S. Krishnaswamy, the outstanding historian of subcontinental history

S., an internationally acclaimed documentary and television filmmaker who has produced over 900 non-fiction films including the famous ‘Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi’. Krishnaswamy died in a hospital in Chennai on Sunday (December 28, 2025) evening. He was 88 years old.

He was undergoing treatment for a heart condition and had gone to the hospital in the evening, said his daughter Geeta Krishnaraj. He is survived by his wife Mohana Krishnaswami and three children Lata Krishna, Geeta Krishnaraj and Bharat Krishna.

Renowned film director K. Born in Chennai, then Madras, to Subramaniam and lyricist Meenakshi Subramaniam, he joined Columbia University in the US in 1960 and studied mass communication with special reference to documentary films. He established his own firm, Krishnaswamy Associates, in 1963.

His magnum opus, ‘Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi’, a four-hour film based on 5,000 years of history of the subcontinent, was released in December 1976. It was shot in a hundred locations across the country and its international distribution rights were purchased by Warner Bros.

His works include ‘Unknown Freedom Fighter’ (1978); ‘Rajaji’ (1979); ‘Kamaraj’ (1981); ‘With Apology to Tagore’ (1987), a hilarious five-minute depiction of the state of the nation with animation; ‘Jaya Jaya Shankar’ (1991), a film on the Kanchi Math; and ‘Reality Behind Religion’ (1992), which stressed the need for brotherhood and understanding among followers of different religions. His other films covering political leaders include R. Venkatraman and C. Subramaniam, released in 2002, and MG Ramachandran, released in 1984.

In the 1980s, Sri Krishnaswamy produced films on the complex problems of Punjab and Sri Lanka, highlighting the operations of the Indian Defense Forces. The topic of electoral reforms did not escape his imagination, which was reflected in ‘If India Wins, Who Loses’ (2006).

In 2009, he received the Padma Shri for his contribution to documentary films at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) and in 2020, the Dr. V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award. His other awards include the Honor Sammas Award from the Watumull Foundation, Hawaii in 2005, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the US International Film and Video Festival, Los Angeles in 1987.

He wrote several books, one of which is also published by The Hindu Topic Travels Reclaimed: India’s Influence in East Asia In February 2025. The book gave insight into the influence of ancient India on South-East Asian countries and a phase in history when Indian sailors traveled to countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and became the medium for the spread of Indian culture, architecture and fine arts to these countries over the centuries. This was a description of his travels between 2005 and 2010.

He also co-wrote the book indian film With Professor Eric Baranouw. During the writing of the book, the authors camped for a few weeks in Darjeeling where Satyajit Ray was filming his Kanchenjunga,