K. Subramanyam

K. Subramanyam (20 April 1904 – 7 April 1971) born Krishnaswami Subramanyam, was an Indian film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Popular Indian danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam is his daughter.[1]

For other people named Krishnaswami, see Krishnaswami.

K. Subramanyam
Born
Krishnaswami Subramanyam

(1904-04-20)20 April 1904
Papanasam,
Madras Presidency,
British India
Died7 April 1971(1971-04-07) (aged 66)
Madras
OccupationFilm Director,
Film Producer,
Screenwriter
Years active1931–1957
Spouse(s)Meenakshi,
S. D. Subbulakshmi
Children
Parent(s)Father : Krishnaswami Iyer
Mother : Bhamadevi
RelativesKanagavalli

Biography

K. Subramanyam was a key figure behind the establishment of the Tamil film industry. He started his film career as a scenarist and producer, working on P. K. Raja Sandow's silent films such as Peyum Pennum. He started Meenakshi Cineton with R. M. Alagappa Chettiar, directing his first film Pavalakkodi, in which the Tamil film star M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar debuted. He made a remarkable shift with the politically emphatic Balayogini, criticizing the caste system prevalent then.

In 1938, he made Sevasadanam, advocating a better deal for women, the saint film Bhaktha Chetha, critiquing untouchability and the war effort film Maanasamrakshanam. His best-known work is the strident nationalistic reformist film Thyagabhoomi. Thyagabhoomi was a novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, which was banned by the British government.[2] He also directed the Malayalam film Prahlada (1941), which was scripted by noted playwright N. P. Chellappan Nair. He is one of the founders of Nadigar Sangam in 1952.

Family life

K. Subrahmanyam married Meenakshi and had children Lalitha, Balakrishnan, Bama, Neela, S. V. Ramanan, Krishnaswami, Shan Chandrasekar and Dr. Padma Subramanyam. He married S. D. Subbulakshmi with consent of his first wife Meenakshi and was blessed with Abaswaram Ramji. He kept both the families together and managed them without any discrimination. Among his children, only S. V. Ramanan, S. Krishnaswamy and Dr. Padma Subramanyam are associated with cinema and dance. His first grandson and son of Bama Sundaram, S.Raghuram followed his footsteps became a very famous legendary dance choreographer in the Indian film industry and directed five films and choreographed over 1600 films, achieving many awards. His great-granddaughter and daughter of S. Raghuram; Gayathri Raguram and Suja Manoj are well known as actresses and choreographers in the Tamil film industry. Anirudh Ravichandran his great grandson and grandson of S.V. Ramanan, well known music director, started at a very young age. Hrishikesh, also great grandson and grandson of S.V. Ramanan is a new budding actor in VIP, and acted as Danush's brother.

Filmography

References
  1. "A progressive film-maker". Frontline. India. 3 July 2004.
  2. "Film directors Who Made a Difference in Tamil Cinema World". Indolink.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
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