Chandrahasan

Chandrahasan
Chandrahasan in 2013
Born(1936-03-06)6 March 1936
Died18 March 2017(2017-03-18) (aged 81)
Occupation(s)Film producer, actor
Years active1981–2017
Spouse
Geethamani
(m. 1965; died 2017)
ChildrenNirmal Hasan
Anu Hasan
FamilySee Haasan family

Chandrahasan Srinivasan (6 March 1936 – 18 March 2017) was an Indian film producer and actor from Tamil Nadu.

Early life

Born to advocate Srinivasan and Rajalakshmi, Chandrahasan was the second of four children. His elder brother Charuhasan and younger brother Kamal Haasan worked predominantly as actors in the film industry, while his younger sister, Nalini Raghuram, is a classical dancer.[1] As a youngster, Charuhasan practised as a singer, before being readied for a career as a lawyer.[2] In contrast to Charuhasan, Chandrahasan maintained a very close relationship with his younger brother Kamal Haasan throughout his successful career as an actor.[3]

Career

In 1995, he appeared as an actor in his niece Suhasini Maniratnam's directorial debut Indira. The film featured his own daughter Anu Hasan in the title role alongside Arvind Swamy and Nassar.[4] During the 2000s, Chandrahasan took a more active role in the management of Raaj Kamal Films International.[5][6] During the problems faced during the release of Vishwaroopam (2013), Charuhasan had taken a pivotal role in mediating with the opposition. [7][8]

Prior to his death, Chandrahasan completed acting in the lead role of a film titled Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga by debutant director Stephen Rangaraj. A tale of romance between two older individuals, Stephen cast Chandrahasan as he wanted someone who was known as a "respectable person" and because the romance should not be conveyed in the wrong light. The film, which featured him alongside Sheela, the mother of actor Vikranth, was completed in 2017 but had a direct release in OTT platform Sony Liv in 2021.[9]

Personal life

Chandrahasan was married to Geethamani and has a son, Nirmal Hasan, who is settled at United States. His daughter, Anu Hasan, has appeared as an actress in Indian and British productions.[10]

Geethamani died in January 2017, aged 73. Following her death, Chandrahasan died in March 2017, aged 81.

Death

Following a cardiac arrest, Chandrahasan died aged 81 on 18 March 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Following the death of his wife in January 2017, Chandrahasan had travelled to stay with his son Nirmal in the United States, for a change of scenery. On his return, to avoid taking a twenty three hour journey to Chennai, he had made a brief stopover in London to visit his daughter Anu. He was staying at her residence during the time of his death.[11][12] The family later held a quiet funeral upon the return of his body to Chennai, before holding a remembrance meet with film industry personalities in April 2017. Apart from family, other guests included Rajinikanth, Ilaiyaraaja and Prakash Raj.[13][14] Kamal Haasan later described his brother as "a father figure".[7][15]

Filmography

As a producer
As an actor
Year Film Role(s) Language(s) Notes Ref.
1981 Raja Paarvai Raghu's / Chandram's father Tamil / Telugu
1991 Penn Tamil Mini-series
1995 Indira Minister Tamil
2000 Hey Ram Mohan Gandhiraman Tamil / Hindi
2021 Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga Ramasamy Tamil Posthumous release [16]

References

  1. ^ "The Sunday Tribune — Books". www.tribuneindia.com.
  2. ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (14 August 2014). "His classical odyssey". The Hindu.
  3. ^ "Movies: Kamal, as we know him". Rediff.com. 8 November 2000.
  4. ^ "Suhasini Mani Ratnam new film Indira zooms in on caste wars". India Today. 31 May 1995.
  5. ^ "rediff.com: Kamal Haasan's Virumaandi, finally!". specials.rediff.com.
  6. ^ "Kamal Haasan's brother and producer Chandrahasan dead". The Indian Express. 19 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b "'I'd like to live the way my brother Chandrahasan did'". Rediff.com.
  8. ^ Subramanian, Karthik (1 February 2013). "Parties to Vishwaroopam row willing to thrash out issues". The Hindu.
  9. ^ "Chandrahasan's dream came true before his demise". The Times of India.
  10. ^ Mahesh, Chitra (6 April 2001). "The focus is on women". The Hindu.[dead link]
  11. ^ IANS (19 March 2017). "Kamal Haasan's brother Chandrahasan passes away". The Hindu.
  12. ^ "Kamal Haasan's elder brother Chandrahasan dies in London". The Times of India.
  13. ^ "A remembrance meet for late Chandrahasan". Archived from the original on 6 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Worried about Kamal's financial situation, says Rajini at Chandra Haasan's memorial meet". The News Minute. 6 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Kamal Haasan remembers brother Chandrahasan: I did not fulfill half of his dreams he saw for me". The Indian Express. 19 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga 2021 on SonyLIV: Release Date, Trailer, Starring and more". Fantasy Movies and Series. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.