South Indian Cinema, known for its vibrancy and passion owes a considerable debt to Shri K. Subrahmanyam. A pioneer film maker at a time when the South Indian Cinema was at its infancy, Shri Subrahmanyam also instilled the nationalist spirit and a commitment to social issues in his films.

Shri K. Subrahmanyam was born on April 20, 1904, the eldest son of  a well known lawyer and educationist C.S. Krishnaswami Iyer and Venkalakshmi of Papanasam village in Kumbakonam in Tamilnadu. At the age of 16 he got married to Meenakshi of Nagapattinam. After graduating from Kumbakonam College he studied Law at the Madras Law College and became a lawyer. But soon the creative urge in him drew him into the film Industry and he joined the well known film Director Raja Sandow as Assistant Director. Later, ShirK. Subrahmanyam blossomed as a pioneer film Producer­ Director.

Apart from silent films, he made several mythological and social movies in Tamil and also a few in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. He was the first  South Indian filmmaker to produce a film in Hindi, namely 'Premsagar', and was the first Indian to direct a Singhalese film. His Madras United Artistes. Corporation (MUAC), Kalaivani Films and later Morak Pvt. Ltd. were fore-runners in producing thought- provoking films. He had a firm conviction that the film medium cannot function purely as a commercial entity without social values and responsibility. He proved this by his films till 1957 after which he decided to retire from film production.

Even after he retired from film production, his interest as a pioneer in documentary films was not lessened. He continued to supervise short films produced by his Morak Pvt. Ltd. till the end. He was Honorary Adviser for the newly constituted Development of Visual Education of the then Govt. of Travancore.

Shri Subrahmanyam played a vital role in the formation of Film Finance Corporation, Children's Film Society, NFDC, the Film Institutes at Pune & Chennai, the National Film Archives in Pune, the Film Federation of lndia and the Central and State Sangeet Natak Academies. He encouraged talent and nurtured newcomers to the world of cinema. Many of his proteges later emerged as well known film personalities in their own right.

Shri Subrahmanyam had also a strong social commitment in life. He devoted himself in organizational work whether it was the mammoth Mahamagam Exhibition at Kumbakonam ( 1932) or the Indian National Army (INA) Relief Exhibition at Chennai (1946). He was the brain behind Govt. of India's schemes such as Inter-State Cultural Exchange, and Railway concessions for artistes to promote national  integration.

He was not only the Founder Member and later President of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, but also founder of several other important organizations including South Indian Artistes Association (Thennindia Nadigar Sangam). Indo­ Soviet Cultural Association, Nataka Kazhagam, Nadaswara Vidwan's Association and Nrithyodaya, a School to provide free training in dance and music to deserving poor students. He was the first Vice-Chairman of the State Sangeet Natak Academy (Now Tamilnadu Eyal Isai Nataka Mandram) and Chairman of the Tamilnadu Film Institute.

Shri Subrahmanyam was the only Indian film director to be honoured by both Moscow  Film Studio, USSR and the Hollywood Screen Directors' Guild, USA. He was also the recipient of the Golden Key to the Warner Brothers Company in USA.

He was nominated by UNESCO as the Honorary Adviser to its International Films and Television Council for India and Far East. The Government of Tamilnadu nominated him as Honorary State Liaison Officer for UNESCO in Tamilnadu.

Shri K. Subrahamanyam died in 1971 but his legacy lives on.

The Department of Posts honours the memory of Shri K. Subrahmanyam through issue of this commemorative postage stamp.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India