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Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (20 May 1939 – 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor, who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil cinema. Born into a Sri Lankan Tamil household, Mahendra developed a passion towards photography and literature at a young age. He was drawn towards film-making after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957) in Sri Lanka. A graduate of the London University, he started his career as a draughtsman before gaining an admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in cinematography. Mahendra entered films as a cinematographer in the early 1970s and gradually rose to becoming a film-maker by the end of the decade. Making his directorial debut through the Kannada film ''Kokila'' (1977), Mahendra made over 20 films in all South Indian languages and two in Hindi. He was one of the earliest film-makers in Tamil cinema to introduce realism and he helped revitalise the Tamil film industry. Towards the tail end of his career, in 2007, he established a film school in Chennai which offers courses in cinematography, direction and acting. Following a brief phase of poor health, Mahendra died of cardiac arrest in February 2014. Widely regarded as an auteur, Mahendra wrote the script for his films, handled the camera and edited the film himself apart from directing. He was the recipient of six National Film Awards—including two for Best Cinematography, three Filmfare Awards South, and several state awards from the governments of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. ==Early life== Mahendra was born in 1939 into a Sri Lankan Tamil family in the village Amirthakali near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Born to a professor father, he did his schooling at Methodist Central College and St. Michael's College, Batticaloa.〔 As a teenager, he was drawn towards films by his class teacher. It was during this time he happened to see ''Bicycle Thieves'' (1948) and ''Battleship Potemkin'' (1925).〔 When he was at the sixth grade, he got an opportunity to witness the making of David Lean's ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (shot in Sri Lanka) during a school field trip. Inspired by Lean's personality, Mahendra determined to become a film-maker.〔〔 Right from his childhood, Mahendra was interested in fine arts and literature. Upon completion of school, he joined the London University and graduated with a bachelor's degree (honours) in science. After his graduation, he returned to Sri Lanka and worked in Colombo as a draughtsman in the survey department for a brief period during which he edited a Tamil literary magazine titled ''Thyen Aruvi''.〔 In Colombo, he worked as an amateur drama artist with Radio Ceylon and got acquainted with the Sinhala theatre groups.〔 Mahendra's passion for cinema prompted him to leave for India and join the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 1966.〔 He had to take up cinematography as he could not gain admissions to other disciplines.〔 At the institute he was exposed to world cinema as he got an opportunity to watch films made by François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, both associated with the French New Wave movement.〔 In 1969, Mahendra graduated from the institute with a gold medal.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Balu Mahendra」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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