The French government's Chevalier rank title of The Order of Arts and Letters, or Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, for this year has been conferred upon art director Thota Tharani.
The Chevalier is the third of the three ranks, after Commandeur and Officier, in the Order of Arts and Letters. The only three Indian film personalities with the Commandeur title are screenwriter Mrinal Sen and actors Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee. Shah Rukh Khan is the only Indian film personality to be conferred the Officier rank. However, there are several Chevalier holders, such as the legendary Sivaji Ganesan, singer Balamuralikrishna, Kamal Haasan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Kalki Koechlin. Tharani joins the list to be the sixth Indian to receive this honour.
Tharani will be conferred the award on November 13 at the Alliance Française by the French ambassador.
Having pursued his education at the Government Fine Arts College and at London's Royal College of Art, Thota Tharani displayed his interest in the arts right from his childhood.
He began his career with the Telugu film Sommokadidhi Sokokadidhi (1978). Kamal Haasan and Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's romantic film Raja Paarvai (1981) marked his Tamil debut. Tharani is a regular in Mani Ratnam films, as their collaboration dates from Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983), the director's debut film, to the Ponniyin Selvan movies. Tharani is also a regular collaborator with director Shankar. His other popular works include Shiva, Chatriyan, Mannan, Ratchagan, Kadhalar Dhinam, Vaalee, Kushi, Chandramukhi, Sivaji, Dasavatharam, Khaidi No 150, and Kadaisi Vivasayi.