T. N. Balakrishna
Born	(1913-11-02)2 November 1913 Arsikere,Hassan Kingdom of Mysore
Died	19 July 1995(1995-07-19) (aged 83)[1] Bangalore,Karnataka, India
Other names	Balanna
Occupation	Actor
Spouses	Sathyavathi Sarojamma

Tirumakudalu Narasipura Balakrishna (2 November 1913 – 19 July 1995) was an Indian actor inKannada cinema. He was said to have a hearing problem and some say that he was totally deaf. However, he would catch the lip movements of the artists and would narrate the dialogues spontaneously. He was popular for his comic and villainous roles in films likeKantheredu Nodu (1961),Muriyada Mane (1964),Bangaarada Manushya (1972),Gandhada Gudi (1973) andKaamana Billu (1983) and appeared in numerous versatile roles over a hundred films that starredRajkumar in the lead role.^[2]

Balakrishna is known to have played the most roles in Kannada cinema, having appeared in over 560 films as a hero, villain, comedian, good Samaritan, loving father and lunatic.^[2]Sudha Chandran is his ex-daughter in law. She was married to Balakrishna's son B.Srinivas who was the associate director of her Kannada movieBisilu Beladingalu (1989). Sudha Chandran later produced Balakrishna's biopicKalabhimani (1989) which was directed by B.Srinivas.

Balakrishna was born into a poor family on 2 November 1913 inArsikere,Kingdom of Mysore. When he was four years old, his mother sold him to a couple for just₹8 in order to provide treatment for her ailing husband. He ran away from his adopted parents after having been treated badly.

In his later years Balakrishna had lung cancer and finally succumbed to it on 18 July 1995 at the age of 83.Yama Kinkara was his last film appearance.

Balakrishna first acted in the play,Shri Rama Pattabhishekha, in 1929. Following this, he worked as the painter of the stage backdrops for a drama company before becoming a professional sign painter. Later, he became a ticket collector in a drama company for a meagre salary. He returned to acting in theatre with Lakshmasana Drama Company and then with Gowrishankar Nataka Mandali. Following this, he joined the drama company ofGubbi Veeranna, a notable theatre director during the time.^[3] Film directorB. R. Panthulu happened to visit the drama company, saw his acting on stage and offered him a film role, beginning his career as a movie actor. He appeared as an antagonist in the filmKalachakra, a performance that was appreciated. He appeared in over a hundred Kannada films playing mostly comic roles, that starredRajkumar.

In order to make the Kannada film industry self-reliant and save money for the producers, Balakrishna started the studio, investing all of his money and property. He built the Abhiman studio inKengeri, Bangalore, on a 20-acre plot in 1963, but faced difficulties initially. When no Kannada films were being made, Balakrishna got together with other actors like Rajkumar andG. V. Iyer and produced the filmRanadheera Kanteerava. He even raised money from the public at₹1 per person to build the studio. The studio was a failure, and Balakrishna died in penury.Television serials are still being shot at the studio today which is being looked after by Balakrishna's son, B. Ganesh and grandson Karthik.^[4] His final screen appearance came inYama Kinkara (1995).^[5]

• Official website
• Balakrishna atIMDb

• Male actors in Kannada cinema
• 1911 births
• Male actors from Karnataka
• Indian male film actors
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• 1995 deaths
• Indian deaf people
• Indian male deaf actors
• People from Hassan district
• Kannada male actors

• CS1 Kannada-language sources (kn)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use Indian English from February 2016
• All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
• Use dmy dates from February 2016
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