When he made his debut in 1999, little did anyone in the industry expect him to create waves, with his raw, intense and haunting films and unique film-making. Starting his career with a painful, tragic love story that left many with sleepless nights, while waking up the sinking career of Vikram, transforming him to Chiyaan Vikram, was none other than Bala, the maker of acclaimed movies.

He is not just known for his violent, emotional and raw movies, but also for discovering and displaying talents. Like how he made Chiyaan rediscover himself in Sethu, he gave a new lease of life for Suriya in Nanda, that presented a never before seen version of the actor, and kickstarted his career. Bringing them both together in Pithamagan, the maker created magic, as he extracted the best of Chiyaan without any dialogues, getting him a national award, while also presenting the humorous angle in Suriya. While his movies have been branded to be extremely physically consuming for the leads, they do give them the recognition they deserve as well, as he gets the best out of them, as he brought out stunning performances from Arya, Vishal and Atharva in Naan Kadavul, Avan Ivan and Paradesi.

Bala also had got the best out of his female leads like Laila, Sangeetha, Pooja, Vedhika and Dhanshika, and he also happens to be the proud maker of the 1000th movie of Maestro Ilaiyaraja, Thaarai Thappattai, and later delivered Naachiyaar. With the national award winning maker reportedly in the process of launching his next exciting venture, here's wishing him a very happy birthday!