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90-574: Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 – 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra , cinematographer , director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries , primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema . Born in Sri Lanka, Mahendran developed a passion for photography and literature at a young age, after witnessing the shoot of David Lean 's The Bridge on

180-450: A Best Foreign Film Oscar . The film is probably his most reflective work. It is the story of a film crew trying to finish a film while dealing with the personal and professional problems that accompany making a movie. Truffaut plays the director of the fictional film being made. This film features scenes from his previous films. It is considered his best film since his earliest work. Time magazine placed it on its list of 100 Best Films of

270-420: A Sri Lankan Tamil Christian family in the village Amirthakali near Batticaloa , British Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ). Born to a professor father, he did his schooling at Methodist Central College and St. Michael's College National School . As a teenager, he was drawn towards films by his class teacher. It was during this time he happened to see Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Battleship Potemkin (1925). When he

360-414: A radical-chic hypocrite, a man who believed everyone to be "equal" in theory only. "The Ursula Andress of militancy—like Brando —a piece of shit on a pedestal." Godard later tried to reconcile with Truffaut, but they never spoke to or saw each other again. After Truffaut's death, Godard wrote the introduction to a generous selection of his correspondence, and included his own 1973 letter. He also offered

450-453: A "well-photographed movie is that which is very close to the script". As a film-maker, he claimed himself as belonging to the realistic way of story-telling devised by Satyajit Ray and Vittorio De Sica . Mahendra was drawn towards realistic cinema after watching Ray's Pather Panchali (1955). He is credited as being one among the earliest filmmakers to bring "naturalism" in Tamil cinema in

540-434: A Tamil, it was not until 1978 he worked in a Tamil film when he signed up as the cinematographer for Mahendran 's directorial debut Mullum Malarum (1978). Apart from handling the cinematography, Mahendra involved himself in other aspects such as screenwriting, casting, editing and direction in the film. After completing Mullum Malarum , Mahendra decided to work on his second directorial venture, this time in Tamil. He named

630-541: A bachelor's degree (honours) in science. After his graduation, he worked as an Aerial Photographer in the Sri Lankan Government. for a brief period during which he edited a Tamil literary magazine titled Thyen Aruvi . In Colombo, he worked as an amateur drama artist with Radio Ceylon and got acquainted with the Sinhala theatre groups. Mahendra's passion for cinema prompted him to leave for India and join

720-422: A book about Hitchcock, based on a lengthy series of interviews. Of Jean Renoir , he said: "I think Renoir is the only filmmaker who's practically infallible, who has never made a mistake on film. And I think if he never made mistakes, it's because he always found solutions based on simplicity—human solutions. He's one film director who never pretended. He never tried to have a style, and if you know his work—which

810-592: A break from films during which he made Kathai Neram , a television series based on different short stories, mostly by Sujatha . It was aired in Sun TV during the early 2000s. Following a five-year sabbatical, he returned with Julie Ganapathi (2003). The film was based on the psychological thriller novel Misery by Stephen King . According to Mahendra, Julie Ganapathi was made on the lines of his previous films Moondram Pirai (1982) and Moodu Pani (1980). A review from Rediff.com stated, "Balu Mahendra has kept

900-432: A brief hiatus from films, he made a comeback through Thalaimuraigal (2013), which marked his acting debut. Apart from acting, he also scripted, directed, edited and served as the cinematographer of the film. The film was about the relationship between an ageing man and his grandson. The film received positive response with Mahendra's acting being well acclaimed. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu stated, "If Mahendra's aim

990-447: A brutal tale of revenge, is a stylish homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock (once again starring Moreau). Mississippi Mermaid (1969), with Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo , is an identity-bending romantic thriller. Both films are based on novels by Cornell Woolrich . The Wild Child (1970) included Truffaut's acting debut in the lead role of 18th-century physician Jean Marc Gaspard Itard . Bed and Board (1970)

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1080-580: A career of more than 25 years, he is an icon of the French film industry. Truffaut's The 400 Blows (1959) was a defining film of the French New Wave movement, and was followed by four sequels: Antoine et Colette (1962), Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970), and Love on the Run (1979). Truffaut's 1973 film Day for Night earned him critical acclaim and several awards, including

