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T. S. Balaiah
டி. எஸ். பாலையா
Born	(1912-08-21)21 August 1912 Sundankottai, Sathankulam, Thoothukudi District
Died	22 July 1972(1972-07-22) (aged 59)
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1972
Spouses	Padmavati Leelavati
Children	7 including Junior Balaiah (actor) Manochithra (actress)

Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (21 August 1912 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films. Born in Sundankottai, near Sathankulam in Thoothukudi, Balaiah was introduced to the cine field by director Ellis R. Dungan in Sathi Leelavathi (1936), along with M. G. Ramachandran, N. S. Krishnan and M. K. Radha. He was one of the very few actors who excelled as a villain, as well as in character roles and comic roles.

Early life and death

T. S. Balaiah was born on 21 August 1912. He was born in Sundankottai, now in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu Balaiah lived in T. Nagar, and died at the age of 59.

Career

Being Part of various drama troupes, his career in films started with 'Madurai Original Boys' drama company which had several talented youngsters who created history in Tamil cinema, including M.K. Radha, M. G. Ramachandran, and N. S. Krishnan. Balaiah began his film career through the Tamil film Sathi Leelavathi in 1936. Balaiah played first lead role in Mohini paired opposite Madhuri Devi, where he played an elder brother to V. N. Janaki and supporting role by M.G.R . He gained a lot of weight at the age of 40 in 1954, hence started getting more character roles. Among his villain roles, Ambikapathy 1937, Andhaman Kaithi, Madurai Veeran, Thaikkupin Tharam, Hello Mister Zamindar and Thiruvilaiyadal were critically acclaimed. Balaiah also excelled in comedy roles in movies such as Kavalai Illaadha Manithan, Kadhalikka Neramillai, Bama Vijayam and Thillana Mohanambal. Actor Sivaji Ganesan had once mentioned that Balaiah along with M. R. Radha was his most admired actor.

Personal life

Balaiah had two wives (Padmavati, Leelavati) and seven Children among them Actress Manochithra is his daughter, while one of his sons Junior Balaiah has also appeared in films. One of his sons, Sai Baba, was part of MSV's troupe and sang a few songs.

Partial filmography

References

1. ^ Vamanan (30 November 2022). "Best of the baddest". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
2. Raman, Mohan (23 August 2014). "100 years of laughter". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
3. ^ Guy, Randor (23 August 2014). "Darling of the masses". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

External links

• T. S. Balaiah at IMDb

• 1914 births
• 1972 deaths
• 20th-century Indian comedians
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• People from Thoothukudi district
• Tamil comedians
• Tamil male actors
• Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners