Chitthamoor Vijayaraghavalu Sridhar (22 July 1933 – 20 October 2008) was an Indian screenwriter and film director. He has directed nearly 60 films in Tamil, Hindi and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Languages.

Career

Entry

In 1951, 18-year-old Sridhar went to AVM Productions with his story ''Latchiyavathi'' but P. Neelakantan rejected his story. Avvai T. K. Shanmugam was very much impressed by the story and Sridhar wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the drama. It was staged as ''Raththa Paasam'' and was one of the most successful dramas staged by TKS brothers. Sridhar was proudly taken to the stage and introduced to the audience as the writer. It was later produced jointly by TKS and Jupiter pictures under Jupiter – Avvai Productions where Jupiter pictures recommended some other writer to write the dialogues for the film. It was T. K. Shanmugam who was staunch that Sridhar should write the screenplay and dialogues. Sridhar made his entry into films as a screenwriter in '' Ratha Paasam''. Later AVM Productions produced it in Hindi as ''Bhaai Bhaai'' in 1956 starring Ashok Kumar and

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

but direction was by R. S. Mani. The film Bhai Bhai gave a big commercial break for the music director Madan Mohan and the writer Sridhar himself. Sridhar wrote story and dialogues for '' Edhir Paradhathu''. Sridhar wrote the dialogues in Tamil for the Telugu movie '' Parivartana'' and the movie was dubbed in 1955 as ''Latchadhipathi''. Sridhar continued on writing for films like ''Maaman Magal'', ''Maheswari'', '' Amara Deepam'', ''Maadharkula Manikkam'', '' Engal Veetu Mahalakshmi'', '' Yaar Paiyan'', '' Manjal Mahimai'', '' Uthama Puthiran'' and '' Punar Jenmam''. While working in Modern Theatres as writer for the film ''Maheswari'', Sridhar had an opportunity to improve his knowledge and skills about film production.

T. R. Sundaram Tiruchengodu Ramalingam Sundaram Mudaliar (16 July 1907 – 30 August 1963) was an Indian actor, director, and producer. He was the founder of the Salem-based film production company Modern Theatres. Early life Sundaram was born in 1907 fro ...

had a huge library of international books about great films and directors, about film production, critical and technical essays. Sridhar had a very high esteem on the legendary director V. Shantaram.

Venus Pictures

In 1956, Sridhar turned producer along with associates Krishnamoorthi, Govindarajan and Sundararajan in ''Venus Pictures'' where he scripted '' Amara Deepam'' and followed by '' Uthama Puthiran''. Both films had Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini as the main roles. He made his debut as a director with '' Kalyana Parisu''. This movie ran for more than 25 weeks, and is revered to this day as a milestone in the history of Tamil cinema. After this, he had a huge fan following and his name was talked about among the middle class movie going audience.

Chitralaya

He started his own production company ''

Chitralaya Chithralaya () also spelt Chitralaya, is an Indian film production company founded in the early 1960s. It produced films in Tamil and Hindi, most of them directed by C. V. Sridhar. The company was founded by Sridhar, screenwriter Gopu (who later ...

'' (the emblem was designed by Art director Ganga) in 1961 with his friends Gopu,

A. Vincent Aloysius Vincent (14 June 1928 – 25 February 2015) was an Indian cinematographer and director known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language films. From the mid-1960s on, he directed some 30 movies including the landmark Mal ...

P. N. Sundaram P. N. Sundaram (18 March 1934 – 22 March 2010) was an Indian cinematographer and director who worked in over 250 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi film industries. Hailing from a lower middle class family, he struggled in hi ...

and Tiruchi Arunachalam made '' Then Nilavu''. The latter which had Gemini Ganesan and Vyjayanthimala in the lead was the first Tamil film to be shot in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. He made a series of commercially successful films like ''

Nenjil Or Aalayam ''Nenjil Or Aalayam'' () is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed, produced and written by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Kalyan Kumar, Devika and R. Muthuraman while Nagesh, Manorama and Kutty Padmini play supporting roles. ...

'', '' Kaadhalikka Neramillai'', ''

Vennira Adai ''Vennira Aadai'' () is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language romance film, co-written, produced and directed by Sridhar. The film stars Jayalalithaa, Nirmala, Shylashri, Srikanth and Moorthy, all in their Tamil cinema debut. It was released on 14 A ...

'' and many more.

Film-making style

Sridhar was known as Nava-rasa-director, as he made films in a variety of styles, from the comedy '' Kaadhalikka Neramillai'' to the serious Kalai-kovil and ''

''. The latter was remade in Hindi with Rajendra Kumar and Meena Kumari as ''

Dil Ek Mandir ''Dil Ek Mandir'' () is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by C. V. Sridhar and written by Raj Baldev Raj. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar and Mehmood. The film's music is by Shankar Jaikishan. ...

'' which earn him two nomination at

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

, Best Director and Best Story categories. He brought out the best in comedians

T. R. Ramachandran Thirukampuliyur Ranga Ramachandran (9 January 1917 – 30 November 1990) was an Indian actor and comedian who acted mainly in Tamil films. He was cast mostly in lead or supportive roles, especially in comical parts, from the 1940s to the 1960s. Kn ...

K. A. Thangavelu Karaikal Arunachalam Thangavelu (15 January 1917 – 28 September 1994) popularly known as "Danaal Thangavelu", was an Indian actor and comedian popular in the 1950s to 1970s. Not known for physical, acrobatic comedy like his contemporarie ...