1170-567: A comeback in Bollywood through Aur Ek Prem Kahani , a remake of his Kannada film Kokila . He then made Raman Abdullah (1997), which deals with a friendship between two friends belonging to different religions. The film's shoot became the epicentre of a dispute that arose between the Tamil Film Producers Council and Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI). It was reported that members of FEFSI had stopped

1260-541: A critic, Truffaut decided to make films. He began with the short film Une Visite (1955) and followed it with Les Mistons (1957). After seeing Orson Welles 's Touch of Evil at the Expo 58 , Truffaut made his feature film directorial debut with The 400 Blows (1959), which received considerable critical and commercial acclaim. He won the Best Director award at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. The film follows

1350-553: A different film. The film was loosely based on his own Malayalam film Yathra released in 1985. When asked about the difference between the two films, he said "Yat[h]ra was the love story of two adults, this is the love story of two adolescents." Shobha Warrier of Rediff.com wrote that the film was "extremely disappointing". In 2007, he started a film school named "Cinema Pattarai" in Chennai. The institute offers courses in disciplines such as cinematography, direction and acting. After

1440-446: A director who is known for making intense films, critics were surprised when he made Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (1987), a full-length comedy film. Closely based on the 1984 American film Micki and Maude , the film is regarded as one of the best comedies ever made in Tamil cinema during the decade. The film would serve as a base for his future films Marupadiyum (1993) and Sathi Leelavathi (1995) which explored similar themes. Towards

1530-1019: A fresh graduate from the FTII, Mahendra's early attempts to enter Sri Lankan Tamil cinema were unsuccessful. He got his first break as a cinematographer in 1971 in the Malayalam film Nellu . Ramu Kariat , the director of Nellu , was impressed by A View from the Fort , Mahendra's diploma film at the FTII. Though the filming of Nellu began in 1971, production delays postponed its release for three years. Meanwhile, Kariat signed up Mahendra for another film titled Maaya which released in 1972. However, P. N. Menon 's Panimudakku (1972) got released before Maaya , thus becoming Mahendra's first release. He continued to work in Malayalam films such as Sasthram Jayichu Manushyan Thottu (1973), Kaliyugam (1973) and Chattakari (1974). Nellu , shot in colour, won

1620-458: A great effect on his professional and personal life. Bazin was a critic and the head of another film society at the time. He became a personal friend of Truffaut's and helped him out of various financial and criminal situations during his formative years. Truffaut joined the French Army in 1950, aged 18, but spent the next two years trying to escape. He was arrested for attempting to desert

1710-537: A liar, because the scene between you and Jacqueline Bisset last week at Francis [a Paris restaurant] isn't included in your movie, and one also can't help wondering why the director is the only guy who isn't sleeping around in Day for Night " (Truffaut directed the film, wrote it and played the director on the film set in the film). Godard also implied that Truffaut had gone commercial and easy. Truffaut replied with an angry 20-page letter in which he accused Godard of being

1800-422: A long tribute in his film Histoire(s) du cinéma . Truffaut was married to Madeleine Morgenstern from 1957 to 1965, and they had two daughters, Laura (born 1959) and Eva (born 1961). Madeleine was the daughter of Ignace Morgenstern , managing director of one of France's largest film distribution companies, Cocinor , and was largely responsible for securing funding for Truffaut's first films. In 1968, Truffaut

1890-508: A main part of the story, he toned up the comical aspect of the characters and made the movie more to his liking. Even though Shoot the Piano Player was much appreciated by critics, it performed poorly at the box office. While the film focused on two of the French New Wave's favourite elements, American film noir and themselves, Truffaut never again experimented as heavily. In 1962, Truffaut directed his third movie, Jules and Jim ,

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1980-405: A major critical and commercial success. Mahendra's third film as director Moodu Pani (1980) was loosely based on Alfred Hitchcock 's 1960 film Psycho . Moodu Pani saw Mahendra collaborating with Ilaiyaraaja for the first time; Ilaiyaraaja was Mahendra's regular composer since then. In 1982, Mahendra made Moondram Pirai which had Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the lead. The film told

2070-407: A newcomer, approached Mahendra to be the cinematographer for his directorial debut Praying with Anger to which he refused. The next year, he remade Mahesh Bhatt 's Arth in Tamil as Marupadiyum . Mahendra made the film as he felt it was close to his personal life. He then came up with a full-length comedy Sathi Leelavathi in 1995 which was produced by Kamal Haasan. The following year, he made

