{{Short description|Indian poet and director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Kothamangalam Subbu | image = Kothamangalam_Subbu.jpg | caption = Kothamangalam Subbu in 1948 | birth_name = Subbiah Mahalinga Subramanian | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1910|11|10}} | birth_place = Kannariyenthal, Karaikkudi, Madras State, British India | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1974|2|15|1910|11|10}} | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = {{hlist|Actor|director|author|poet}} | education = | employer = | occupation = | title = | spouse = M. S. Sundari Bai (m.1945-1974) | children = | parents = S. Mahalingam Iyer,<br/>Kanagammal | relatives = | signature = | website = | }}
{{family name hatnote|Kothamangalam|Subbu|Indian name|lang=Toponymic}}'''Kothamangalam Subbu''' (born '''S. M. Subramanian''', 10 November 1910 – 15 February 1974)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dinamalar.com/news/tamil-nadu-news/news/2213665|title = இதே நாளில் அன்று|date = 14 February 2019}}</ref> was an Indian poet, lyricist, author, actor and film director based in Tamil Nadu. He wrote the cult classic Tamil novel ''Thillana Mohanambal'' and was awarded the Padma Shri. According to novelist Ashokamitran's memoirs, Subbu functioned as the No. 2 of the giant Gemini Studios of Chennai (formerly Madras), South India for over three decades and was a close associate of movie mogul S. S. Vasan, who established those studios and published the popular Tamil weekly ''Ananda Vikatan''.
==Early life== {{unreferenced section|date= November 2022}} Subbu was born Subramanian in the village of Kannariyenthal, near Pattukkottai, Tamil Nadu. His parents were Subbiah Ganapadigal Mahalinga Iyer and Kangammal.<!-- Names given by Kothamangalam Subbu's son Srinivasan Subbu --> After losing his mother when he was young, Subbu received patronage from his aunt. He could continue his studies only up to 8th grade. After marrying his kin, Subbu settled in Kothamangalam and worked as an accountant in a business concern. However, his interests shifted toward Tamil drama, acting, singing, and composing songs. By the late 1930s, Subbu received opportunities for acting in the then-blossoming Tamil movies in Madras.
==Career== Subbu directed the epic film ''Avvaiyar'' in which the great artiste of those days Smt K. B. Sundarambal played the lead role. Ashokamitran had profiled humorously how this film took shape in the Gemini Studios. Subbu, with his wife Sundari Bai, played a minor role in the movie as the husband of an incorrigible lady who refuses to serve Avvaiyar food. Subbu also directed ''Kannamma En Kadhali'', that featured his wife Sundari Bai. Furthermore, Subbu acted as a hero in ''Miss Malini'' that was remade in Hindi as ''Mr. Sampath''. ''Miss Malini'' was an adaptation of RK Narayan novel ''Mr Sampath''. ''Dasi Aparanji'' was another movie in which Subbu and Sundari Bai played the leads. In addition, Subbu has acted in Tamil movies ''Thiruneelakantar'' and ''Pava Mannippu''.{{citation needed|date= November 2022}}
As a writer Subbu's most well-known work is ''Thillana Mohanambal'' that was transformed into a popularly and critically successful Tamil movie, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini. Subbu was awarded the Padma Shri for authoring this novel, which originally appeared as a weekly serial in the ''Anantha Vikatan''. Respected for his encyclopedic knowledge of music and satirical writing style, Subbu's tongue-in-cheek writing won the appreciation of many. He authored ''Rao Bahadur Singaram'', ''Bandanallur Bama'', ''Ponnivanathu Poonguyil'', ''Miss Radha'', and ''Manju Virattu'' (a collection of short stories).{{citation needed|date= November 2022}}
Subbu has written several novels using the pen name of '''Kalaimani''' and penned ''Gandhi Mahan Kathai'' narrating the life of Mahatma Gandhi in folklore form. He wrote about 120 radio plays for All India Radio.<ref>Ashokamitran My Years with Boss at Gemini Studios. Orient Longman, Hyderabad, 2002, pp.17–19. P.S.Ramanan: Kothamangalam Subbu. Thenral, Sept. 2010, pp.36–38 (in Tamil) {{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/The-multifaceted-Kothamangalam-Subbu/article14639417.ece | title=The multifaceted Kothamangalam Subbu | work=The Hindu | date=15 September 2016 | access-date=12 May 2017 | last=Vijayaraghavan | first=Sujatha | archive-url=https://archive.today/20170512055907/http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/The-multifaceted-Kothamangalam-Subbu/article14639417.ece | archive-date=12 May 2017 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
==Filmography== {{unreferenced section|date= November 2022}} ;Screenwriter *''Chandralekha'' (1948) *''Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1949) *''Avvaiyar'' (1953) *''Valliyin Selvan'' (1955) *''Vanjikottai Valiban'' (1958) *''Irumbu Thirai'' (1960) *''Motor Sundaram Pillai'' (1966) *''Thillana Mohanambal'' (1968) *''Vilaiyaattu Pillai'' (1970) <small>(story only)</small>
;Director *''Kannamma En Kadhali'' (1945) *''Miss Malini'' (1947) *''Avvaiyar'' (1953) *''Valliyin Selvan'' (1955)
;Lyricist *''Naam Iruvar'' (1947) *''Chakradhari'' (1948) *''Valliyin Selvan'' (1955) *''Aadi Perukku'' (1962) *''Annai'' (1962) *''Pazhani'' (1965)
;Movies *''Paava Mannippu''
==Legacy== ''Ananda Vikatan'' magazine is currently republishing the works of this writer, lyricist, director and actor. As an exponent of the traditional folk form of narrating stories in Tamil Nadu, the Villu Pattu, Kothamangalam Subbu popularised the lives of many Indian luminaries using the Villu Paatu.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.winentrance.com/general_knowledge/kothamangalam-subbu.html|title=Biography of Kothamangalam Subbu|last=editor|date=2011-03-21|website=Winentrance|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-26|archive-date=26 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326115310/http://www.winentrance.com/general_knowledge/kothamangalam-subbu.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tamilnadu.com/arts/villu-paatu.html|title=Arts - Villu Paatu|publisher=Tamilnadu.com|date=26 February 2013|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210152357/https://tamilnadu.com/arts/villu-paatu.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Subbu's wife, Sundari Bai, was a popular film actress, known for her versatility in playing character roles in movies such as ''Kannamma En Kadhali'', ''Sumathy En Sundari'', ''Chandralekha'', ''Bama Rukmani'' and ''Avvaiyar''.{{citation needed|date= November 2022}}
== In books ==
* Ashokamitran, a Tamil writer, recounts his years at Gemini Studios in his book “My Years with Boss”, where he mentions Kothamangalam Subbu. In NCERT Class 12th English Course Book Named “Flamingo”, the chapter “Poets and Pancakes” is an excerpt from the same book.
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Subbu, Kothamangalam}} Category:Male actors from Tamil Nadu Category:1910 births Category:1974 deaths Category:Poets from Tamil Nadu Category:20th-century Indian male actors Category:20th-century Indian poets Category:Indian lyricists Category:Tamil film directors Category:People from Sivaganga district Category:Tamil screenwriters Category:Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu Category:Tamil-language lyricists Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Category:Film directors from Tamil Nadu Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters