The legend lives on ...

Iyakkunar Imayam K Balachander may have left the earthly sphere to reside in a different plane now but as the customary and clichéd statement goes, he would definitely remain in various forms in the artists that he introduced in his five decade long career in the creative industry.

 

Just a cursory glance on the talents that KB had introduced…

 

The top ones, as anybody who is initiated into the world of Tamil cinema will know are Superstar Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Rajini made his debut in a very small role in KB’s Apoorva Raagangal as the estranged husband of Srividhya. Although Kamal made his tinsel debut very early with Kalathur Kannamma as a child artist, as an adult, his first film was Arangetram with KB.

 

The various other artists that he had introduced are Vivek (Manadhil Urudhi Vendum), Nasser (Kalyana Agadhigal), Radha Ravi (Manmadha Leelai), Charlee (Poikaal Kudhirai), Prakash Raj (Duet), Sarath Babu (Nizhal Nijamaagiradhu), Chiranjeevi (47 Naatkal), S Vee Shekar (Ninaithalae Inikkum) and many more.

 

Among the women artists, Saritha and Sujatha have featured in many of his films and have won laurels for their performance. Apart from them, he is responsible for the introduction of Jayapradha (Ninaithalae Inikkum), Fatafut Jayalakshmi (Aval Oru Thodarkadhai), Madhu Bala (Azhagan), Sithara (Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal), Shruthi (Kalki) and many more. There are actresses like Shoba, Jayachithra and Geetha who have done exemplary work under the doyen.

 

It’s just not the people in front of the camera that KB discovered and nurtured, but also talents behind the camera like directors Vasanth, Visu, Ameerjohn, Mouli and music directors Maragadha Mani, Saxophone exponent Kadri Gopalnath and many more.

 

The mark of a true mentor is that his expertise does not stop with him but lives on and in that breath K Balachander sure lives on…. Respects!