ARUL SUSAI ANTHONY SAMI (B. 1915)
Tamil director born and educated in Colombo, Sri Lanka; son of a theatre contractor. Quit his job as university lecturer in Colombo to move to Madras, where his play Bilbana, originally written for the radio and later performed with great success by M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and by the TKS Brothers, went on to become a major film hit produced by TKS (1948) Sami. who scripted the film, got a job at Jupiter Studio, Coimbatore, where he wrote e.g. Sundarrao Nadkarni's Valmiki(l946), A Kasilingam's Ahhimanyu 0948, with Karunanidhi) and the story of Lanka Sathyam's Mohini (1948). His debut as director, Rajakumari, an Arabian Nights movie he also scripted, is MGR's first hit in a lead role and put Sami m the front -line ot Tamil directors. His second film, Velaikkari, is a DMK Film propaganda classic written by Annadurai His sole Hindi film, Maya Sundari. is largely dubbed from the Tamil hit Karpurakarast, but includes a new dance number sung by Geeta Dutt with music by Bulo C. Rani (uncredited). Later worked as Head of the Direction department of the Tamil Nadu Film & TV Institute, Madras.
FILMOGRAPHY: 1947: Rajakumari; 1949 Velaikkari; 1950: Vijyakumari; 1951: Sudarshan; 1953: Ponni; 1954: Thuli Visham: : 1955: Neethipathi; 1957: Karpurakarasi; ' 1959: Kalyanikku Kalyanam: Tbangapathumai; 1960: Kaidhi Kamiiyiram; 1961: Arasilankumari; 1962: i'vleri Bahen; Muthu/vfandapam; 1963: Arzanda]yoti; Asai Alaigal; Kaduvulai Kandan; 1964: Vazhi Pimnthadu; 1967: Maya Sundari; 1971: Tnimmagal