A master storyteller

December 25, 2014 02:25 am | Updated September 23, 2017 12:51 pm IST

“Iyyakunar Sigaram” K. Balachander was a great storyteller who straddled several cinematic genres with ease (Dec.24). Given his middle class background, it was this milieu that remained his pet hunting ground for themes and one where he could realistically portray the trials and tribulations of the lower strata. His films like Arangetram, Aval Oru Thodarkathai, Avargal, Sakthi, Agni Sakshi and Puthu Puthu Arthangal were stories of women of steel who could hold their own in a male chauvinistic society. Along with his equally illustrious contemporaries like Sridhar and K.S. Gopalakrishnan, Balachander formed a trio that touched a chord in every heart with this brand of cinema — one of strong themes, hard-hitting dialogues and a focus on morals and ethics. His forays into film production and TV serials were equally strong.

C.V. Aravind,Bengaluru

K. Balachander’s demise is a huge loss not only to the Tamil film industry but to society as a whole. It was Balachander who broke the monotony in Tamil films that were hero-centric to those which were focussed on women and which added more colour to his repertoire in film-making. His Aval OruThodarkathai is a classic example of this. Others like Major Chandrakanth, Naanal, Iru Kodugal and Bhaama Vijayam are jewels in Tamil cinema. The initials “KB” have woven magic for nearly five decades.

R. Sivakumar,Chennai

For ordinary viewers of cinema like me, this is a great loss. Tamil filmgoers in the 1970s-80s were mesmerised by the variety and content in his films. His portrayal of revolutionary thoughts and his depiction of female leads in a male- dominated film industry in films like Arangetram, Aval Oru Thodarkathai, Manathil Urthi Vendum and Achamillai Achamillai dominated the box office too. His handling of comedy, family drama, love, social issues and anti-hero subjects were legendary.

C.R. Ananthanarayanan,Bengaluru

Who can ever forget his Vaname Ellai, Thaneer Thaneer, Varumayin Niram Sigappu and Unnal Mudium Thambi ? He was a film-maker who wove nature, music and even non-verbal communication. Every frame of his spoke a thousand words. In Avargal , a doll by name “Junior” was the focus and where Kamal Haasan was a ventriloquist. Every film of his had strong screenplay, a powerful script and new faces. I cannot forget an event in 2012, where at the directors’ association function, “KB Sir” was interviewing actor Rajinikanth. The body language on show was that of a guru and disciple.

Bharath Jambulingam,Thanjavur

I still remember the time when as college students, we stood in attention, when the National anthem was sung in between, in his masterpiece, Punnagai . His dialogues and selection of songs were always well appreciated. Social films like Arangettram and political satire like Thanneer, Thanneer were brilliant. It is a fact that his rendition of social themes differed from the beaten path. His films will always be a testimony to his brilliance.

G. Ramachandran,Thiruvananthapuram

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