Raja Chandrasekhar (1904-71)
Tamil and Kannada director born in Tiruchirapalli, TN; aka Raja C. Sekhar. Former textile engineer. Started in film in Bombay (1926). Assistant to Fatma Begum (1929). Later with General Pics? and East India Film. First film adapted Veeranna’s stage hit Sadarame. Early practitioner of Tamil costume dramas derived from Bombay version of Douglas Fairbanks movies. Was the film-maker who (with Duncan?) gave Tamil superstar MGR his breaks (Dakshayagnam, Maya Machhindra, Ashok Kumar). May have co-directed Badami?’s début, Harishchandra at Sagar Film, although some sources credit co-direction of the film to T.C. Vadivelu Naicker.
FILMOGRAPHY: 1932: Harishchandra; 1935: Sadarame; Gnanasoundari; 1936: Chandramohana; Raja Desingu; 1937: Bhakta Tulsidas; 1938: Dakshayagnam; 1939: Maya Machhindra; 1941: Ashok Kumar; 1943: Arundhati; 1948: Raja Mukthi.