2160-404: A nurse for an extended period of time. His mother eventually married and her husband gave François his surname, Truffaut. Although he was legally accepted as a legitimate child, his parents did not accept him. The Truffauts had another child, who died shortly after birth. This experience saddened them greatly and as a result they despised François because of the regret he represented (Knopf 4 ). He

2250-593: A romantic drama starring Jeanne Moreau . The film was very popular and highly influential. In 1963, Truffaut was approached to direct the American film Bonnie and Clyde , with a treatment written by Esquire journalists David Newman and Robert Benton intended to introduce the French New Wave to Hollywood. Although he was interested enough to help in script development, Truffaut ultimately declined, but not before interesting Jean-Luc Godard and American actor and would-be producer Warren Beatty , who proceeded with

2340-429: A self-conscious rejection of traditional cinema structure. This was a topic on which Truffaut had been writing for years. Following the success of The 400 Blows , Truffaut featured disjunctive editing and seemingly random voiceovers in his next film, Shoot the Piano Player (1960), starring Charles Aznavour . Truffaut has said that in the middle of filming, he realized that he hated gangsters. But since gangsters were

2430-559: Is The Green Room (1978), based on the Henry James story ' The Altar of the Dead ,' about a man and a woman who share a passion for remembering their dead loved ones. Jonathan Rosenbaum , who thinks The Green Room may be Truffaut's best film, told me he thinks of it as the director's homage to the auteur theory. That theory, created by Bazin and his disciples (Truffaut, Godard , Resnais , Chabrol , Rohmer , Malle ), declared that

2520-414: Is Doinel's life. The film follows him through his troubled adolescence. He is caught in between an unstable parental relationship and an isolated youth. From birth Truffaut was thrown into a troublesome situation. As he was born out of wedlock, his birth had to remain a secret because of the stigma of illegitimacy. He was registered as "a child born to an unknown father" in hospital records and looked after by

2610-621: Is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture . A number of cinematographers have become directors, including Reed Morano who lensed Frozen River and Beyoncé's Lemonade before winning an Emmy for directing The Handmaid's Tale . Barry Sonnenfeld , originally the Coen brothers ' DP; Jan de Bont , cinematographer on films such as Die Hard and Basic Instinct , directed Speed and Twister . Nicolas Roeg , cinematographer on films such as The Caretaker (1963) and The Masque of

2700-511: Is very comprehensive, since he dealt with all sorts of subjects—when you get stuck, especially as a young filmmaker, you can think of how Renoir would have handled the situation, and you generally find a solution". Truffaut called German filmmaker Werner Herzog "the most important film director alive." Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard , his colleague from Les Cahiers du Cinéma , worked together closely during their start as film directors although they had different working methods. Tensions came to

2790-593: The BAFTA Award for Best Film and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . His other notable films include Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Jules and Jim (1962), The Soft Skin (1964), The Wild Child (1970), Two English Girls (1971), The Last Metro (1980), and The Woman Next Door (1981). He played one of the main roles in Steven Spielberg 's Close Encounters of

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2880-527: The Film and Television Institute of India , Pune in 1966. He had to take up cinematography as he could not gain admissions to other disciplines. At the institute he was exposed to world cinema as he got an opportunity to watch films made by François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard , both associated with the French New Wave movement. In 1969, Mahendra graduated from the institute with a gold medal. As

2970-645: The Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography after it was released in 1974. Mahendra had continued successes with films such as Prayanam (1975) and Chuvanna Sandhyakal (1975), both fetching the state award for best photography to him for the second consecutive time. Between 1971 and 1976, he worked in about 20 films—mostly in Malayalam—as a cinematographer. The following year he made his directorial debut with Kokila . Made in Kannada ,

3060-544: The 1958 Cannes Film Festival . He supported Bazin in developing one of the most influential theories of cinema, the auteur theory . In 1954, Truffaut wrote an article in Cahiers du cinéma , "Une Certaine Tendance du Cinéma Français" ("A Certain Trend of French Cinema"), in which he attacked the state of French films, lambasting certain screenwriters and producers, and listing eight directors he considered incapable of devising

3150-435: The 1970s. He usually photographed, scripted and edited all his films. His films were characterised by strong "visual appeal" and minimal number of characters. A majority of his films centre on the complexity of human relationships and are known to portray women as strong characters. Although influenced by realism, his films Moodu Pani , Rettai Vaal Kuruvi and Julie Ganapathi heavily borrowed from American cinema . Mahendra

