MUMBAI: Pioneering filmmaker Balu Mahendra will soon set up a film institute in Chennai.

The proposed institute will be christened the Balu Mahendra Cinema Workshop. Says our South India representative, “Balu is in the film business for four decades and is an institution in himself. The institute will open in September 2007 and will offer an one-year course. Veteran directors like Mani Ratnam, Bharathiraja and Mahendran along with actors like Kamal Haasan, Suhasini and Revathy will act as honorary lecturers.”

Balu Mahendra, who hails from Sri Lanka, has won several awards for direction, cinematography and editing. His directorial debut was Tamil film Motor Sundaram Pillai, starring thespian Sivaji Ganesan. Mahendra’s big cinematic break came in 1974 with Malayalam film Nellu, which fetched him five National Awards. His last film as a director was Tamil film Athu Oru Kanaa Kaalam in 2005.