The highs of CIFF 2014 were dampened significantly due to the demise of our very own ‘Iyakkunar Sigaram’, K. Balachander. With respect to films arguably his best & most creative period (between 1965 & 1990) passed before Gen Y. But the Gen Y will certainly remember him as the man who made waves in television when they were still toddlers & young adolescents. However before he came to Television, he was a Path-breaking Master in his own right in the annals of Indian Cinema. It shows in those countless speeches & hand written letters to new-gen film makers how much he cared for cinema and how relevant his taste for cinema has stayed through the years.
People who work in Cinema always make safe bets. But KB was an exception. You can call him an absolute gambler for being brave enough to believe in rank newcomers, extract the acting out of them, all this set it highly unconventional challenging themes. A glance at his wiki Filmography page would reveal how quick he was with his films with so many releases per year spread across diverse genres, languages and actors.
With Marathi & Malayalam cinema hogging the limelight at our National Awards in the recent past, it is utterly astounding to see that this man had 9 National Awards to his name. Just think about how much more it would add to if you start counting the awards won by proteges, Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj & so many more.
We at Cinema Rendezvous have had the pleasure of working with him on many occasions and would love to share more intimate anecdotes about KB Sir. With the screening of a film by him, we would love to have you with us as we dedicate this edition of CR to remember the Auteur of Tamil Cinema, K. Balachander.