TK Balachandran

TK Balachandran was born as the fifth son of Kunjan Pillai and Parukkuttiyamma. His father Kunjan Pillai was a stage actor. When Balachandran expressed a wish to take to acting, his father gave permission without further ado. At 13 years of age, he acted in the movie "Prahlaada" in 1940. After that he joined the famous Nawab Rajamanikkam's drama troupe, gaining invaluable acting experience and fame. He also learnt dance under the world famous Guru Gopinath.

In a career spanning half a century he acted in a total of about 400 movies, including around 200 Malayalam movies. He created his own production company named Teakebees , under which he produced about 18 movies. He has written stories for 8 movies, and screenplays for 16 movies.

He earned the distinction of being the first Malayali actor to play a double role, acting as hero as well as the villain in the movie "Poothaali (1960)

He has written songs for about 17 movies of the Childrens film Society.
In 1998, the Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu Cinema Industry jointly elected him President of the South Indian Film Chamber.

Taking into consideration his invaluable contributions to Indian Cinema, he was awarded the President's Gold Medal. He has also received numerous awards and recognition.

He passed away at home in Thiruvananthapuram, at 78 years of age, on December 15th, 2005 after fighting a prolonged battle with Cancer. He is survived by his wife and son.


References

http://actortkb.com/life.html

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_actor-tk-balachandran-passes-away_1002504

Prepared by: Dr. Susie Pazhavarical