and edits the film himself, thus retaining a firm control over his creative output. He mentioned in an interview to Anu Hassan on Koffee with Anu that he was inspired to become a director at a very young age when he saw David Lean directing the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai during a school field trip in Sri Lanka.

He worked mainly in Malayalam for directors like K. S. Sethumadhavan and P. N. Menon, before making his first film in Kannada, and then moving on to direct films in Tamil and Malayalam languages. He also worked as cinemotographer for the Indian masterpiece Shankarabharanam, a Telugu fim made by Kalatapaswi K. Viswanath.

Facts

Balu was married to the popular actress Shoba, who committed suicide, aged 17, after shooting for the movie Samandhi Poo. In an interview to Anu Hasan in Koffee with Anu, he said that the tragedy of how Shobha was suddenly snatched away from his life by destiny, as quickly as she came, formed the plot for his next movie Moondram Pirai.