K. Subrahmanyam

Biography

Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam (1904–1971) was an Indian film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Popular Indian danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam is his daughter. K. Subrahmanyam was a key figure behind the establishment of the Tamil film industry. He started his film career as a scenarist and producer, working on P. K. Raja Sandow's silent films such as Peyum Pennum. He started Meenakshi Cineton with R. M. Alagappa Chettiar, directing his first film Pavalakkodi, in which the Tamil film star M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar debuted. He made a remarkable shift with the politically emphatic Balayogini, criticizing the caste system prevalent then. In 1938, he made Sevasadanam, advocating a better deal for women, the saint film Bhaktha Chetha, critiquing untouchability and the war effort film Maanasamrakshanam. His best-known work is the strident nationalistic reformist film Thyagabhoomi. Thyagabhoomi was a novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, which was banned by the British government. He also directed the Malayalam film Prahlada (1941), which was scripted by noted playwright N. P. Chellappan Nair. He is one of the founders of Nadigar Sangam in 1952.