3240-540: The 1st two films, he collaborated with Ilaiyaraja consecutively, for 21 films. He intended to collaborate with Raja in the 6 films, that he had already conceived, before icy death snatched him away. While other directors never used Ilaiyaraja for their Hindi remakes, Balu Mahendra was steadfast in persisting with Ilaiyaraja, in all the languages. Their equation was symbiotic & synergetic, with Ilaiyaraja, unfailingly churning out enviable chart busters, for Balu Mahendra. An exceptional highlight of their creative bonding being,

3330-646: The Butterfly , as well as novelist Haruki Murakami 's Kafka on the Shore . In conversation with Michael Ondaatje , film editor Walter Murch mentions the influence Truffaut had on him as a young man, saying he was "electrified" by the freeze-frame at the end of The 400 Blows , and that Godard's Breathless and Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player reinforced the idea that he could make films. Roger Ebert included The 400 Blows in his canon of Great Movies, and concludes: "one of his most curious, haunting films

3420-590: The Century (along with The 400 Blows ). In 1975, Truffaut gained more notoriety with The Story of Adèle H. ; Isabelle Adjani in the title role earned a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress . His 1976 film Small Change was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film . The Man Who Loved Women (1977), a romantic drama, was a minor hit. Truffaut also appeared in Steven Spielberg 's 1977 Close Encounters of

3510-491: The Dead ", filmed as The Green Room , and several American detective novels. Truffaut's other films were from original screenplays, often co-written by the screenwriters Suzanne Schiffman or Jean Gruault . They featured diverse subjects, the sombre The Story of Adèle H. inspired by the life of the daughter of Victor Hugo , with Isabelle Adjani ; Day for Night , shot at the Victorine Studios , depicting

3600-912: The FTII, and further noted that he was one of the few film-makers who effectively used romantic realism . Lauded for usage of "natural lighting", Mahendra was considered "one of the few filmmakers in Tamil who believes in telling a story visually". Kamal Haasan described that he was one of the few directors who balanced between art and popular cinema. As a film-maker, he inspired contemporary actors and film-makers such as Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan and Sripriya , He has mentored next generation film-makers including Bala , Ameer , Vetrimaaran , Ram and Seenu Ramasamy . Cinematographers like Santosh Sivan , Ravi K. Chandran , Natarajan Subramaniam and K. V. Anand have taken inspirations from him. The negatives of his acclaimed films— Moodu Pani , Veedu , Sandhya Raagam , Marupadiyum and Sathi Leelavathi —are lost. Balu Mahendra totally directed 23 films, in 5 languages. Except

3690-604: The Red Death (1964), directed Don't Look Now (1973) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Ellen Kuras, ASC photographed Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind as well as a number of Spike Lee films such as Summer of Sam and He Got Game before directing episodes of Legion and Ozark. In 2014, Wally Pfister , cinematographer on Christopher Nolan 's three Batman films , made his directorial debut with Transcendence , whilst British cinematographers Jack Cardiff and Freddie Francis regularly moved between

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3780-472: The River Kwai (1957) during a school trip in Sri Lanka, he was drawn towards filmmaking. After graduation he joined as an Aerial photographer in the Sri Lankan Government. In 1966, he moved to India and gained admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in motion picture photography. Upon completion of his diploma, he entered Malayalam cinema as a cinematographer in

3870-465: The Third Kind (1977). Truffaut wrote the book Hitchcock/Truffaut (1966), based on his interviews with film director Alfred Hitchcock during the 1960s. He was married from 1957 until 1964 to Madeleine Morgenstern, in 1968 became engaged to leading actress Claude Jade from three of his films, and lived together with Fanny Ardant , actress in his two last films, until his death. Truffaut

3960-485: The Third Kind as scientist Claude Lacombe. The Green Room (1978) starred Truffaut in the lead. It was a box-office flop, so he made Love on the Run (1979) starring Léaud and Jade as the final movie of the Doinel Cycle. One of Truffaut's final films gave him an international revival. The Last Metro (1980) garnered 12 César Award nominations and 10 wins, including Best Director. Truffaut's last film

