Balachandra Menon Marks 50 Years in Cinema, Tracing Journey from Journalism to National Award

Thiruvananthapuram: Balachandra Menon, the versatile personality who excelled in Malayalam cinema as an actor, director, scriptwriter, and producer, is celebrating a significant milestone: 50 years since his entry into film journalism—the field that opened the door to the world of cinema for him.

Menon began his career in 1975 as the Madras (now Chennai) correspondent for the popular magazine ‘Cinema.’ This followed his graduation from University College and securing a rank in the Journalism course at the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club. His very first published piece was an interview with the prominent actress of the time, Rani Chandra. During his tenure as a journalist, he quickly built strong relationships with major film personalities, including Prem Nazir and Madhu.

National Award Winner

Menon’s directorial debut, Uthrada Rathri, was released in 1978. A true auteur, he later won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1997 for Samantharangal, a film he scripted, directed, and starred in.

A polymath of the industry, Menon has showcased his talent in story, screenplay, dialogue, direction, lyric writing, music, production, and distribution, in addition to acting. He is also credited with introducing several leading actresses to Malayalam cinema, including Karthika, Shobhana, Parvathy, Annie, and Nandini. To date, he has directed and scripted around forty films and acted in approximately one hundred.