, and Nagesh, and helped introduce Murthy and Nirmala to a wider audience in '' Vennira Aadai''. Moorthy, Nirmala, now a TV and movie comedian, is still referred to as Vennira Aadai Moorthy after the fame he received from his performance in the movie. Even the actresses Jayalalitha and Nirmala used to be referred to as Vennira AadaiJayalalitha and Vennira Aadai Nirmala Sridhar's '' Kaadhalikka Neramillai'' was one of the greatest blockbusters of Tamil film history. It was later remade in Hindi with actor

and

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

by himself. Sridhar helped launch the career of many celebrities in Tamil cinema, namely, Saroja Devi in Kalyaana Parisu, R. Muthuraman and Devika in ''

'',

Srikanth Srikanth or Sreekanth is a common Indian first name. * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1940), Tamil film actor active in films from 1965 * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1980), Tamil actor active in films after 2002 * Srikanth (Telugu actor), Telugu acto ...

J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

, Vennira Aadai Nirmala and Vennira Aadai Moorthy in ''

'' (''White Dress''), Ravichandran, Kanchana and

Rajasree Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari, born 31 August 1945), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telug ...

in '' Kaadhalikka Neramillai'', Kamal and Rajini in Ilamai Oonjal Aadigirathu, Karthik and Gigi in Ninaivellaam Nithya, Jayashree in ''Thendralae Ennai Thodu'' and Vikram in '' Thanthu Vitten Ennai''. His Bollywood films include '' Nazrana'' (1961), ''

'' (1963), '' Pyar Kiye Jaa'' (1966) and ''

Gehri Chaal ''Gehri Chaal'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film, produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar under the Chithrakala Pictures banner. It stars Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan and music composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal ...

'' (1973). ''Nazrana'', starring by Raj Kapoor, Vyjayanthimala, Usha Kiran and Gemini Ganesan in guest appearance, earned him

Filmfare Award for Best Story The Filmfare Award for Best Story is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a writer who wrote a film's story. List of winners 1950s * 1955 Mukhram Sharma – '' Aulad'' * 1956 Rajinder Singh ...

.The landmark film Nai Roshni directed by him in Hindi had Ashok Kumar, P. Bhanumati, Mala Sinha, Biwajeet and Raajkumar in lead roles and became the 7th highest-grossing film of the year 1967 in Hindi. Subsequently, this film was remade in Tamil as Poovum Pottum directed by Dada Mirasi. Sridhar's films with Sivaji Ganesan include '' Ooty Varai Uravu'', '' Nenjirukkum Varai'', ''

Sivantha Mann ''Sivandha Mann'' () is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written, produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Kanchana, with S. V. Ranga Rao, M. N. Nambiar, Muthuraman, Nagesh and Sachu in suppor ...

''. ''Sivanthaman'' was the first color movie in Tamil shot at foreign locations. ''Dharti'', the Hindi version was released in 1970 with Rajendra Kumar, Waheeda Rehman and Sivaji Ganesan in lead roles. When in 1973, he went through sudden financial problems, at the insistence of Rajendra Kumar he approached M. G. Ramachandran, who suggested that a film be made and using that his financial woes would get resolved. Sridhar then made ''

Urimai Kural ''Urimaikural'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language action drama film, written and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Latha, Anjali Devi and V. S. Raghavan. It was released on 7 November 1974, and became a silver j ...

'' which was a commercial success in 1974 and went on to direct M.G.R again in '' Meenava Nanban'' that was released in 1977. In 1978, he brought together Kamal Hasan, Rajnikanth, Sripriya for romantic film Illamai Oonjal Aadugirathu. Then he remade the same in 1982 in Hindi as Dil-E-Nadan starring

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

, Shatrughan Sinha and

Jaya Prada Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. She is hailed as one of the most iconic and influential actresses in both Telugu and Hindi film industries in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada i ...

in lead roles. Both versions were successful. In all his films he used a combination of stars, melodrama and melodious songs. He has directed films in Tamil, Hindi and

. Sridhar was considered an expert in song picturisation as he could transform any song into sheer poetry. The formidable Sridhar – Kannadasan –

M. S. Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...

combination held a magic spell on the audience and the songs contributed to the tremendous success of those films. Later on he switched to the Maestro Ilayaraaja for music and all his films with Ilayaraaja's music were known for their songs.

Death

Sridhar died of Cardiac arrest in Chennai on 20 October 2008, aged 75.

Filmography

Awards

;Won *

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

: Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Tamil – '' Kalyana Parisu'' *

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

: President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Tamil – ''

'' * Kalaimamani Award from State Sangeeth Natak Academy. *

for '' Nazrana'' (1961). * Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award – Arignar Anna Award in 1997 ;Nominated *

Filmfare Award for Best Director The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year. Superlatives Bimal Roy has the r ...

for ''

'' (1963) *

for ''Dil Ek Mandir'' (1963) *

Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, an ...

for ''

'' (1975) *

for '' Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu'' (1979) *

for '' Oru Odai Nadhiyagirathu'' (1984)

References

External links

*
C. V. Sridhar's Sterling Face of Romance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sridhar, C. V. 2008 deaths Film directors from Tamil Nadu Tamil film directors 1933 births Filmfare Awards winners People from Kanchipuram district 20th-century Indian film directors Telugu film directors Telugu screenwriters Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian screenwriters