4050-540: The advancement of cinematography, including: The A.S.C. defines cinematography as: A creative and interpretive process that culminates in the authorship of an original work of art rather than the simple recording of a physical event. Cinematography is not a subcategory of photography. Rather, photography is but one craft that the cinematographer uses in addition to other physical, organizational, managerial, interpretive and image-manipulating techniques to effect one coherent process. The Academy Award for Best Cinematography

4140-432: The advent of artificial lighting and faster (more light-sensitive) film stocks , in addition to technological advancements in optics, the technical aspects of cinematography necessitated a specialist in that area. Cinematography was key during the silent movie era; with no sound apart from background music and no dialogue, the films depended on lighting, acting, and set. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)

4230-423: The army and incarcerated in military prison. Bazin used his political contacts to get Truffaut released and set him up with a job at his new film magazine, Cahiers du cinéma . Over the next few years, Truffaut became a critic (and later editor) at Cahiers , where he became notorious for his brutal, unforgiving reviews. He was called "The Gravedigger of French Cinema" and was the only French critic not invited to

4320-406: The character of Antoine Doinel through his perilous misadventures in school, an unhappy home life and later reform school. The film is highly autobiographical. Both Truffaut and Doinel were only children of loveless marriages; they both committed petty crimes of theft and truancy from the military. Truffaut cast Jean-Pierre Léaud as Doinel. Léaud was seen as an ordinary boy of 14 who auditioned for

4410-412: The cinematographer and director vary. In some instances, the director will allow the cinematographer complete independence, while in others, the director allows little to none, even going so far as to specify exact camera placement and lens selection. Such a level of involvement is less common when the director and cinematographer have become comfortable with each other. The director will typically convey to

4500-453: The cinematographer what is wanted from a scene visually and allow the cinematographer latitude in achieving that effect. The scenes recorded by the cinematographer are passed to the film editor for editing . In the infancy of motion pictures, the cinematographer was usually also the director and the person physically handling the camera. As the art form and technology evolved, a separation between director and camera operator emerged. With

4590-470: The death and paid homage to him at his "film school" in Saligramam , Chennai, and decided not to work on the following day as a sign of respect. The last rites of Mahendra were performed at Porur crematorium on the same day. As a photographer, Mahendra was inspired by the works of Néstor Almendros and Michael Chapman . Among his contemporaries, he admired the works of Ashok Kumar . Mahendra believed

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4680-493: The director was the true author of a film—not the studio, the screenwriter, the star, the genre. If the figures in the green room stand for the great directors of the past, perhaps there is a shrine there now to Truffaut. One likes to think of the ghost of Antoine Doinel lighting a candle before it." Truffaut expressed his admiration for filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel , Ingmar Bergman , Robert Bresson , Roberto Rossellini , and Alfred Hitchcock . He wrote Hitchcock/Truffaut ,

4770-412: The early 1970s. After working in over 20 films as a cinematographer, Mahendra made his directorial debut in 1977 with the Kannada film Kokila . Since then, he directed over 20 films in a span of 36 years. Along with Bharathiraja and Mahendran , he is regarded as a trendsetter in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as an auteur , Mahendra usually scripted and edited his films apart from shooting them. He

4860-504: The end of the decade, Mahendra made two low-budgeted films— Veedu (1988) and Sandhya Raagam (1989). While Veedu focused on the life of a lower middle-class urban woman and her struggle to build a house, Sandhya Raagam dealt with "old age". At the 35th , Veedu won two National Film Awards—including one for Best Regional Film —and Sandhya Raagam won the Best Film on Family Welfare two years later . According to Mahendra, both

4950-588: The eternal superhit Thumbi Vaa ..... from Olangal-1982, was used by them 5 times, in 4 languages [Mal-1, Tamizh-2, Tel-1 & Hin-1, apart from in Paa by R. Balki & a Vocal-Orchestra Symphony version, in Raja's Concert in Italy–2004, titled as Mood Kaapi. Cinematographer The cinematographer is a subordinate of the director , tasked with capturing a scene in accordance with the director's vision. Relations between

5040-489: The film Azhiyadha Kolangal (1979), which according to him was "partly autobiographical". Inspired from the 1971 American film Summer of '42 , Azhiyadha Kolangal was a coming-of-age film that dealt with the story of three adolescent boys who are in the awakening of sexuality. Although it was controversial for its theme, it was a box-office success. During this time he did the cinematography of K. Vishwanath 's Telugu film Sankarabharanam (1979) which turned out to be

