Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (23 August 1914 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

. Born in

Sundankottai Sundankottai is a Village in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a small village situated near Udangudi. Administration Sundankottai comes under Pallakurichi panchayat Srivaikuntam Legislative Assembly and Thoothukudi ...

, near Udankudi in

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

, Balaiah was introduced to the cine field by director Ellis R. Dungan in ''Sathi Leelavathi'' (1936), along with

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

N. S. Krishnan Nagercoil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan, popularly known as Kalaivanar () and also as NSK, was an Indian actor-comedian, theatre artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry – in the 1940s and 1950s. He is conside ...

and

M. K. Radha Madras Kandaswami Radhakrishnan (20 November 1910 – 29 August 1985), professionally known as M. K. Radha, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was born in Chennai and took up acting in Tamil stage at the age of 7. He was ...

. He was one of the very few actors who excelled as a villain, as well as in character roles and comic roles.

Early life & death

T. S. Balaiah was born on 23 August 1914. He was born in

, now in

Thoothukudi district Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the distric ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Balaiah lived in

T. Nagar Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is surrounded by Nungambakkam in the North, Teynampet in the ...

, and died at the age of 57.

Career

Being Part of various drama troupe, his career into films started from 'Madurai Original Boys' drama company which had several talented youngsters who created history in Tamil cinema, including M.K. Radha, M. G. Ramachandran, N. S. Krishnan. Balaiah began his film career through the Tamil film Sathi Leelavathi in 1936. Balaiah played first lead role in

Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...

paired opposite

Madhuri Devi Madhuri Devi (19 September 1927 – June 1990) was a lead actress in Tamil films from the late 1940s until the 1950s. She has paired opposite leading heroes like M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. G. R and known for acting in the films ''Ma ...

, where he played elder brother to V. N. Janaki and supporting role by M.G.R . He gained lot of weight at the age of 40 in 1954, hence started getting more character roles. Among his villain roles, Ambikapathy 1937, Andhaman Kaithi,

Madurai Veeran Madurai Veeran, also known as Veeran, is a Tamil folk deity popular in southern Tamil Nadu, India. His name literally means, "warrior of Madurai". Legend According to the ''Maduraiveeraswamikathai'', Veeran was born to royal parents and w ...

Thaikkupin Tharam ''Thaikkupin Tharam'' () is a 1956 Indian Tamil-language film, the directorial debut of M. A. Thirumugam. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and P. Bhanumathi. It was the first film produced by Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar under the then ne ...

Hello Mister Zamindar ''Hello Mister Zamindar'' is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film, directed and produced by K. J. Mahadevan under the banner of Sudharsanam Pictures. The film dialogue was written by Ve. Lakshmanan and the story was written by Mahad ...

and

Thiruvilaiyadal ''Thiruvilaiyadal'' () is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language Hindu devotional film written, directed and co-produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, and K. B. Sundarambal, with T. S. Balaiah, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, T. ...

were critically acclaimed. Balaiah also excelled in comedy roles in movies such as

Kavalai Illaadha Manithan ''Kavalai Illaadha Manithan'' () is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Shankar, written and co-produced by Kannadasan. The film stars Chandrababu and Rajasulochana, with M. R. Radha, T. S. Balaiah, T. R. Mahalingam, M. N. Rajam, ...

Kadhalikka Neramillai ''Kadhalikka Neramillai'' () is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar, who also conceived and co-wrote its script with Chitralaya Gopu. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Balaia ...

, Bama Vijayam and

Thillana Mohanambal ''Thillana Mohanambal'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and T. S. Balaiah, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh and Manorama in supporting ...

. Actor

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

had once mentioned that Balaiah along with

M. R. Radha Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...

was his most admired actor.

Personal life

Actress

Manochithra Manochithra is a former Indian actress. She has appeared in Telugu, Tamil-language and Malayalam movies. She made her Malayalam debut with the movie ''Mazhanilavu'' in 1983 with Prem Nazir in the lead. She is the daughter of Tamil actor T. S ...

is his daughter, while one of his sons

Junior Balaiah Raghu Balaiah, popularly known as Junior Balaiah (born 28 June 1953) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. The son of actor T. S. Balaiah, Junior Balaiah has primarily featured in supporting roles throughout his career, w ...

has also appeared in films. Another son, Sai Baba, was part of MSV's troupe and sang a few songs.

Partial filmography

References

External links

* 1914 births 1972 deaths 20th-century comedians 20th-century Indian male actors People from Thoothukudi district Tamil comedians Tamil male actors Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners {{authority control