Krishnamachari Balaji (24 June 19342 May 2009) was an Indian

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and actor. He was a prominent actor in the 1960s and 70s, playing lead, supporting and antagonist roles. He appeared in many Sivaji Ganesan films.

Early life

Balaji was born to Krishnamachari and Janaki Devi in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was the grandson of colonial era advocate

T. Rangachari Diwan Bahadur T. Rangachari Order of the Indian Empire, CIE (1865–1945) was an Indian lawyer, politician, journalist, legislator. Early life Rangachari was born in 1865 in a prominent land-owning Iyengar family of the Madras Presidency. He ...

. He started acting at an early age, when he performed in school plays and amateur theatre shows.

Career

Balaji contacted S. S. Vasan, then owner of Gemini Studios in 1951, looking for work. He was offered a minor role in ''

Auvaiyar Avvaiyar (Tamil: ஔவையார்) was the title of more than one female poet who were active during different periods of Tamil literature. They were some of the most famous and important female poets of the Tamil canon. Abidhana Chinta ...

'', in which he played the Hindu god Muruga. Balaji soon understood that he was better off playing a villain or the hero's understudy with a negative angle in films that included ''Padithaal Mattum Podhumaa'', '' Bale Pandiya'', En Kadamai and '' Thillana Mohanambal''. While working as an actor, he was hired as a manager in Narasu Studios in the southwest suburbs. In the 1960s, after coming into contact with top Hindi actors such as Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar and Tamil stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and actress Savithri, he began to remake Hindi hits in Tamil. His first production was '' Annavin Aasai'', a remake of ''Chand Aur Sooraj'' directed by Dulal Guha. The debut production film starred Gemini Ganesan and Savithri in the lead. He then went on to remake popular Hindi films such as '' Dushman'' (1971) and '' Namak Haraam'' (1973) both 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 ...

, '' Deewaar'' (1975), and ''Qurbani''. He founded Sujatha Cine Arts in 1966. He was also the founder of Sujatha Recording Studio, where sound recordings for most of the big-budget movies of the 1980s and '90s were done. In 1979 began to produce films in Hindi, including the successful '' Amardeep''.

Family

His wife Anandavalli died in 1996. The couple had three children, Suresh Balaje, Sujatha and Suchitra Mohanlal. Malayalam actor Mohanlal Viswanathan is his son-in-law. He was also the grandfather of Pranav Mohanlal and Suraj Suresh. The comedian

Y. G. Mahendran Y G Mahendran (born 9 January 1950) is an Indian Actor, dramatist, actor, singer, playwright and comedian from the state of Tamil Nadu. He has acted in a number of plays and films. He is the son of Y. G. Parthasarathy, one of the pioneers of mo ...

is his nephew through his cousin sister

Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy Yecha Gunja Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy (27 November 1925 – 6 August 2019), better known as Mrs YGP, was an Indian journalist, educationist and social worker. She was the founder and dean of the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan. Rajalakshmi was award ...

Death

Balaji died on 2 May 2009 evening due to multiple organ and kidney failure. He had been hospitalised for over a month.

Partial filmography

As producer

As actor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaji, K. 2009 deaths Film producers from Chennai Tamil film producers 1934 births Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors from Chennai Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema