S. V. Subbaiah

He died on 29 January 1980 due to ill health. It was a strange coincidence that the man born at Sengottai, which means Red Fort, died at his farm in Sengundram which means Red Hills.

Subbaiah's breakthrough came with the film Kaalam Maari Pochu (1956) in which he featured in a character role. This set the tone for his type of role in future films. Though there are many films that his role remains ever-green among Tamil film lovers, the role he played in the historical film Kappalottiya Thamizhan (1961) will lie deep down in their minds. He featured as Subramania Bharati in this film. His style as Bharati was followed by many artistes, right from Sivaji Ganesan to Kamal Haasan, in the role of Bharati, in future films.

His first film was Vijayalakshmi (1946) produced by Pragathi Pictures, the forerunner of AVM Productions. Next he featured in Kanjan (1947) produced by Jupiter Pictures and directed by Kovai Ayyamuthu and T. R. Gopu. Then, he featured as Sakuni in Abhimanyu in which M. G. Ramachandran donned the role of Arjuna.

Subbaiah hails from Sengottai in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India. Spurning academic pursuits, he joined a drama troupe called ‘Senkottai Ananda Sakthivel Paramananda Boys Company’ when he was 11 years old. Later, he was part of drama troupes such as Balashanmukhananda Sabha and Sakthi Nataka Sabha. Subbaiah's performance as Kavi Anandar in S. D. Sundharam's play Kaviyin Kanavu staged by Sakthi Nataka Sabha in 1945 fetched rave reviews. This paved the way for him to enter Tamil films.

S. V. Subbaiah (1920-1980) was an Indian actor who featured mainly in Tamil-language plays and films. He featured mostly in character roles that communicated emotional feelings.