Bharathiraja | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Chinnasaamy Periyamayathevar (1941-07-17)17 July 1941 (age 83)[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, Screenwriter, Actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Manoj Bharathiraja (b.1976) Janani (b.1979) |
| Relatives | Manoj Kumar (brother-in-law) Jayaraj Periyamayathevar (brother) |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2004) |
Bharathiraja (/bɑːrʌðɪrɑːdʒɑː/ born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director and actor who works mainly in theTamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with16 Vayathinile, he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of rural life in his films and popularly referred to asIyakkunar Imayam. As of 2017, he has won sixNational Film Awards, fourFilmfare Awards South, sixTamil Nadu State Film Awards and aNandi Award. He has also directed films inTelugu andHindi. TheGovernment of India honoured him with thePadma Shri award, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2004 for his contribution to the film industry. In 2005, he was conferred with theDoctor of Letters (honorary degree) fromSathyabama University.[2]
Bharathiraja started his film career as an assistant to Kannada filmmakerPuttanna Kanagal.[citation needed] Later, he assistedP. Pullaiah,M. Krishnan Nair,[3] Avinasi Mani andA. Jagannathan. His first film16 Vayathinile, for which he wrote the script, broke the then existing convention to create a new genre of village cinema. The film is now regarded as a milestone in the history of Tamil Cinema. About the film, Bharathiraja said: "This movie was meant to be a black & white art film produced with the help of National Film Development Corporation", but turned out to be a commercially successful colour film and a starting point for several important careers.[4] His next filmKizhake Pogum Rail produced similar results and eventually brought in criticisms that Bharathiraja was capable of catering only to village audiences. This led him to makeSigappu Rojakkal, about a psychopathic woman-hater that was totally westernized in terms of both conception and production.[5]
Bharathiraja confirmed his versatility and refusal to be tied down to one particular genre with an experimental filmNizhalgal (1980), and the action thrillerTik Tik Tik (1981). But undoubtedly, rural themes proved to be his strong suit as his biggest hits in the 1980s:Alaigal Oivathillai (1981),Mann Vasanai (1983) andMuthal Mariyathai (1985) were strong love stories in a village backdrop.Muthal Mariyathai starredSivaji Ganesan in the lead, playing a middle-aged village head.Radha is a poor young woman who moves into his village for a living. The love that bonds these two humans separated not just by age but also by caste and class, is told by Bharathiraja with poetic touches.[citation needed]
Vedham Pudhithu dealt with the caste issue in a stronger manner.[6] The film's narrative was seamless and starredSathyaraj as Balu Thevar. It contains some of Bharathiraja's trademark touches as well as several ground-breaking scenes. Vedham Pudhithu made a revolutionary thoughts about caste discriminations in Brahmin and other upper castes in Tamil Nadu. Bharathiraja has successfully managed to modernise his film-making techniques for the 1990s. The commercial success ofKizhakku Cheemaiyile and the awards thatKaruththamma garnered stand as testimony to his ability to thrill the younger generation as well. Bharathiraja was on the same stage in 1996 to receive another National Award forAnthimanthaarai.
