Film director and producer Muktha Srinivasan died in Chennai on Tuesday at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Srinivasan’s first film Mudhalali, released in 1957, won the National Award for the best feature film in Tamil that year. He directed several films starring the best-known actors in Tamil cinema, such as Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, J Jayalalithaa, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Srinivasan started producing films jointly with his elder brother Muktha V Ramaswamy under the banner of Muktha Films in 1961. Muktha Films produced the landmark 1987 film Nayakan directed by Mani Ratnam, which is one of only two Indian films listed by Time magazine in the Best 100 Films of All Time.
Gemini Ganesan was often his first choice for the hero in the Sixties. He directed former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in Suryagandhi, which he considered to be his personal best. The film was digitised and re-released in September 2016.
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He introduced several people to the industry, including Vaali the lyricist, and Visu the filmmaker who directed the film Keezh Vaanam Sivakkum. Srinivasan also collaborated with actor Sivaji Ganesan in films like Andaman Kadhali, Imayam and Iru Medhaigal. He directed Kamal Hasan in Andharangam and Simla Special, and Rajnikanth in Polladhavan.
Srinivasan was one of the founders of the Tamil Film Producer Council. He penned over 250 books and short stories in both English and Tamil, and in 1994, garnered an Encyclopedia of Tamil Cinema under the title, Tamil Thiraipada Varalaru.