Balu Mahendra (born as Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran on 20 May 1939), was a cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor, who works prominent in Tamil film industry. He started his career as a draughtsman before gaining an admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in cinematography. He made his directorial debut in through the Kannada film Kokila (1977). He won National Film Awards, six times for various works and died in 13 February 2014.