Manobala was a director, producer, actor and writer who predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films. Born in 1953, Manobala started his film career in 1979 as an assistant director with Bharathiraja’s Puthiya Vaarpugal after which he made his directorial debut with 1982 Tamil film Aagaya Gangai. Some of his popular Tamil directorial films include Pillai Nila, Sirai Parvai, Oorkavalan and Naina released in 2002. His solo Hindi directed film was Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai (1990) starring Jeetendra, Rekha and Raadhika. He also acted in over 300 films of which some of his memorable performances were in films like Kalakalappu, Tamizh Padam, and Aranmanai, etc. His other memorable performances came in films like Thuppakki, Siruthai, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Pithamagan, and Ice. He passed away on 03 May 2023.