P. Neelakantan

P. Neelakantan was a famous Indian director and screenplay writer who worked mainly in Tamil Film Industry for four decades. He was born on 2 October 1916 at Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. He is a great screenplay writer and was known for Naam Iruvar, a play that later became a movie in 1947. He graduated from screenplay to film. He made his directorial debut in the film Ora Iravu in 1951. P. Neelakantan had mainly directed Tamil movies and a few Kannada movies like Sinhalese Suneetha and Sujage Rahase. Neelakantan directed 17 movies with MGR, MG Ramchandran’s movie persona. He directed around 36 films and wrote six screenplays. Some of his most famous movies as a Screenplay writer are Naam Iruvar in 1947, Vedhala Ulagam in 1948, Vazhkai in 1949, Or Iravu in 1951, Mudhal Thethi in 1955, and Ambikapathy in 1957.

His most successful directions are for Modala Thedi in 1955, Gomathiyin Kaadhalan (1955), Thedi Vandha Selvam (1958), Aadavantha Deivam (1960), Oru Thai Makkal (1971), Thediya Seethai (1972), Kannan En Kadhalan (1968), and many more. His last hit film in the theatres was Needhikku Thalaivanangu in 1976. P. Neelakantan died on 3 September 1992, aging 75, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.