5130-612: The film by Charles Silver praises it. Stolen Kisses (1968) was a continuation of the Antoine Doinel Cycle starring Claude Jade as Antoine's fiancée and later wife Christine Darbon. During its filming Truffaut fell in love with Jade and was briefly engaged to her. It was a big hit on the international art circuit. A short time later Jade made her Hollywood debut in Hitchcock's Topaz . Truffaut worked on projects with varied subjects. The Bride Wore Black (1968),

5220-658: The film had nothing to do with him and has not discussed about it with George. In 1998, he married another actress Mounika and declared their marriage publicly in 2004. Following a heart attack on 13 February 2014, Mahendra was admitted to Vijaya Hospital in Chennai where he was declared dead after six hours of cardiac arrest . Shortly after the news of his death, members of the Indian film industry posted their condolences in Twitter and Facebook. The Tamil film fraternity mourned

5310-568: The film was a "triangular love story". In addition to a Best Screenplay award from the Karnataka government , Mahendra won his first National Film Award for Best Cinematography for the film. The film was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. It was equally successful in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu and has the distinction of being the only Kannada film to complete 150 days in Madras (now Chennai ) as of 2014. Despite being

5400-459: The film was a critical success. At the end of the year, Mahendra won two Filmfare trophies for directing Olangal and Moondram Pirai . In 1983, Mahendra entered Hindi cinema with Sadma , a remake of Moondram Pirai , with Kamal Hasan and Sridevi reprising their roles. Mahendra received a Filmfare nomination for Best Story and became a well-known director with the Hindi audience with

5490-543: The film with director Arthur Penn . The fourth movie Truffaut directed was The Soft Skin (1964). It was not acclaimed on its release. Truffaut's first non-French film was a 1966 adaptation of Ray Bradbury 's classic science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 , showcasing Truffaut's love of books. His only English-speaking film, made on location in England, was a great challenge for Truffaut, because he barely spoke English himself. Shot by cinematographer Nicolas Roeg , this

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5580-457: The film. The same year, he worked as the cinematographer of the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi , Mani Ratnam 's debut film. During this time, he made his second film in Malayalam titled Oomakkuyil . Unlike Olangal , Oomakkuyil failed to create an impact among the audience. During the mid 1980s, Mahendra concentrated on mainstream films. The first of which Neengal Kettavai (1984)

5670-421: The filming of Raman Abdullah as Mahendra was engaging outside cast members in the film. This led FEFSI to go for an indefinite strike which affected to the delaying of several Tamil films. The film received negative reviews and failed at the box-office. He then attempted to make film titled Vaarayo Vennilave with Prabhu in the lead role, but the project was later dropped. After Raman Abdullah , Mahendra took

5760-399: The films were a tribute to his mother and father respectively. He named these two films as his best works as they were made with fewest mistakes and compromises. In 1992, Mahendra made Vanna Vanna Pookkal which was produced by S. Dhanu . The film had a 100-day run and won the award for the "Best Regional Film" at the 39th National Film Awards . During this time M. Night Shyamalan , then

5850-474: The flag of sensible cinema within the commercial format once again in his latest offering Julie Ganapathy " and rated the film as one of the best thrillers ever made. In spite of being a critical success, the film turned out to be a commercial failure. For his next film Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam (2005), he decided to cast Dhanush in the lead role. Initially he stated that the film to be an extension of his 1979 film Azhiyatha Kolangal . However, he ended up making

5940-422: The house to improve it, such as painting or changing the electric outlets. Sadly, these kind gestures often resulted in catastrophic events, causing him to get scolded by his mother. His father mostly laughed them off. The 400 Blows marked the beginning of the French New Wave movement, which gave directors such as Jean-Luc Godard , Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette a wider audience. The New Wave dealt with

6030-499: The kinds of "vile" and "grotesque" characters and storylines he called characteristic of the mainstream French film industry: Jean Renoir , Robert Bresson , Jean Cocteau , Jacques Becker , Abel Gance , Max Ophuls , Jacques Tati and Roger Leenhardt . The article caused a storm of controversy and landed Truffaut an offer to write for the nationally circulated, more widely read cultural weekly Arts-Lettres-Spectacles . Truffaut wrote more than 500 film articles for that publication over

