Komal Swaminathan Biography 
Komal Swaminathan was a theatre personality, writer and journalist from Tamil Nadu. He was a congressional activist in his early years, and has been associated with Tamil cine world as a screenwriter and director. As a playwright and play director, he shot to success with Thanneer Thanneer originally staged in 1980. He owned a drama troupe "Stage Friends", and many film artists of Tamil cinema have worked with him as stage actors before joining films. A doyen of Tamil art and theatre, Komal Swaminathan has staged nearly 33 plays. He directed the Tamil film Oru Indhiya Kanavu in 1984 which won best regional film award at national film awards.
Komal Swaminathan was born on 27 January 1935 in Komal, Thanjavur district, Tamilnadu. He added ‘Komal’ tag, the name of his village to his name. After learning the art of playwriting and stage techniques, he started Stage Friends theatric group in 1971. As a dramatist he came to prominence in the early 1980s. He scripted and directed the play, Thanneer Thanneer which became an instant hit. The play was successfully staged for more than 250 times making it a grand success. The doyen of theatre, Swaminathan has staged more than 30 plays, and in the 1980s he enjoyed his glorious years in this field.
One year later K. Balachander made the same play to a film with same title, winning many awards. Swaminathan too has directed Tamil films. His movie Oru Indhiya Kanavu earned critics’ appreciation and national award for best film in Tamil for the year 1984. Swaminathan also worked as a journalist, and served as the editor of the literal magazine, Subhamangala. He passed away in 1995. His grandson Anand Shankar is a film director and screenwriter.
Published: N/A
Updated: June 28, 2018
