Tirumakudalu Narasipura Balakrishna (2 November 1911 – 18 July 1995), commonly known an T. N. Balakrishna or Balanna, was an Indian actor in the
Kannada film industry
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directe ...
. 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 like ''
kantheredu nodu'' (1961), ''
Muriyada Mane
''Muriyada Mane'' is a 1964 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Y. R. Swamy and produced by G. H. Veeranna, C. R. Basavaraju and S. Gurunath. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath and Balakrishna. The film has musical score b ...
'' (1964), ''
Bangaarada Manushya
''Bangaarada Manushya'' ( kn, ಬಂಗಾರದ ಮನುಷ್ಯ, ''Golden Man'') is a 1972 Indian Kannada language film based on T. K. Rama Rao's novel of same name. Ramarao was known for his crime and detective novels, but this film was a ...
'' (1972), ''
Gandhada Gudi
''Gandhada Gudi'' () is a 1973 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Vijay and produced by M. P. Shankar. Rajkumar in his 150th film portrays an honest forest officer Kumar while Vishnuvardhan plays the antagonist, Anand, t ...
'' (1973) and ''
Kaamana Billu
''Kaamana Billu'' () is a 1983 Indian Kannada language film directed by Chi. Dattaraj. It stars Rajkumar, Anant Nag and Saritha. The film is based on the novel ''Mrigathrushna'' by Ashwini. This climax of the movie inspired a similar sequence i ...
'' (1983) and appeared in numerous versatile roles over a hundred films that starred
Rajkumar in the lead role.
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.
Sudha Chandran
Sudha Chandran (born 27 September 1965) is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and actress who appears in Indian television and films. In 1981, she hurt her leg in a road accident near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu while coming back from Madras with he ...
is his ex-daughter in law.
Early life
Balakrishna was born into a poor family on 2 November 1911 in
Arsikere
Arsikere is a city and taluka in the Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the second largest city in Hassan district, demographically. Arsikere city municipal council consists of 31 wards. This region is known for its cocon ...
,
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...
. 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.
Career
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 of
Gubbi Veeranna
Gubbi Hampanna Veeranna (1891 – 1972) was an Indian theatre director. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. He established the drama company, ''Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company'', which play ...
, a notable theatre director during the time.
Film director
B. R. Panthulu
Budaguru Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu (26 July 1910 – 8 October 1974) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is best known for directing films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are '' Karnan'', ''Veerapandiya ...
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 film ''Kalachakra'', a performance that was appreciated. He appeared in over a hundred Kannada films playing mostly comic roles, that starred
Rajkumar.
In order to make the Kannada film industry self-reliant and save money for the producers, he started the studio, investing all of his money and property. He built the Abhiman studio in Kengeri, Bangalore on a 20-acre plot in 1963, but faced difficulties initially.
When no Kannada films were being made, he got together with other actors like Rajkumar and
G. V. Iyer
Ganapathi Venkataramana Iyer (3 September 1917 – 21 December 2003) was a well-known Indian film director and actor. He was nicknamed "Kannada Bheeshma", and was the only person who made films in Sanskrit. His film ''Adi Shankaracharya'' (1983 ...
and produced the film ''
Ranadheera Kanteerava''. He even raised money from the public at 1 per person to build the studio. The studio was a failure, and Balanna 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.
Notable filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakrishna, T. N.
Male actors in Kannada cinema
1911 births
Male actors from Karnataka
Indian male film actors
20th-century Indian male actors
1995 deaths
Deaf people from India
Male deaf actors
People from Hassan district
Kannada male actors