6120-463: The media speculated that Mahendra was responsible for her death. Following that, Mahendra wrote a series of "sentimental musings" in the Tamil magazine Kumudam under the title Shobavum Naanum (lit. Shoba and me). Their relationship was explored by K. G. George (Mahendra's junior at the FTII) in his 1983 Malayalam film Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback . When the film was released, Mahendra said that

6210-564: The money for admission. After being expelled from several schools, at age 14 he decided to become self-taught. Two of his academic goals were to watch three movies a day and read three books a week. Truffaut frequented Henri Langlois 's Cinémathèque Française , where he was exposed to countless foreign films, becoming familiar with American cinema and directors such as John Ford , Howard Hawks and Nicholas Ray , as well as those of British director Alfred Hitchcock . After starting his own film club in 1948, Truffaut met André Bazin , who had

6300-503: The next four years. Truffaut later devised the auteur theory , according to which the director was the "author" of his work and great directors such as Renoir or Hitchcock have distinct styles and themes that permeate their films. Although his theory was not widely accepted then, it gained some support in the 1960s from American critic Andrew Sarris . In 1967, Truffaut published his book-length interview of Hitchcock, Hitchcock/Truffaut (New York: Simon and Schuster ). After having been

6390-515: The role after seeing a flyer, but interviews after the film's release (one is included on the Criterion DVD of the film) reveal Léaud's natural sophistication and an instinctive understanding of acting for the camera. Léaud and Truffaut collaborated on several films over the years. Their most noteworthy collaboration was the continuation of Doinel's story in a series of films called "The Antoine Doinel Cycle". The primary focus of The 400 Blows

6480-399: The story of a school teacher who looks after a girl suffering from amnesia . It had a 300-day run in the theatres and was labelled a "blockbuster". The film fetched two National Film Awards including an award for cinematography for Mahendra. The same year he made Olangal (1982) which marked his directorial debut in Malayalam . Inspired from Erich Segal 's novel Man, Woman and Child ,

6570-426: The surface after May 68 : Godard wanted a more political, specifically Marxist cinema, Truffaut was critical of creating films for primarily political purposes. In 1973, Godard wrote Truffaut a lengthy and raucous private letter peppered with accusations and insinuations, several times stating that as a filmmaker "you're a liar" and that his latest film ( Day for Night ) had been unsatisfying, lying and evasive: "You're

6660-484: The top rank in cinematography, so the professor did not mind my going to other classes. My main concern at that time was direction and scripting with a little bit of interest in cinematography." —Mahendra in an interview with Frontline in 2013 Right from his childhood, Mahendra was interested in fine arts and literature. Upon completion of school, he joined the London University and graduated with

6750-424: The two positions. Fran%C3%A7ois Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( UK : / ˈ t r uː f oʊ , ˈ t r ʊ -/ TROO -foh, TRUU- , US : / t r uː ˈ f oʊ / troo- FOH ; French: [fʁɑ̃swa ʁɔlɑ̃ tʁyfo] ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic, widely regarded as one of the founders of the cinematic French New Wave . With

6840-563: The ups and downs of filmmaking; and The Last Metro , set during the German occupation of France during World War II , a film rewarded by ten César Awards . Known as a lifelong cinephile, Truffaut once (according to the 1993 documentary film François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits ) threw a hitchhiker out of his car after learning that he did not like films. Many filmmakers admire Truffaut, and tributes to his work have appeared in films such as Almost Famous , Face and The Diving Bell and

6930-555: Was Truffaut's first film in colour. The larger-scale production was difficult for Truffaut, who had worked only with small crews and budgets. The shoot was also strained by a conflict with lead actor Oscar Werner, who was unhappy with his character and stormed off set, leaving Truffaut to shoot scenes using a body double shot from behind. The film was a commercial failure, and Truffaut never worked outside France again. The film's cult standing has steadily grown, although some critics remain dubious of it as an adaptation. A 2014 consideration of

7020-406: Was an adaptation of the 1977 Japanese classic The Yellow Handkerchief . Made with "artistic values" the film earned ₹ 1.9 million (equivalent to ₹ 28 million or US$ 340,000 in 2023) and ran for more than 200days in theatres and went on to become the highest-grossing Malayalam film of that year. By this time, he declined an offer to direct the Kannada film Malaya Marutha (1986). As

