K Balachander with Sridevi: Remembering Sridevi's mentor

K Balachander with Sridevi. Mentor and muse. Remembering the great film maker on his birth anniversary. 

When he passed in 2017 at the age of 84, Sridevi stated on social media, "K Balachander changed my life forever." After all, the great film maker directed Sridevi in classic Tamil films; Moondru Mudichu (1976) and Varumayin Niram Sigappu (1980). Additionally, Sridevi appeared in the Telugu film Aakali Rajyam (1981), which was directed by K. Balachander.  

He changed the trajectory of the careers of these now cine-icons; Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Sridevi and Prakash Raj. 

Sridevi with her mentor K. Balachander

 

Sridevi with her mentor K. Balachander

9 July is the birth anniversary of the famed Tamil director. He had the foresight to see the infinite potential in young Sridevi early on and changed the course of (and several others) career. 

Sridevi with mentor K. Balachander in Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980)

 

Sridevi on the sets of the Tamil film Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980) with director K. Balachander. 

See earlier post when the two talk about the other; Sridevi talks about how the director changed her life; he talks about what a brilliant child she was!  

Released 40 years ago on 6 November 1980.

Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (The colour of poverty is red) is a 1980 Indian Tamil film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, with Pratap K. Pothen, R. Dilip and S. Ve. Shekher in supporting roles. The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Aakali Rajyam (Kingdom of hunger), released the following year. Kamal Haasan picked up two awards for the film - for the same role, in Tamil and Telugu. Yet again, Sridevi did not win any awards despite a flawless performance. 

Sridevi on the sets of her first film as a leading lady

Sridevi with co-star Y. Vijaya discussing scenes with director K Balachander on the sets of Moondru Mudichu (1976), which also marks the debut of Sridevi as a leading lady - a graduation from the child star that she was. Sridevi was only 13 and her costars were Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

RIP K Balachander: Sridevi tweets condolences to the man who changed the course of her historic career

Rajnikant, Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the Tamil blockbuster Moondru Mudichu

On Christmas eve, Sridevi posted the following as news broke that legendary director K Balachander passed away. 

The film director died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 84. The actress, who got her break as a leading lady in Tamil cinema with Balachander's Moondru Mudichu, wrote on Twitter:

SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR @SrideviBKapoor  ·  Dec 24

Tamil Cinema & all people involved in it including me have grown in his shadow. Condolences to his family. He shall always live in our heart

0 replies 141 retweets 151 favorites

SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR @SrideviBKapoor  ·  Dec 24

His films were bold & so were his decisions. One day he decided to cast a child artist as a heroine.MOONDRU MUDICHU changed my life forever.

0 replies 194 retweets 215 favorites

SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR @SrideviBKapoor  ·  Dec 24

Balachander sir passes away, the legend lives in hearts of millions of filmgoers. Artists whose lives he enriched by casting & mentoring us.


See earlier post when K Balachander spoke about working with young Sridevi here. 

From Live Mint, below quote:

In a 1976 film, Moondru Mudichu (three knots, traditionally tied during a marriage on a turmeric yellow mangalsutra or thread), Balachander gave a 13-year-old actor named Srideviher first adult film role. She was the woman caught between two men (Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth). The man she loves, Haasan, dies in a boating accident, engineered by the other, Rajinikanth. She is pursued and cornered by Rajinikanth, who believes his wealth and power will make her marry him. What does Sridevi do? She turns the tables on the man who lusts after her by marrying his father. As a stepmother, she is owed respect and has the power over her scheming “son". It is this facile use of specific cultural touchstones that gave Balachander’s movies their potency. Chennai audiences could relate to arranged marriages, even ones arranged by the woman in question. They could imagine a poor girl like Sridevi marrying an older man as a marriage of convenience. To watch her arrive as Rajinikanth’s stepmother was the ultimate slap in the face from both a traditional and feminist point of view. Marrying these two effects was Balachander’s forte.

K Balachander, "Sridevi was a very intelligent, quick learner." Tamil Cinema Icon, Director, Producer, Writer speaks

K. Balachander, 80, winner of this year's Dadasaheb Phalke award, on his discovery Sridevi.

"Sridevi when she did my film was just 13-14; she was just a kid. In our society, don't we as adults vent our anger at our children when they do something wrong? I might have lost my temper on my stars, but there are no regrets. Nobody ever carried any grudges home. They are all like children... As far as Sridevi is concerned, she was a child when she first worked with me. But I found her to be very intelligent. Though she was 13-14, she had the understanding of a 20-year-old. She was a very quick learner and understood the nuances of her character. She learnt on the spot.”

Read the entire interview at The Hindu.
May 6, 2011

UPDATE: 
Sridevi tweeted after the director passed away at the age of 84;

 "Balachander sir passes away, the legend lives in hearts of millions of filmgoers. Artists whose lives he enriched by casting & mentoring us. His films were bold & so were his decisions. One day he decided to cast a child artist as a heroine. MOONDRU MUDICHU changed my life forever. Tamil Cinema & all people involved in it including me have grown in his shadow. Condolences to his family. He shall always live in our heart."

Jan 16, 2017