What is T. S. Balaiah?
'''Tirunelveli S. Balaiah''' ({{lang-ta|திருநெல்வேலி எஸ். பாலையா}}; 23 August 1914 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor best known for playing supporting roles in the [[Tamil cinema|Tamil films]]. He was introduced to the cine field by director [[Ellis R. Dungan]] in [[Sathi Leelavathi (1936 film)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mymovieminutes.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-three-in-one-tsbalaiah.html|title=My movie minutes: The Three-in-One T.S.Balaiah.|first=|last=Chandran|date=12 September 2012|publisher=}}</ref> == Early life == T. S. Balaiah was born on 23 August 1914. He was born in [[Sundankottai]], now in [[Thoothukudi district]], Tamil Nadu. He ran away from home at young age and joined a Circus. Later joined Jagannatha Iyer’s famous drama company which was working in Tirunelveli and from which no turning back.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news| url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/100th-birthday-of-one-of-actor-t-s-balaiah/article6345220.ece | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | title=100 years of laughter | date=23 August 2014 }}</ref> == Career == Balaiah began his film career through the Tamil film [[Sathi Leelavathi (1936 film)|Sathi Leelavathi]] in 1936. Balaiah played first lead role in [[Mohini (1948 film)|Mohini]] paired opposite Madhuri Devi, where he played elder brother to [[V. N. Janaki]] and supporting role by [[M. G. Ramachandran]]. He gained lot of weight at the age of 40 in 1954, hence started getting more character roles. Among his villain roles, [[Ambikapathy (1937 film)|Ambikapathy]], [[Madurai Veeran (1956 film)|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 M