Today is the birthday of director J.Mahendran who has given timeless classic films in the history of Tamil cinema.

Mahendran started his career as a writer in films His first movie as a story writer was the Jai Shankar-Ravichandran starrer 'Naam Moovar' that released in 1966. He shot to fame as the story-dialogue writer of Sivaji Ganesan starrer 'Thangapathakkam' which turned out to be a blockbusters and also became a trend setter for cop films with an emotional storyline.

Mahendran made his directorial debut with Superstar Rajinikanth's 'Mullum Malarum' which is till date hailed as one of the best of the actor and also the most favourite film of the Superstar himself. It came at the time when Tamil cinema was being flooded with melodrama and hero worship. The film brought out the intense actor in Rajinikanth with the character Kaali a arrogant self dependent individual and an affectionate brother to his younger sister. The film is till date considered a classic.

That was not a flash on the pan as Mahendran followed it up with another timeless classic named 'Uthiri Pookkal'. This film which is based on a short story written by Puthumiapithan is centred around a arrogant and wicked village chieftain played by Vijayan. This again is not the regular menacing villain character you often see in Tamil films. Mahendran would have written this character as a normal human being embodiment of wickedness present deep down the minds of every one of us.

All the other films directed by Mahendran such as 'Johny', 'Nandu', 'Nenjathai Killathe', 'Metti' and 'Kaikodukkum Kai' were critically acclaimed at the time of their release. If 'Johny' presented Rajinikanth as a lovable lover 'Nenjathai Killathe' went on to win the National Award for the Best Film in Tamil.

Mahendran some how cut down the number of films he directs which is a very big loss to Tamil cinema enthusiasts. The last film he directed is 'Sasanam' and that released after a long delay in the year 2006.

In 2006 Mahendran made a comeback as an actor, playing the lead villain role in VIjay's 'Theri' . Mahendran made the right impact in the role of a wicked politician and effectively contributed for the blockbuster success of the film.

Mahendran's spirit as a filmmaker has never died down and he has promised to make a comeback very soon. Let's wait for yet another classic in Tamil cinema.

IndiaGlitz wishes Mahendran a Happy Birthday and a long and healthy life ahead.