Subramaniam Srinivasan

Infobox Person
name = Subramaniam Srinivasan
birth_date = birth date|1903|03|10|mf=y
birth_place =
dead=dead
death_date = death date and age|1969|08|26|1903|03|10|mf=y
death_place =

Subramaniam Srinivasan popularly known as S.S.Vasan (b.10 March 1903-d.26 August 1969) was a famous Indian film producer, director, writer, journalist and entrepreneur. He has been hailed by many as the 'Cecil De Mille of Indian cinema'.

Early life

S.S.Vasan was born at Thiruthuraipoondi in Thanjavur district in a poor Brahmin family. His father died when he was barely two years old and the young Vasan was left to fend for himself. At a very early age, he moved to Madras along with his mother to complete his studies. During this period, he was developed an avid interest in the field of media and mass communication. On completion of his studies, he started an advertising agency which did well. In 1928,with the revenue he had earned, he purchased a struggling Tamil journal called Ananda Vikatan and reformed and remodelled it to suit the public taste. The magazine was an immense success and Vasan's had become one of the most familiar names in Madras city.

As a film producer

S.S.Vasan was a prolific writer and penned a number of novels and short stories. This eventually drew him into the film industry. His novel Sathi Leelavati was made into a film in the year 1936 marking Vasan's entry into the film industry. From the onset, motion films captivated him and in 1938, he took over distribution of films of the Madras United Artists Corporation

In 1941 there was a fire in the studio of the Motion Picture Producers Combine. Like most studios in India it was uninsured because no insurance company would take the risk. The partners, by now at odds with each other, decided to sell the charred premises. Vasan bought them, did some rebuilding, and launched the production company Gemini Studios.

During the war the firm dabbled in a variety of films including a mythological, a stunt film and a love story or two - Films like Mangamma Sapatham (1943), Kannamma En Kadhali (1945), Miss Malini (1947) and Apoorva Sahodarargal (1949).

However Vasan was really preparing his big post-independence break. He entered the Hindi market with Chandralekha (1948) a spectacle. Its drum dance is remembered even today! 603 prints of Chandralekha were made and the film was even released in the United States as Chandra with English subtitles!

In the 1950s Gemini Pictures came out with films both in Tamil and Hindi. Popular Hindi films include Mr. Sampat (1952), Insaniyat (1955), Raj Tilak (1958) and Paigam (1959).

In 1958 he established Gemini Colour Laboratories and believed in establishing the Film Trade on professional lines. Vasan was the President of the Film Federation of India for two terms and was even nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He was the given the Padma Bhusan by the Govt. of India in 1969, the year of his death.

Gemini Pictures declined in the 1970s although it has remained successful as a studio and equipment rental business.

Legacy

Vasan believed that films were meant to entertain and were meant to be catered to the ordinary man. Colossal production values, huge sets, mammoth dances, thousands of extras were his hallmark. Thus his films were more akin to variety entertain-ment programmes rather than true cinema.

Filmography

As director

As Producer

Sources

* [http://www.upperstall.com/people/ssvasan.html Biography of S.S.Vasan]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0890320/ Filmography of S.S.VAsan at the Internet Movie Database(IMDB)]
* [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/23/stories/2003052301510600.htm 'With a finger on people's pulse' Article on S.S.Vasan by Randor Guy, "The Hindu", "Friday Review", May 23, 2003]