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

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and Telugu languages.

Career

Entry

In 1951, 18-year-old Sridhar went to

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar. It is the oldest film studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...

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

produced it in Hindi as ''Bhaai Bhaai'' in 1956 starring

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

and

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

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 Modern Theaters Ltd was an Indian film studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu started by T. R. Sundaram Mudaliar in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 films until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English ...

as writer for the film ''Maheswari'', Sridhar had an opportunity to improve his knowledge and skills about film production. T. R. Sundaram 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 Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

and Padmini as the main roles. He made his debut as a director with ''

Kalyana Parisu ''Kalyana Parisu'' () is a 1959 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by C. V. Sridhar, Sridhar. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi while K. A. Thangavelu, C. R. Vijayakumari, Vijayakumari ...

''. 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'' (the emblem was designed by Art director Ganga) in 1961 with his friends Gopu, A. Vincent, P. N. Sundaram and Tiruchi Arunachalam made '' Then Nilavu''. The latter which had

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred as Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films. G ...

and Vyjayanthimala in the lead was the first Tamil film to be shot in Jammu and Kashmir. He made a series of commercially successful films like '' Nenjil Or Aalayam'', '' Kaadhalikka Neramillai'', '' Vennira Adai'' 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 '' Nenjil Or Aalayam''. The latter was remade in Hindi with

Rajendra Kumar Rajendra Kumar (born as Rajendra Kumar Tuli; 20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999), was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. Kumar was on ...

and Meena Kumari as '' Dil Ek Mandir'' which earn him two nomination at

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

, Best Director and Best Story categories. He brought out the best in comedians T. R. Ramachandran, K. A. Thangavelu, and

Nagesh Nageshwaran Rao (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor and comedian mostly remembered for his comic roles in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in ov ...

, and helped introduce Murthy and Nirmala to a wider audience in ''

Vennira Aadai ''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 Ap ...

''. 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 Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...

history. It was later remade in Hindi with actor

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

Devika Devika Devadoss (born Prameela Devi; 25 April 1943 – 2 May 2002) was an Indian actress who worked in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Telugu cinema, Telugu along with a few Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. She was one of the popular lead actresse ...

in '' Nenjil Or Aalayam'', Srikanth, J. Jayalalithaa, Vennira Aadai Nirmala and

Vennira Aadai Moorthy Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...

in '' Vennira Adai'' (''White Dress''), Ravichandran, Kanchana and

Rajasree Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari), 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 Telugu movies opposite N. ...

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 Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

films include '' Nazrana'' (1961), '' Dil Ek Mandir'' (1963), '' Pyar Kiye Jaa'' (1966) and '' Gehri Chaal'' (1973). ''Nazrana'', starring by

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

, Vyjayanthimala, Usha Kiran and

in guest appearance, earned him Filmfare Award for Best Story.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

include '' Ooty Varai Uravu'', '' Nenjirukkum Varai'', '' Sivantha Mann''. ''Sivanthaman'' was the first color movie in Tamil shot at foreign locations. ''Dharti'', the Hindi version was released in 1970 with

Waheeda Rehman Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938) is an Indian actress. Regarded among the most accomplished actresses of Hindi cinema, she has worked in more than Waheeda Rehman filmography, 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. Her ac ...

and

in lead roles. When in 1973, he went through sudden financial problems, at the insistence of

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'' 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. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 15 July 1946) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he was elected as Member of Parliament ...

and

Jaya Prada Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani Rao; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician known for her works majorly in Telugu cinema and Hindi cinema as well as in Tamil films in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada is the recipient ...

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

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

Kannadasan Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar better known as Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important l ...

– M. S. Viswanathan 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 Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

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 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

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

'' *

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

: President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Tamil – '' Nenjil Or Aalayam'' *

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

Award from State Sangeeth Natak Academy. * Filmfare Award for Best Story for '' Nazrana'' (1961). * Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award – Arignar Anna Award in 1997 ;Nominated * Filmfare Award for Best Director for '' Dil Ek Mandir'' (1963) * Filmfare Award for Best Story for ''Dil Ek Mandir'' (1963) * Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil for '' Urimai Kural'' (1975) * Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil for '' Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu'' (1979) * Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil 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 Chengalpattu district Telugu film directors Telugu screenwriters Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian screenwriters