S. V. Subbaiah (1920-1980) was an Indian actor who featured mainly in
Tamil-language plays and films. He featured mostly in
character roles that communicated emotional feelings.
Early life
Subbaiah hails from
Sengottai
Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,82 ...
in
Tirunelveli district of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, India. Spurning academic pursuits, he joined a drama troupe called ‘Senkottai Ananda Sakthivel Paramananda Boys Company’ when he was 11 years old. Later, he was part of drama troupes such as Balashanmukhananda Sabha and Sakthi Nataka Sabha. Subbaiah's performance as Kavi Anandar in
S. D. Sundharam's play ''Kaviyin Kanavu'' staged by Sakthi Nataka Sabha in 1945 fetched rave reviews. This paved the way for him to enter Tamil films.
Film career
His first film was
Vijayalakshmi (1946) produced by Pragathi Pictures, the forerunner of
AVM Productions
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, M ...
. Next he featured in ''
Kanjan
''Kanjan'' () is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Covai A. Aiyamuthu and T. R. Gopu. The film stars S. V. Subbaiah, R. Malathi and T. G. Kamala Devi. No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.
Plot
The film ...
'' (1947) produced by
Jupiter Pictures
Jupiter Pictures ( ta, ஜுபிடர் பிக்ச்சர்ஸ்) was an Indian feature film production company founded in Coimbatore in 1934 by M. Somasundaram (popularly known as "Jupiter Somu") and S.K. Mohideen. Jupiter Pictur ...
and directed by
Kovai Ayyamuthu and T. R. Gopu. Then, he featured as
Sakuni in ''
Abhimanyu'' in which
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 ...
donned the role of
Arjuna.
Subbaiah's breakthrough came with the film ''
Kaalam Maari Pochu'' (1956) in which he featured in a character role. This set the tone for his type of role in future films. Though there are many films that his role remains ever-green among Tamil film lovers, the role he played in the historical film
Kappalottiya Thamizhan
''Kappalottiya Thamizhan'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It is based on the 1944 book of the same name by M. P. Si ...
(1961) will lie deep down in their minds. He featured as
Subramania Bharati in this film. His style as Bharati was followed by many artistes, right from
Sivaji Ganesan to
Kamal Haasan, in the role of Bharati, in future films.
Subbaiah produced a film
Kaaval Dheivam under his own banner ''Ambal Productions''. The film featured big-time stars like
Sivaji Ganesan,
R. Muthuraman,
T. S. Balaiah,
M. N. Nambiar,
Nagesh and
V. K. Ramasamy in well defined roles. Most of them appeared as guest artistes.
Nadigar Thilagam Filmography
/ref>
Sivakumar and Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
starred in this film. Sivaji Ganesan refused to receive any payment for his role. A sentimental Subbaiah said "In my next birth I will become a dog and serve Sivaji Ganesan". Such was his humble persona.
Personal life
Subbaiah was interested in agriculture. He bought lands in Karanodai near Sengundram (Red Hills) and developed it into a farm. When he was not occupied with film shooting, he worked on his farm.
He was deeply religious and lived his life with certain principles, such as not working after 9 p.m. He was a voracious reader and a fan of Jayakanthan.
He died on 29 January 1980 due to ill health. It was a strange coincidence that the man born at Sengottai, which means Red Fort, died at his farm in Sengundram which means Red Hills.
Filmography
References
Bibliography
S. V. Subbaiah
(in Tamil) (in Tamil)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subbaiah, S. V.
1980 deaths
People from Tirunelveli district
Male actors in Tamil cinema
20th-century Indian male actors
Indian male film actors
Male actors from Tamil Nadu
1920 births