Film News Anandan

Film News Anandan
Born 1 January 1926 or 1928[lower-alpha 1]
Died 21 March 2016[1]
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation Film historian, photographer

Film News Anandan (born Mani)[2] was an Indian film historian based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[5] He was popularly known as the "walking encyclopedia" of Tamil cinema.[6][7]

Early life

Anandan was born as Mani. His father P. K. Gnanasagaram was a government servant. When he was being admitted in school he told his principal his name was Anandakrishnan, which later became his legal name, and was further shortened to Anandan.[8] After school, he joined Quaide Millath Arts college, then known as Government Arts college. When he was a college student, he had a chance to interact with the drama troupes of Y. G. Parthasarathy and M. G. Ramachandran among others. He used to write the dialogues, do stage management and help in small odd jobs.[9]

Career

Anandan was interested in becoming a cameraman and joined as an assistant to C. J. Mohan, who was the cameraman for Kalaivanar. He conducted photography classes for him. Mohan appreciated the photos of Anandan and asked him to buy a Rolliflex camera. After buying, actor Sivaji Ganesan was the first person whom he had captured first. Anandan worked as a news reporter for Film Chamber and his job was to collect details about the actors, producer, director of a film. Devarajan of the magazine Film News once asked Anandan to take pictures for his magazine. When the pictures were published, credit in the magazine was given as "Film News Anandan" and eventually the pen name got prefixed to his name.[8][9][10]

As an actor, Anandan's first film was Policekaran Magal (1962) where he played a police photographer. He reprised the role in its Telugu remake Constable Koothru. In Bommai (1964), he plays a doctor. In Natchathiram (1980), he plays the role of a press reporter, posing questions to a disillusioned star. In the 1986 crime film Oomai Vizhigal, he plays a press photographer. In Sugamana Sumaigal (1992), he plays the role of the heroine’s father. He also made appearances in Aasai (1995) and Indian (1996), though his scenes were deleted in both; however, in the former, the credits read, "Thanks to Film News Anandan".[11] In March 2016, just a few days before his death, Anandan revealed that his dream was to have a permanent exhibition on cinema.[12]

Death

Anandan died on 21 March 2016 after a week in hospital with breathing problems. He was survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.[1][13]

Awards

Anandan received Y. Venkanna Clowdary's "Kala Peedam" award for his tremendous contribution to Human Progress as a Film Historian. In 1991, the Tamil Nadu State Government awarded him with their highest honour in the title of Kalaimaamani. In 1989, Anandan was honoured as a veteran during the Golden Jubilee of the Film Chamber.[10] He was awarded the "Kalai Selvam" title by the South Indian Artist Association in Chennai. Furthermore, Anandan was given world recognition in 1998, by The American Biographical Institute of South Carolina (US) as a veteran among 5000 people around the world. Anandan's name was included in the book Who's Who... released in January 1998, while he was awarded the "Man of the Year for 1997" by the same institution.[10] In May 2008 at the 2nd Vijay Awards, he was awarded the Vijay Award for Contribution to Tamil Cinema.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Both Udhav Naig of The Hindu and the Press Trust of India state Anandan's year of birth to be 1926,[1][2] while Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu, and Jyothsna of Behindwoods state the year of birth to be 1928.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "‘Film News’ Anandan, cinema historian, passes away". Business Line. Press Trust of India. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Naig, Udhav (21 March 2016). "South Indian cinema historian Anandan passes away". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Kamath, Sudhish. "Behind the scenes of Tamil cinema". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Jyothsna (21 March 2016). "Film News Anandan Is No More". Behindwoods. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Kannan, Ramya. "Film news personified: He made stars glitter". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Film directors Who Made a Difference in Tamil Cinema World". Indolink.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Our thanks to ‘Film News’ Anandan". Lakshmansruthi.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. 1 2 Rangarajan, Malathi. "Tryst with the past". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 "The mobile library of Tamil Cinema". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 "Sunday Celebrity: ‘Film News’ Anandan, the mobile encyclopedia on films". Asian Tribune. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Srinivas Chari, T. K. (June 2011). "The film photographer" (PDF). Madras Musings. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "'Keen on Permanent Exhibition on Cinema'". The New Indian Express. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Tamil film historian "Film News Anandan" passes away". The News Minute. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Star Vijay awards | Vijay TV awards| Vijay awards gallery | Kollywood films". Star Box Office. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2013.

External links

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