Akkamappettai Paramasivan Nagarajan

A. P. Nagarajan was born on 24 February 1928 in Akkamappettai, a village in Salem district of Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu). His parents died when he was a young boy and he was raised by his maternal grandmother, who introduced him to theatre and drama. He started his own drama company, the Pazhani Kadiravan Nadaga Sabha, and married Rani Ammal in 1949. He wrote and acted in several plays, one of which, Nalvar, was made into a movie in 1953. This marked his entry into the film industry as a screenwriter and actor. He also acted in many movies for producer M. A. Venu, such as Mangalyam, Nalla Thangal and Pennarasi. He wrote the screenplay for Town Bus and by 1956 decided to focus on writing. He wrote Naan Petra Selvam and Makkalai Petra Maharasi, in which he introduced the ‘Kongu' Tamil accent for the hero. The first of his many mythological films, Sampoorna Ramayanam, was a big success in 1958, and Rajaji, who had little regard for cinema, watched this film and praised Sivaji Ganesan's performance as Bharatha in it. He then started to produce films in partnership with actor V. K. Ramasamy, such as Nalla Idaththu Sammandham, Thayai Pol Pillai, Noolai Pol Selai and Paavai Vilakku. He made his directorial debut with Vadivukku Valaigaappu in 1962. He launched his own production company with Navarathri and then went on to make a mark in the field of mythological cinema as well. He directed and produced many films based on Hindu epics and legends, such as Thiruvilaiyadal, Saraswathi Sabatham, Kandhan Karunai, Thiruvarutchelvar, Seetha, Thirumal Perumai, Agathiyar, Karaikkal Ammaiyar and Rajaraja Cholan. He also made films in other genres, such as Thillana Mohanambal, a musical drama, Vaa Raja Vaa, a children's fantasy, and Vilayattu Pillai, a comedy. He won two National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Tamil, for Thiruvilaiyadal in 1965 and Thillana Mohanambal in 1968. He also acted in some of his films, such as Thiruvilaiyadal, where he played the poet Nakkeerar, and Arutperunjothi, where he played Ramalinga Adigalar. He died of cardiac arrest on 5 April 1977 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, aged 49. He is remembered as one of the most influential filmmakers in Tamil cinema, who set a trend in film making with his innovative and creative style.