J. Mahendran is a film producer, screenwriter and actor in the Indian Tamil film industry. He is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of Tamil cinema. He started his career as a screenwriter and became one of the prominent filmmakers in the Tamil film industry. He is known for injecting realism into Tamil films.
Wiki/Biography
Mahendran was born on July 25, 1939 in Ilayangudi, a town in Tamil Nadu, India (he died at the age of 79). He went to school in Ilayangudi and completed his intermediate course from American College, Madurai. He received his BA in Economics from Government Arts College Aragappa, Kalakudy, Tamil Nadu. After completing his degree, he went to Madras to study law, but this was discontinued due to the financial crisis. He returned to Ilayangud and at the insistence of Kalakudy Kannappa Waliapan he joined a journal called Inamuzhakkam as a reporter. 
appearance
Eye color: black
Hair color: black
family, caste and wife
His father, Joseph Chelliah, was a teacher and his mother was Manonmani. He is married to Jasmine Mahendran. His son John Mahendran is also a director. He has two daughters named Dimple and Anurita.
Mahendran and his family
Profession
He started his career in 1966 as a screenwriter for the film “Naam Moovar”.
Naim Mouvar
The film was a huge success and earned him several offers. He wrote dialogues for classics like Thangappadhakkam (1974) and Aadu Puli Aatam (1977). In 1978, he made his directorial debut with the film Mullum Malarum.
Mullum Maralum
He directed 12 films, with Saasanam (2006) being his last after almost a decade away from Tamil cinema. He returned to the film industry as an actor and appeared in the movie “Theri” as an actor in 2016.
He has acted in blockbusters such as “Seethakaathi” (2018), “Nimir” (2018) and “Boomerang” (2018).
Awards
- Won the National Film Award for Best Tamil Feature Film in 1981 for the film Nenjathai Killathe
- The 1978 film “Uthiripookkal” won the South Filmfare Award for Best Director
- Won the Tamil Nadu National Film Award in 1978 for the film Mullum Malarum
- News 18 Magudam Award Lifetime Achievement Award 2018
favorite thing
- Poet: Rabindranath Tagore
- Filmmaker: Satyajit Ray, BN Reddy
die
He died on April 2, 2019. He was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Chennai in a critical condition. He was rushed to intensive care a week before his death after receiving dialysis treatment.
fact
- During his student days, Mahendran was very active in stage plays.
- Veteran Indian actor, film producer and politician MG Ramachandran (MGR) was invited to Mahendran Academy as the chief guest. Mahendran delivered a speech directly criticizing the commercial elements present in Tamil cinema. MGR was impressed by Mahendran’s speech and said he could be a good critic.
- MGR met Mahendran again when he was working as a reporter for a journal, and he asked Mahendran to work on the script of the historical novel “Ponniyin Selvan” for his film. However the idea was postponed.
- Mahendran wrote a play called “Anaadhaigal”. MGR decided to make the play into a movie, which he titled “Vaazhve Vaa”, in which he acted alongside Savitri. The project was shelved after three days of filming.
- MGR acted in a film called Kaanchi Thalaivan (1966) and he recommended Mahendran to be the assistant director to the director of the film.
- Veteran music composer Ilaiyaraaja shares a strong bond with Mahendran. They have worked together in many films. Mahendran once said that he told his story first to himself and then to others, like a ritual. After hearing this, Ilayaraja suggested a suitable title for the story.
Ilaiyaraaja and J. Mahendran
- Famous Indian cinematographer Priyan has said that he contacted veteran director Mahendran to make him an assistant director, but he never did so. Casting Mahendran as an actor in his film Nimr (2018) was his sweet revenge.
- He is also the founder of Blue Ocean Film and Television Academy (BOFTA), Chennai, where he conducts film production and directing courses.
- Mahendran is credited with mentoring Rajnikanth in his early days in the industry. Rajinikanth has many times attributed his success to Mahendran.
Vintage photos of Rajnikanth and J. Mahendran
- He inspired many film directors, including Mani Ratnam and Shankar.
- He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at News 18’s Magudam Awards and dedicated the award to Rajnikanth.
- Talking about movies, Mahendran once said,
It was a forced marriage for me, but even so, I had to live my life. It has become a sexual act, or like a prayer for me. “
- Mahendran describes himself as an average student who always craves attention.
- Mahendran enjoys reading Tamil and English literature and often visits the library in his spare time.
- As early as his school days, he published a Tamil magazine for children called “Ladoo”.
- During his student days, he participated in almost all speech, composition, and painting competitions.
- When he was in sixth grade, he composed a play based on Pisiranthayar’s work and performed it as a one-act play. This also earned him Tagore’s Geetanjali.
- Mahendran narrated his journey in his autobiography “Cinemavum Naanum (Television Show)”, saying:
It was my anger against Tamil films that pushed me to make real films where people smile and talk normally. I make movies for entertainment, not for commercial success. “He didn’t like the word ‘trend’ and said it was just a gimmick by the filmmakers.”
- Talking about his classic Nenjaththai Killadhey (1981), Mahendran recalled an incident when he looked out of a hotel window in Mumbai and saw women jogging, saying,
All she cares about is fitness. Will it still be like this after marriage? I want to know. That’s how the script took shape.”
- Through his uncle, he was exposed to good movies. He said he watched two Hollywood movies and noticed there were no loud dialogues or grand action scenes. Later, he came across Satyajit Ray and Teen Kanya (1961) through senior film producer BN Reddy, which was an eye-opener for him.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education