Film Career
Balu's first film as a director was Kokila, a Kannada film, which earned him a National Film Award. Azhiyadha Kolangal (1979) was his first directorial venture in Tamil. He is considered as one of the few film makers in Tamil who can tell a story visually. He writes the script for his films, handles the camera and edits the film himself, thus retaining a firm control over his creative output. He mentioned in an interview to Anu Hassan on Koffee with Anu that he was inspired to become a director at a very young age when he saw David Lean directing the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai during a school field trip in Sri Lanka.
He worked mainly in Malayalam for directors like K. S. Sethumadhavan and P. N. Menon, before making his first film in Kannada, and then moving on to direct films in Tamil and Malayalam languages. He also worked as cinemotographer for the Indian masterpiece Shankarabharanam, a Telugu fim made by Kalatapaswi K. Viswanath.
He made his first Hindi Film Sadma,which is a remake of his own Tamil film Moondram Pirai with Kamal Hasan and Sridevi. This film is supposed to be one of the finest films made by him. The film superbly captures the emotions involved in the relationship between the two main characters. He made another Hindi film, Aur Ek Prem Kahani (remake of Kokila Kannada film), which was about the love affair between a young man and his maid, told in a realistic and simple manner.
The film director Mani Ratnam approached Mahendra to work on the cinematography of his first Kannada film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi. It has been reported that he almost refused to work with Ratnam whom he perceived as a novice at that time. He has since been quoted as admiring Ratnam for his "infectious enthusiasm". He never hesitated to work with Ratnam when Ratnam approached him. Instead he agreed to do the film enthusiastically when Ratnam met him and narrated the story to him.
Mahendra's strength as a cinematographer has helped him use visuals as an effective vehicle to carry the story forward. He has revolutionized cinematography in Tamil cinema, He has handled social issues like red tapism, corruption and old age in films like Sandhya Raagam. The women in his films come out strongly as can be seen in Veedu.
Of late, his films have not clicked at the box office and his financial status too wasn't going great, which he had mentioned in an interview.
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