Subramaniam Srinivasan

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Subramaniam Srinivasan
Born March 10, 1903(1903-03-10)
Thiruthuraipoondi, Thanjavur District, Madras Presidency, British India
Died August 26, 1969 (aged 66)
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
In this Indian name, the name "Subramaniam" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, "Srinivasan". The abbreviations "s/o" or "d/o", if used, mean "son of" or "daughter of" respectively.

Subramaniam Srinivasan popularly known as S.S.Vasan (b.10 March 1903-d.26 August 1969) was a famous Indian film producer, director, writer, journalist and entrepreneur. He has been hailed by many as the 'Cecil De Mille of Indian cinema'.

Contents

[edit] Early life

S.S.Vasan was born at Thiruthuraipoondi in Thanjavur district in a poor Brahmin family. His father died when he was barely two years old and the young Vasan was left to fend for himself. At a very early age, he moved to Madras along with his mother to complete his studies. During this period, he was developed an avid interest in the field of media and mass communication. On completion of his studies, he started an advertising agency which did well. In 1928,with the revenue he had earned, he purchased a struggling Tamil journal called Ananda Vikatan and reformed and remodelled it to suit the public taste. The magazine was an immense success and Vasan's had become one of the most familiar names in Madras city.

[edit] As a film producer

S.S.Vasan was a prolific writer and penned a number of novels and short stories. This eventually drew him into the film industry. His novel Sathi Leelavati was made into a film in the year 1936 marking Vasan's entry into the film industry. From the onset, motion films captivated him and in 1938, he took over distribution of films of the Madras United Artists Corporation

In 1941 there was a fire in the studio of the Motion Picture Producers Combine. Like most studios in India it was uninsured because no insurance company would take the risk. The partners, by now at odds with each other, decided to sell the charred premises. Vasan bought them, did some rebuilding, and launched the production company Gemini Studios.

During the war the firm dabbled in a variety of films including a mythological, a stunt film and a love story or two - Films like Mangamma Sapatham (1943), Kannamma En Kadhali (1945), Miss Malini (1947) and Apoorva Sahodarargal (1949).

However Vasan was really preparing his big post-independence break. He entered the Hindi market with Chandralekha (1948) a spectacle. Its drum dance is remembered even today! 603 prints of Chandralekha were made and the film was even released in the United States as Chandra with English subtitles!

In the 1950s Gemini Pictures came out with films both in Tamil and Hindi. Popular Hindi films include Mr. Sampat (1952), Insaniyat (1955), Raj Tilak (1958) and Paigam (1959).

In 1958 he established Gemini Colour Laboratories and believed in establishing the Film Trade on professional lines.

Vasan was the President of the Film Federation of India for two terms and was even nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He was the given the Padma Bhusan by the Govt. of India in 1969, the year of his death.

Gemini Pictures declined in the 1970s although it has remained successful as a studio and equipment rental business.

[edit] Legacy

Vasan believed that films were meant to entertain and were meant to be catered to the ordinary man. Colossal production values, huge sets, mammoth dances, thousands of extras were his hallmark. Thus his films were more akin to variety entertain-ment programmes rather than true cinema.

“ Lavishness in production, splashing money in promoting, packaging and publicising a picture, he was a pioneer in Indian Cinema and had no equals, then, and now. `Be wise and advertise!' He had a character speak in his film "Miss. Malini" (1947), giving expression to one of his personal beliefs. And he showed what one could achieve with punch-plus publicity. ”

—- Film historian Randor Guy on S.S.Vasan

[edit] Filmography

[edit] As director

Year Film Language Cast Notes
1948 Chandralekha Tamil Ranjan, T.R.Rajakumari, N. S. Krishnan, Maduram A superhit which revolutionized Tamil cinema. Vasan's first directorial venture.
1948 Chandralekha Hindi Ranjan, T.R.Rajakumari, M.K.Radha Bollywood version of S.S.Vasan's Tamil film 'Chandralekha'. Vasan's first directorial venture in Hindi
1949 Nishan Hindi Bhanumathi, J.S.Casshyap, Ranjan, R.Nagendra Rao, M.K.Radha
1951 Sansar Hindi David Abraham
1952 Mr. Sampat Hindi Motilal, Padmini, Kanhaiyalal, Swaraj, Vanaja and Agha Film version of R. K. Narayan's novel
1954 Bahut Din Huye Hindi Madhubala
1955 Insaniyat Hindi Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Bina Rai, Jayant and Shobhana Samarth
1958 Vanjikkottai Valiban Tamil Gemini Ganesan,Vyjayanthimala,Padmini
1958 Raj Tilak Hindi Gemini Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala, Pran, Padmini, Gajanan Jagirdar, Bipin Gupta,Lalita Pawar
1959 Paigham Hindi Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Raaj Kumar, Motilal and Johnny Walker
1960 Irumputhirai Tamil Sivaji Ganesan,Vyjayanthimala
1961 Gharana Hindi Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Asha Parekh
1967 Aurat Hindi Rajesh Khanna, Feroz Khan, Pran, Padmini, Kanhaiyalal, David, O P Ralhan, Nazima, Lalita Pawar and Leela Chitnis
1968 Teen Bahuraniyan Hindi Prithviraj Kapoor,Agha,Ramesh Dev, Rajendranath
1969 Shatranj Hindi Rajendra Kumar,Waheeda Rehman,Mehmood