7110-607: Was an outcast from his earliest years, dismissed as an unwanted child. François was sent to live with his grandparents. When his grandmother died, his parents took him in, much to his mother's dismay. His experiences with his mother were harsh. He recalled being treated badly by her but found comfort in his father's laughter and spirit. François had a very depressing childhood after moving in with his parents. They left him at home, by himself, when they took vacations. He even recalled being alone during Christmas. Being left alone forced François into independence, often doing various tasks around

7200-449: Was another Antoine Doinel film, also with Jade, now Léaud's on-screen-wife. Two English Girls (1971) is the female reflection of the same love story as "Jules et Jim". It is based on a story by Henri-Pierre Roché , who wrote Jules and Jim , about a man who falls equally in love with two sisters, and their love affair over a period of years. Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me (1972) was a screwball comedy. Day for Night won Truffaut

7290-459: Was at the sixth grade, he got an opportunity to witness the making of David Lean 's The Bridge on the River Kwai (shot in Sri Lanka) during a school field trip. Inspired by Lean's personality, Mahendra determined to become a film-maker. "I used to cut my cinematography classes and attend classes conducted in the departments of direction, screenplay writing and editing. However, I used to get

7380-461: Was born in Paris on 6 February 1932. His mother was Janine de Montferrand. His mother's future husband, Roland Truffaut, accepted him as an adopted son and gave him his surname. He was passed around to live with various nannies and his grandmother for a number of years. His grandmother instilled in him her love of books and music. He lived with her until her death, when Truffaut was eight years old. It

7470-508: Was equally praised for his cinematography and directorial finesse. Described by the media as "one of the finest cinematographers of Indian cinema", he was among the first to pioneer innovative colour in South India . Subrata Mitra , Satyajit Ray's cinematographer, presented a viewfinder to Mahendra acknowledging his talent. Fellow cinematographer Madhu Ambat described that it was Mahendra who gave "fame" to those cameramen who came out of

7560-593: Was formed in 1919 in Hollywood , and was the first trade society for cinematographers. Similar societies were formed in other countries. For example, the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC). Their aims include the recognition of the cinematographer's contribution to the art and science of motion picture making. There are a number of national associations of cinematographers that represent members (irrespective of their official titles) and are dedicated to

7650-418: Was labelled an outright commercial picture. Later Mahendra noted that he made the film with a sole intention to prove critics that he could make commercial films. The following year, he collaborated with Rajinikanth to make Un Kannil Neer Vazhindal which turned out to be a commercial failure. He then worked on the Malayalam film Yathra (1985) with Mammooty in the lead role as a forest officer. The film

7740-512: Was only after her death that he lived with his parents. Truffaut's biological father's identity is unknown, but a private detective agency in 1968 revealed that its inquiry into the matter led to a Roland Levy, a Jewish dentist from Bayonne . Truffaut's mother's family disputed the finding but Truffaut believed and embraced it. Truffaut often stayed with friends and tried to be out of the house as much as possible. He knew Robert Lachenay from childhood, and they were lifelong best friends. Lachenay

7830-476: Was shot in black and white, giving his career a sense of having bookends. Confidentially Yours is Truffaut's tribute to his favourite director, Hitchcock. It deals with numerous Hitchcockian themes, such as private guilt versus public innocence, a woman investigating a murder, and anonymous locations. A keen reader, Truffaut adapted many literary works, including two novels by Henri-Pierre Roché , Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451 , Henry James 's " The Altar of

7920-454: Was the inspiration for the character René Bigey in The 400 Blows and worked as an assistant on some of Truffaut's films. Cinema offered Truffaut the greatest escape from an unsatisfying home life. He was eight years old when he saw his first movie, Abel Gance 's Paradis Perdu ( Paradise Lost , 1939), beginning his obsession. He frequently skipped school and sneaked into theaters because he lacked

8010-482: Was the recipient of six National Film Awards (including two for Best Cinematography ), five Filmfare Awards South and several state government awards. During the tail end of his career, he established a film school in Chennai , which offers courses in cinematography, direction and acting. Following a brief phase of poor health, Mahendra died of cardiac arrest in February 2014. Mahendra was born on 19 May 1939 into

8100-576: Was to make a film that can compete on a global level, Thalaimuraigal is a concrete step in that direction." Despite being critically acclaimed, the film was a commercial failure. At the 61st National Film Awards , it won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration . Mahendra was married thrice. He was first married to Akhileshwari with whom he had a son. His relationship with actress Shoba ended in 1980 after she committed suicide following their marriage. Upon her death,

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