K. Balaji was a South Indian producer and actor whose work included Billa

Billa (1980 film)

Billa is a 1980 Tamil film produced by K.Balaji and directed by R.Krishnamurthy. The film stars Rajinikanth, Suresh Balaje, Thengai Srinivasan, Manorama, Sripriya, Reena Roy and Major Sundarrajan...

.

Early Life

Balaji was born in a prominent Tamil Brahmin

Tamil Brahmin

Tamil Brahmins are Tamil-speaking Brahmins from Tamil Nadu who have settled in other South Indian states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka...

 (Iyengar

Iyengar

Iyengar or Ayyangar is a caste given to Hindu Brahmins of Tamil origin who follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil Nadu state of the Republic of India...

) family and was the grandson of a very prominent colonial era advocate T. Rangachari

T. Rangachari

Diwan Bahadur T. Rangachari CIE was an Indian lawyer, politician, journalist, legislator and Indian independence activist.- Early life :...

.
He wandered into films after developing a taste for acting by performing the odd school play and amateur theatre shows.

Career

His quest for a space in showbiz led Balaji to the office of S. S. Vasan

S. S. Vasan

Subramaniam Srinivasan , popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was anIndian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon...

, then owner of Gemini Studios

Gemini Studios

Gemini Studios was launched when Thiruthuraipoondi Subramanian Srinivasan bought a film distribution concern at an auction and renamed it as Gemini Pictures also known as Gemini Studios. Gemini Studios served as a breeding ground for innumerable artists and technicians for the south Indian Film...

 in 1951. Vasan was not very keen to work with a newcomer but gave him a minor role in Avvaiyar, in which he played Hindu god Muruga.

Slowly he managed to land meatier roles and was featured as a male lead in a few films.

Balaji soon understood he was better off playing a bad man or the hero's understudy with a negative angle. Some of those include films like Padithaal Mattum Podhumaa, Bale Pandiya

Bale Pandiya (1962 film)

Bale Pandiya is a Tamil comedy-drama film released in 1962 starring Sivaji Ganesan, Devika in lead roles. The movie was directed by B.R. Panthulu and Music directed by M.S.Viswanathan and T.K. Ramamoorthy...

 and Thillana Mohanambal.

Even as the career was taking shape, he was hired as a manager in Narasu Studios in the southwest suburbs.

In that capacity, he discovered his true calling in the sixties after coming in contact with top Hindi actors like Ashok Kumar

Ashok Kumar

Ashok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...

, Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....

 and Tamil stars Sivaji Ganesan

Sivaji Ganesan

Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...

 and Gemini Ganesan

Gemini Ganesan

Ramaswami Ganesan , popularly known as Gemini Ganesan , was an Indian actor. He was nicknamed "Kadhal Mannan" of Tamil cinema for the romantic roles he played in movies....

 and actress Savithri who advised him to remake Hindi hits into Tamil with leading actors.

Since the sixties, all the top Hindi blockbusters like Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna is an Indian actor of from Hindi films, and has been Hindi film producer and an Indian politician....

 starrer Dushman

Dushman

Dushman is 1998 Indian film starring Kajol and Sanjay Dutt copied from Hollywood movie Eye for an Eye-Plot:Sonia and Naina Sehgal are twins. The two are completely different from each other, Sonia being the outgoing twin and Naina being the shy twin...

, Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...

's Deewar

Deewar

Deewaar, or Deewar , is a 1975 Indian drama directed by Yash Chopra, written by Salim-Javed, and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor...

 and Namak Haraam

Namak Haraam

Namak Haraam , is a 1973 Indian Hindi film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The music is by R.D. Burman and the screenplay by Gulzar and lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. The film also stars Rekha, Asrani, Raza Murad, A.K. Hangal, Simi Garewal and Om Shivpuri...

 were remade into Tamil by Balaji who always used top stars as his male leads like late Sivaji Ganeshan and thespians Rajnikanth

Rajnikanth

Rajinikanth is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award-winning motion picture Apoorva Raagangal , directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor....

 and Kamal Hasan.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 80s and 90s were done.

Family

He had three children — Suresh Balaje

Suresh Balaje

Suresh Balaje is an Indian film producer, primarily concentrating in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is the son of late producer-actor K. Balaji. Malayalam actor Mohanlal is his brother-in-law. In 2000's he has produced 13 B, Yaavarum Nalam, Billa, Kireedam, Malamaal Weekly and Phir Milenge...

, Sujatha and Suchitra Mohanlal. Malayalam superstar Mohanlal

Mohanlal

Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...

 is his son-in-law. His wife Anandavally died in 1995. He was also the grandfather of Pranav Mohanlal

Pranav Mohanlal

Pranav Mohanlal is the son of Indian film actor Mohanlal. Pranav made his debut in the film Onnaman, directed by Thampi Kannamthanam. He won the 2002 Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role in the film Punarjani, which was directed by Major Ravi and Rajesh Amanakara...

 and Sooraj Balaji.

Death

Balaji passed away on 2nd May 2009 evening due to multiple organ and renal failure. He had been hospitalised for over a month.

Filmography

• As Producer

  Filmography as Producer

  Year	Film	Notes
  	Manavia Manithanin Manikam
  	Sagothari
  	Padithal Mattum Pothuma
  	Vasantha Maligai
  	Billa
  	Pattanathil Putham
  	Enga Mamma
  	Kandan Karunai
  1979 Bollywood films of 1979 -Highest grossing:The top thirty grossing films at the Indian Box Office in 1979:The last eleven were declared flops but had huge openings on their release and the first twenty nine were declared superhits.-1979:...	Amar Deep	Hindi film

• As Actor

  Acting Filmography

  Year	Film	Character/Role	Notes
  1979 Bollywood films of 1979 -Highest grossing:The top thirty grossing films at the Indian Box Office in 1979:The last eleven were declared flops but had huge openings on their release and the first twenty nine were declared superhits.-1979:...	Surakshaa Surakshaa - External links :* on Bollywood Hungama...	Doctor Shiva	Hindi film
  1979 Bollywood films of 1979 -Highest grossing:The top thirty grossing films at the Indian Box Office in 1979:The last eleven were declared flops but had huge openings on their release and the first twenty nine were declared superhits.-1979:...	Amar Deep	Guest Appearance	Hindi film

External links