K. Balachander & Poornam Viswanathan Movies Together List — 7 Films

The shape of the work

The 1980s account for 71% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Sollathaan Ninaikkiren; the 1980s to Thillu Mullu. K. Balachander directed every film; Poornam Viswanathan acted in all of them.

Partnership facts

• Balachander cast Viswanathan in 'Sollathaan Ninaikkiren' (1973) after seeing him on stage. But Viswanathan almost said no — he thought the role was too small. Balachander convinced him by saying the character would steal the film. It did.
• On the sets of 'Naan Avanillai' (1974), Balachander would give Viswanathan just the core emotion of a scene — no dialogue. Viswanathan would then improvise the lines in his own rhythm. Balachander later said that method gave the film its unsettling, off-kilter feel.
• Their 1985 film 'Kalyana Agathigal' directly inspired a wave of Tamil films about middle-class marital friction. Directors like Mahendran and Balu Mahendra cited it as the reason they started writing more realistic couple conflicts.
• Viswanathan never called Balachander by his name or title. He always addressed him as 'Sir' — even 15 years after their last film together. Balachander once joked that Viswanathan was the only actor who made him feel like a headmaster.
• Balachander said about Viswanathan: 'He doesn't act. He just becomes the man I wrote. I don't have to direct him — I just have to stay out of his way.'