In late 1996, Bharathiraja was signed on to direct two films, with theSarathkumar-starrerVaakkapatta Bhoomi announced in October. The following month, he began work on a film titledSiragugal Murivadhillai, starringNapolean,Heera Rajagopal andPrakash Raj. Both films were later shelved.[7] He planned to reviveVaakkapatta Bhoomi withCheran during late 2004, but the collaboration did not materialise.[8]
His 2001 filmKadal Pookal won him that year'sNational Film Award for Best Screenplay. The well-known Tamil film directorBhagyaraj was one of his assistant directors. In 2008, Bharathiraja made his television debut with seriesThekkathi Ponnu which aired on Kalaignar TV.[9] He went on to direct two other seriesAppanum Aathaalum andMuthal Mariyathai for the same channel.[10]
During early 2016, Bharathiraja was embroiled in a legal tussle with directorBala on making a film titledKutra Parambarai, though neither filmmaker eventually made their respective films.[11][12] He later moved on to plan a film starring directorVasanth's son, Ritwik Varun, andVikram's nephew, but the film was dropped after two schedules.[13] In 2018, Bharathirajaa was working on a film titledNovember 8, Iravu 8 Mani starringVidharth, which narrates events following the decision todemonetise certain banknotes in India.[14][15]
When the old era was dominated by films shot inside studios, Bharathiraja directed village themed films that inspired Tamil cinema to capture live locations. Array of village films in Tamil cinema started after his trendsetting film16 Vayathinile.[16][17] He changed the attire of male lead role as simple and without much cosmetics and female leads in his films as dusky looking which were before dominated by fair skinned ladies.[18] He started the style of directors speaking to the audience with his famous dialogue "En Iniya Thamizh Makkale (My sweet Tamil people)".[19][20] Bharathiraja is revered as one of the best directors of Indian cinema. His ideas were original and his subjects were complex ideas expressed in a manner every common man could understand.[21]
He is also known for introducing a number of new faces to the film industry.[18][22] He has introduced many actors as new faces notable among them areKarthik,Radha,Revathi,Radhika, andVijayashanti.[23][24][25][26] Apart from lead actors, he has introduced a bunch of supporting actors. Notable among them includeJanagaraj,Vadivukkarasi,Chandrasekhar,Pandiyan, andNapoleon.[27][28][29] As an experimental initiative he used to give new actors a small role in his films later they becoming popular among people and turning to busy actors. Many present day directors who were unknown to people turned into actors after playing a debut petty role in his films:K. Bhagyaraj,Manivannan,Manobala,Thiagarajan, andPonvannan are among them.[30][31] He was also instrumental in portrayingSathyaraj for the first time in lead role.
Bharathiraja inspired many young film makers and runs a school called Bharathi Raja International Institute of Cinema (BRIIC) on film making.[32][33]
Bharathiraja directed socially themed films with special emphasis on women and their complicated interpersonal relationships. He addressed other social evils like caste discrimination in his films.[23][17]
Bharathiraja was born as Chinnasamy to parents Periyamayathevar and Karuthammal inTheni Allinagaram, a town in the erstwhileTheni district ofTamil Nadu in aKallar family.[34] He married ChandraLeela in 1974 and has two childrenManoj Bharathiraja (born 1976) and Janani (born 1979).
Manoj is an actor who was introduced inTajmahal and he married actressNandana.[35][36] Janani is married to Malaysian Rajkumar Thambiraja.[35] Bharathiraja's brother-in-lawManoj Kumar has directed films such asMannukkul Vairam,Vandicholai Chinraasu,Vaanavil andGuru Paarvai.[37] His brother Jayaraj made his acting debut withKaththukkutti.[38] His relative Stalin is a television actor who acted in serials such asSaravanan Meenatchi and7C.[citation needed]
List ofTV Serials directed by Bharathiraja and aired onKalaignar TV.[46]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Kallukkul Eeram | Himself | Also writer |
| 1984 | Dhavani Kanavugal | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 1991 | Idhayam | Himself | Guest appearance |
| Thanthu Vitten Ennai | Himself | Guest appearance | |
| 2002 | Kadhal Virus | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 2004 | Aayutha Ezhuthu | Selvanayagam | |
| 2010 | Rettaisuzhi | Singaravelan | |
| 2013 | Pandianadu | Kalyanasundaram | Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2014 | Ninaithathu Yaaro | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 2017 | Kurangu Bommai | Sundaram | |
| Padaiveeran | Krishnan | ||
| 2018 | Seethakaathi | Himself | Special appearance |
| 2019 | Kennedy Club | Savarimuthu | |
| Namma Veetu Pillai | Arunmozhivarman | ||
| 2020 | Meendum Oru Mariyathai | Om | |
| 2021 | Eeswaran | Periyasamy | |
| Rocky | Manimaran | ||
| 2022 | Kuttram Kuttrame | DSP Muthukaruppan | |
| Thiruchitrambalam | Thiruchitrambalam Sr. | ||
| 2023 | Vaathi | Villager | Cameo appearance |
| Sir | Villager | Telugu film; Cameo appearance | |
| Thiruvin Kural | Marimuthu | ||
| Karumegangal Kalaigindrana | Ramanathan | ||
| Margazhi Thingal | Ramaiyaa | ||
| 2024 | Kalvan | Azhagar | |
| Maharaja | Gopal Thatha | ||
| Thiru.Manickam | |||
| 2025 | Niram Marum Ulagil | Rayappan |
| 1981–1990 |
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| 1991–2000 |
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| 2001–2010 |
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| 2011–present |
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