[edit] As Producer

Year Film Language Cast Director Notes
1943 Mangamma Sapatham Tamil Ranjan, Vasundhara Devi, N. S. Krishnan 'Acharya' T.D. Raghavacharyal A colossal hit, Vasan's first, which made him one of the biggest names in Tamil cinema
1945 Kannamma En Kadhali Tamil M. K. Radha, Sundari Bai Kothamangalam Subbu Vasan's second film as producer. Coming at the height of the Second World War, this was in support of Britain's war effort.
1947 Miss Malini Tamil Sampath, Kothamangalam Subbu, V. Gopalakrishnan, Gemini Ganesan Kothamangalam Subbu Gemini Ganesan's first hit film
1948 Chandralekha Tamil Ranjan, T.R.Rajakumari, M.K.Radha, N.S.Krishnan, T.A.Maduram S.S.Vasan A milestone in Tamil cinema. The film was another colossal hit of Vasan's and was known for its colossal sets and the unforgettable drum-dance.
1948 Chandralekha Hindi Ranjan, T.R.Rajakumari, M.K.Radha S.S.Vasan Hindi version of Tamil film 'Chandralekha'. S.S.Vasan's first Bollywood production
1949 Apoorva Sahodarargal Tamil R.Nagendra Rao, M.K.Radha 'Acharya' T.D. Raghavacharyal
1949 Nishan Hindi Bhanumathi, J.S.Casshyap, Ranjan, R.Nagendra Rao, M.K.Radha S.S.Vasan
1951 Sansar Hindi David Abraham S.S.Vasan
1951 Samsaram Tamil
1952 Mr.Sampath Hindi Motilal, Padmini, Kanhaiyalal, Swaraj, Vanaja and Agha S.S.Vasan Film version of R. K. Narayan's novel
1953 Avvaiyar Tamil Gemini Ganesan,K. B. Sundarambal Kothamangalam Subbu A classic. The story of Tamil saint Avvaiyar, the film was known for its wonderful songs.
1954 Bahut Din Huye Hindi Madhubala,Savitri Kommareddy S.S.Vasan
1955 Insaniyat Hindi Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Bina Rai, Jayant and Shobhana Samarth S.S.Vasan
1958 Vanjikkottai Valiban Tamil Gemini Ganesan,Vyjayanthimala,Padmini S.S.Vasan
1958 Raj Tilak Hindi Gemini Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala, Pran, Padmini, Gajanan Jagirdar, Bipin Gupta,Lalita Pawar S.S.Vasan
1959 Paigham Hindi Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Raaj Kumar, Motilal and Johnny Walker S.S.Vasan
1960 Ghunghat Hindi Bharat Bhushan, Leela Chitnis, Pradeep Kumar, Bina Rai, Asha Parekh, Helen, Rajendranath, Rehman and Agha Ramanand Sagar
1960 Irumbuthirai Tamil Sivaji Ganesan,Vyjayanthimala
1961 Gharana Hindi Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Asha Parekh S.S. Vasan
1963 Grahasti Hindi Bipin Gupta, Iftekhar, Gajanan Jagirdar, Kanhaiyalal, Shubha Khote, Manmohan Krishna, Ashok Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Sudesh Kumar, Bharati Malwankar, Mehmood, Indrani Mukherjee Kishore Sahu
1967 Aurat Hindi Rajesh Khanna, Feroz Khan, Pran, Padmini, Kanhaiyalal, David, O P Ralhan, Nazima, Lalita Pawar and Leela Chitnis S.S.Balan & S.S.Vasan
1968 Teen Bahuraniyan Hindi Prithviraj Kapoor,Agha,Ramesh Dev, Rajendranath S.S.Vasan
1969 Shatranj Hindi Rajendra Kumar,Waheeda Rehman,Mehmood S.S.Vasan

[edit] Sources


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