K. Vijayan (1939 – 1988) was a film director who directed many Tamil films during the 1960s-1980s. He has also directed a few Hindi and Malayalam films. Thirisoolam (1979) in Tamil is his most successful film. Amardeep starring Rajesh Khanna is his noted work in Hindi. Vijayan frequently worked with Sivaji Ganesan in the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s. Snehabandanam, Thirakal, Iniyoru Janmam Tharu, Anantham Ajnatham, etc., are some of his Malayalam ventures.
K. Vijayan – Tamil Film Director of the 1960s and 1960s
K. Vijayan was a native of Tirur, present-day Kerala. He was employed at Trichy Golden Rock Railways before he moved to Chennai to pursue a career as an actor. He played the lead role in Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar, which opened to positive reviews from critics. The film also shared a national award for best regional film with Kalathur Kannamma in 1960. But the film’s failure almost ended his journey to succeed as an actor, and in the late 1960s, he moved into direction.
His debut flick Kaaval Dheivam released in 1969, starring Sivaji Ganesan, was a commercial hit, and since then, the duo collaborated in many movies together. Thirisoolam, Vidhi, Sattam, Vidhuthalai, etc., are his major works. He died during the filming of En Rathathin Rathame, the Tamil remake of Mr. India. The film was later completed by his son.
K. Vijayan – Some interesting and lesser-known facts
1. His film Thirisoolam was the last blockbuster of Sivaji Ganesan’s career, and the film had a successful run of more than 200 days.
2. He has remade Bollywood iconic movies – Mother India and Mr. India into Tamil, titled Punniya Boomi and En Rathathin Rathame respectively. He also remade Qurbani, Avtar, Amanush, Ardh Satya, etc. into Tamil.
3. Film directors K. S. Adhiyaman and Samuthirakani have worked as his assistants.
4. He is an actor turned director, who marked his screen debut as a solo hero.
5. His son Sundar K. Vijayan directs TV serials.
6. His debut film as an actor, Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar, was one of the early films in Tamil with a Communist theme.
7. His last film, En Rathathin Rathame, starred Meenakshi Sheshadri in her first Tamil role, where she reprised Sridevi’s lead role. The director died during the film shooting.
8. His Bollywood film Amardeep marked the return of Rajesh Khanna after a string of flops. The film was a commercial success. It was the 10th most-watched Khanna film after he died in 2012.
9. He directed only 2 Bollywood films – Yeh Rishta Na Toote and Amardeep. He also directed one Kannada film, Rusthum Jodi.
10. He frequently worked with Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan.
11. His real name is K. Sathyanathan.
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