#GoldenFrames: Jaishankar, the 'James Bond' of Tamil Cinema

Jaishankar was known as the James Bond of Tamil cinema. He started off as an action hero, but eventually, his charisma and unique style left a permanent mark in the history of cinema. The actor has worked in over a hundred movies as the lead actor. He also went on to work in several movies as a character actor. Moreover, the film industry remembers him for his generosity and humaneness as much as they do his friendliness and gusto.

(Photo: Still from the movie 'CID Shankar')

In This Pic : Jaishankar, Golden Frames

Jaishankar was born as Shankar, who hailed from Kumbakonam but was born in Thirunelveli to parents Subramaniyan Iyer and Yogambal on July 12, 1938. His father was the Judge of the Thirunelveli court in British India. He did his schooling at P.S. Higher Secondary School, Mylapore, then graduated from The New College, Chennai. He was awarded an honours degree. His interests in the theatre and other art forms got him to quit law after a year. Jaishankar joined Cho Ramaswamy's 'Cho's Viveka Fine Arts', where he did minor roles. The actor wasn't happy as he was interested in exploring his acting skills. So, he moved out of the troupe and eventually joined Koothabiran's 'Kalki Fine Arts'. Jaishankar made a mark by playing one of the lead roles in Kalki's 'Amara Thaara'.

In This Pic : Jaishankar, Golden Frames

Jaishankar made his movie debut in 'Iravum Pagalum' (1965), directed by Joseph Thaliath Jr. The movie was released on January 14, 1965, falling on Thai Pongal day. Despite facing competition from 'Enga Veettu Pillai' and 'Pazhani', released on the same day, the movie became a commercial success.

(Photo: Poster from the movie 'Iravum Pagalum')

In This Pic : Jaishankar, golden frames

The following year he acted 'Enga Veetu Penn' (1965), and in 'Panchavarna Kili' (1965), he played a dual role. In 'Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum' (1965), Jaishankar played the estranged husband. It is an adaptation of Disney's 'The Parent Trap', directed by Krishnan–Panju, produced by AVM Productions. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. He played the college student in 'Nee!' (1965) alongside Jayalalithaa for the first time. The movie became a commercial success. It was produced by P. S. Veerappa, and a remake of the Hindi movie 'Woh Kaun Thi?' (1964).

(Photo: Jamuna and Jaishankar in a still from the movie 'Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum')

In This Pic : Jamuna, Jaishankar, Golden Frames

He continued to achieve success at the box office with movies like 'Naam Moovar' (1966), 'Gowri Kalyanam' (1966) and 'Kadhalithal Podhuma' (1967). Jaishankar worked under Modern Theatres films including 'Iru Vallavargal' (1966), the film remake of Hindi movie 'Do Ustad'. In 'Vallavan Oruvan' (1966), he played investigative officer CID Shankar on the death of his colleagues. The movie was loosely based on the 1964 French-Italian movie 'Shadow of Evil'. 'Kadhalithal Podhuma' (1967) was a box office hit.

In This Pic : jaishankar, goldenframes