Chennai, Sep 11 (IANS) Two glittering functions were held in this state capital to commemorate the birth centenary of pioneer Tamil filmmaker K. Subrahmanyam where a postage stamp, first-day cover and a book were released.

Tamil Nadu Governor P.S. Ramamohan Rao handed the stamp album to the filmmaker's daughter Lalitha Krishnamurthy at a function Friday, while Union Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy released a book on Subrahmanyam written by Valampuri Somanathan -- "Tamizh Pada Ulagin Thanthai director K Subrahmanyam".

The functions were arranged by his daughter, the noted dancer Padma Subrahmanyam and his son, filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy.

Dancer Padmini Ramachandran performed on Friday, to singing by Padma Subrahmanyam. "It is a very great and singular honour," the noted danseuse and dance expert said, thanking the postal department for the stamp on KS, as Subrahmanyam was also known.

At Friday's function, awards instituted by the Krishnaswamy Associates, the family's company, were given on the occasion to playback singer S. Janaki, nadaswaram maestro S.R.D. Vaidyanathan, senior actress M Saroja, ghatam player T.H. Vinayakaram, art critic S.N. Chandrasekahar and the company's long-time production assistant Sambhu.

Union Petroleum and Panchayat Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar gave away Rs 205,000 to students of the Ramakrishna Mission school in the city.

A video film, "500 Full Moons", was shown on the occasion that showcased Krishnaswamy Associates' achievements over the last 40 years. 

Subrahmanyam was born at Papanasam, near Kumbakonam, and was trained as a lawyer. He began first working with film director Raja Sandow as his assistant during the era of silent films.

He has many Malyalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films to his credit. He was also the first southern producer to make a Hindi film, "Prem Sagar".

Among the Tamil films he made are "Thyaga Bhoomi" (which played a part in the freedom struggle), "Pandithevan", "Seva Sadan", and "Bala Yogini". The stars who acted in his films included Padmini, Ragini, Saroja Devi and M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Subrahmanyam set up the Neptune Studios, which later became M.G. Ramachandran's Sathya Studios. He also set up the Motion Picture Producers' Combine, which later became Gemini Studio.

He was involved with the setting up of institutions like the Sangeet Natak Academy, the Film Finance Corporation and the Childrens' Film Society.

Krishnaswamy Associates -- the makers of 'India 5555' that was screened during President Bill Clinton's visit to India -- will be celebrating 40 years in the filmmaking business with a new set of films.

The company is also known for the developmental film documentary series, "Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi".

Filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy said that the new set of films called "India Imprints" will dwell on India's past, present and the future.

The Rs 15-million project would contain three films to be shot simultaneously.
The first film would focus on India's influence on the rest of the world and the second on electoral reforms. The third film is inspired by President A. P.J. Abdul Kalam's book 'Vision 2020'