K. Mohanakrishnan (14 March 1926 – 24 August 2014) also known as ''Pasamalar'' Mohan, or simply K. Mohan, was an Indian film producer and art director who worked mainly in

Tamil cinema 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' ...

. Mohan worked for various films and companies since 1951. He was the producer for the Tamil film ''

Pasamalar ''Pasamalar'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri Ganesan, with K. A. Thangavelu M. N. Nambiar and M. N. Rajam in supporting roles. It revolves aro ...

'' (1961).

Family and early life

Mohan was born into a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

family in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. His father, T. Kannabiran Mudhaliyar, was the Madras High court Magistrate and General Manager of five theatres (Prabhat Talkies, Broadway Talkies, Murugan, Mahalakshmi, Saraswati). His mother Indirani Ammal died in his earlier ages. Mohan took Art as his passion and started drawing and painting various images. In 1951, he married his wife, Shantakumari.

Career

While still a student, Mohan began creating film banners for the film ''Kulaebagavali''. In 1950, Mohan established Mohan Arts, a firm that specialized in the creation of promotional materials for films such as banners and cut-outs. The cutout for '' Vanangamudi'' in 1957 won various appreciations. His cutouts of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

during her visit to

attracted the entire city and the queen herself thanked and appreciated him personally. His works for the film '' Gandhi'' won him nationwide attention. Actor

Sivakumar Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...

started his art career under his guidance and in his company. Mohan was also an art director and won various statewide and national awards for excellence, including the "Vikas Ratna" awarded presented by the Government of India for the field of art. He has won consecutive awards for the category ‘publicity’ by all the state cinema award function.

Personal life

Mohan died on 24 August 2014, three years after his wife. The couple had five sons, three daughters and 13 grandchildren. Two of Mohan's sons, Harinath Kumar and Narendran, inherited and continue to run Mohan Arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohan, K. 1926 births 2014 deaths Film producers from Chennai Indian art directors Tamil film producers