T. S. Balaiah
film actor (1914-1972)
Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (21 August 1912 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films. Born in Sundankottai, near Sathankulam in Thoothukudi, Balaiah was introduced to the cine field by director Ellis R. Dungan in Sathi Leelavathi (1936), along with M. G. Ramachandran, N. S. Krishnan and M. K. Radha. He was one of the very few actors who excelled as a villain, as well as in character roles and comic roles.
Early life
Balaiah was born on 21 August 1912 in Sundankottai, a village near Sathankulam in present-day Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu
Career
Being part of various drama troupes, Balaiah's career in films started with the 'Madurai Original Boys' drama company which had several talented youngsters who created history in Tamil cinema, including M. K. Radha, M. G. Ramachandran, and N. S. Krishnan. Balaiah began his film career through the Tamil film Sathi Leelavathi in 1936. Balaiah played first lead role in Mohini paired opposite Madhuri Devi, where he played an elder brother to V. N. Janaki and supporting role by M.G.R . He gained a lot of weight at the age of 40 in 1954, hence started getting more character roles. Among his villain roles, Ambikapathy 1937, Andhaman Kaithi, Madurai Veeran, Thaikkupin Tharam, Hello Mister Zamindar and Thiruvilaiyadal were critically acclaimed. Balaiah also excelled in comedy roles in movies such as Kavalai Illaadha Manithan, Kadhalikka Neramillai, Bama Vijayam and Thillana Mohanambal.
The public source identifies “T. S. Balaiah” as film actor (1914-1972). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Balaiah, film and actor.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12983082. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1912, 1972, 1936 and 1954.
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This entry incorporates text from “T. S. Balaiah” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.