K. Balaji

Biography:

In Madras, Madras Presidency, Krishnamachari and Janaki Devi welcomed a son named Balaji into their Tamil household. He was T. Rangachari’s grandson, a colonial-era barrister. Early on, he participated in amateur theater productions and school plays, which is how he got his acting start.
In 1951, Balaji contacted S. S. Vasan, the proprietor of Gemini Studios at the time, in search of employment. He was given a small part in Auvaiyar, playing the Hindu deity Muruga.Balaji quickly realized that he would be better served by taking on the role of the antagonist or the hero’s assistant in movies like Padithaal Mattum Podhumaa, Bale Pandiya, En Kadamai, and Thillana Mohanambal.

He was employed as a manager at Narasu Studios in the southwest suburbs while also working as an actor. He started remaking Hindi hits in Tamil in the 1960s after meeting famous Hindi actors like Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, and Tamil actors Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, and actress Savithri. His debut production was Annavin Aasai, a Dulal Guha-directed version of Chand Aur Sooraj. Gemini Ganesan and Savithri were the leading actors in the first production of the movie.

He subsequently went on to remake well-known Hindi movies including Qurbani, Deewaar (1975), Dushman (1971), and Namak Haraam (1973), all of which starred Rajesh Khanna.

In 1996, his wife Anandavalli passed away. The couple has three kids: Suchitra Mohanlal, Sujatha, and Suresh Balaje. His son-in-law is the Malayalam actor Mohanlal Viswanathan. He was also Suraj Suresh and Pranav Mohanlal’s grandfather. He is related to Y. G. Mahendran through Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, a cousin sister.