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The man who revolutionized Tamil-language cinema, Mani Ratnam is the biggest director in south India and one of the most respected directors in all of India. Each of his films contain its own unique style, with beautifully photographed songs and unique back-lighting. However, his films contain substance as well as style--Ratnam has dealt with a wide variety of topics, from the classic Indian love story to political thrillers.

He was born in Madras in 1956. Filmmaking was in his blood; he was the son of film producer 'Venus Gopalratnam' and his brother was G. Venkateswaran, a film distributor turned producer. Ironically, however, he studied at Madras University and received a management degree at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, and had initially started out as a management consultant. His first film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983), starring Anil Kapoor, didn't make many waves, although it won the State Award from Karnataka that year, but even though he made two films in Tamil and one in Malayalam, nothing worked for him until he broke through with Mouna Ragam (1986). Starring Revathi, the film told the tale of a woman who, although forced into an arranged marriage, chooses to maintain a platonic relationship with her husband. The film was noted for its sophisticated approach and execution of an extremely sensitive topic.

His next film, Nayakan (1987), was also arguably his greatest. A take-off on Francis Ford Coppola' legendary The Godfather (1972), it established Ratnam as the leading director of Tamil-language Cinema and won its leading actor Kamal Haasan the National Award for Best Actor. The film draws on 30 years of Tamil Nadu's celebrity images and directly played to the anti-Hindi feelings of Tamil Nadu when the protagonist, beaten up, tells the Hindi policeman in Bombay, "If I ever hit you, you will die!"

Then came the best of his early work - Agni Natchathiram (1988), Geethanjali (1989), and Anjali (1990). The first was a tale of conflict between two step-brothers. Shot with glossy camera work, the film resembled a cross between an advertisement and a music video, and set a trend for a whole new visual style in Tamil-language Cinema. The next, Geethanjali (1989), shot in Ooty to create a soft and poetic mood, was a touching love story between two terminally ill people with less than six months left. The third, Anjali (1990), about a disabled child brought back to her family with two normal children had been chosen by India to be sent to the Oscars for Best Foreign-language Film, but it did not receive a nomination. The next year saw his first, and only collaboration so far, with the Tamil superstar Rajni Kant in the film Thalapathi (1991). It also starred Mamooty, along side a host of other actor. This star studded film was a gritty tale of an orphan who grows up to become a notorious gang member in Chennai. The story was inspired by the great epic of Mahabharata.

It was Roja (1992) that made Ratnam a household name all over India. A patriotic love story set against the backdrop of Kashmiri terrorism, the film was dubbed in Hindi and became a huge national success. It enforced Ratnam as a director of style and substance, as well as proving a highly auspicious debut for the now-acclaimed music director A.R. Rahman, whom Ratnam had discovered. It helped that India's at-the-time election commissioner T. N. Seshan took the rare step of officially endorsing the film. Thiruda Thiruda (1993), a remake of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) was a misfire, but Ratnam bounced back with Bombay (1995), a politically charged romance between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman during the 1993 riots in Mumbai. The film underwent some controversy due to its slightly anti-Muslim viewpoint, but it contributed widely to the success of the film.

Continuing his political obsession, Ratnam made Iruvar (1997), based on the MGR-Karunanidhi affair, and Dil Se.. (1998), which starred superstars Manisha Koirala and Shah Rukh Khan. The latter was Ratnam's first Hindi-language film. Based on the northeast Indian problem, it told the story of a radio executive and a revolutionary. It had an excellent cast, beautifully crafted scenes, and most of all one of A.R. Rahman's greatest tunes--but did not go down too well with the audience, who hailed it as a strange and confusing film that headed nowhere. However, today it is held as ahead of its time, being that it was shot pre-9/11, and is now hailed as a contemporary classic.

He returned to familiar ground with Alai Payuthey (2000), which tackled the story of a couple in love that goes through the trials and tribulations of marriage. His subsequent film, A Peck on the Cheek (2002), which told the tale of an adopted girl meeting her terrorist mother, saw Ratnam back in form as one of the greatest storytellers in Indian Cinema. His next film, Yuva (2004), saw Ratnam return to Hindi-language cinema after six years, but in spite of some fine flourishes, the film largely failed to work. However, don't take him too lightly: he is sure to return with something new next time....

Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director. He started his career working as a software engineer in Bangalore working for Infosys. During this period he got interested in film making. He learnt the basics of film making, during a one-day workshop run by Sanjay Nambiar. He made a short film "Kaatchipizhai" in Madurai, which was selected for "Naalaya Iyakunar"

Arun Kumar ( born 21 September 1986 ) mononymously known as Atlee, is a film director, screenwriter and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. As a film maker, he is known for his directorial debut "Raja Rani", starring Nayathara, Nazriya, Arya and Jai, produced by Fox Star Studios, for which he was awarded best debut director by Vijay Awards and Tamil Nadu Sate award for best dialogue writer. Following the massive success of his debut film, he directed his next blockbuster hit " Theri " (2016) starring actor Vijay as the lead. He directed his next films " Mersal " ( 2017 ) and " Bigil " ( 2019 ), also featuring actor Vijay. Atlee's upcoming film is Jawan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Vijay Sethupathy and Nayanthara in the lead roles. The film is produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and is scheduled for release in June 2023 in five languages.

Soori was born on 27 August 1977 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor, known for Jilla (2014), Viduthalai: Part 1 (2023) and Varuthapadatha valibar sangam (2013).

Vijayakanth, who's affectionately called 'Puratchi Kalaignar' and 'Captain' by his fans and well-wishers, had to face so many challenges and unfriendly situations before he could achieve the fame and popularity he's enjoying to-day in Tamil filmfield. He, whose original name was Vijayaraj, was born on 25th August, at Madurai, Tamilnadu, his parents being Azhagarsamy-Andal. When he was one year old his mother Andal passed away. His parents had three more children. To bring up the one year old baby Vijayakanth and because of the pressure exerted upon Vijayakanth's father by all the family members, the latter (Father of Vijayakanth) married one Rukmani as his second wife. This couple gave birth to 7 children. All these members now live together happily in a joint family. From 1st std. to 5th std. Vijayakanth studied at a particular school. He finished his 6th std. at M.C.High School. He pursued his 7th and 8th std. at Devakottai school. He did his 9th std. at a different school. 10th and 11th std. were studied by him at St. Mary's school. During that period, Vijayakanth was looking after his father's rice-mill business. So he couldn't pursue his studies beyond 11th std. Vijayakanth had some close friends then. One notable friend among them was A.Se. Ibrahim Rawther (who's even now with Vijayakanth as if his own-brother and has also earned the distinction of being one of the leading film producers in cinefield). All these friends in those days used to gather together near Sena's Films, a films distribution company, at Madurai. Marsook, the proprietor-distributor of Sena's Films, used to keenly observe the activities of Vijayakanth. One day he asked Vijayakanth whether the latter was interested in acting in films. Out of pressure from his friends, Vijayakanth agreed to act in films. Subsequently he (Vijayakanth) was booked for acting in the film "Yen Kelvikku Yenna Pathil?". Yet, after some time, he was dropped from the project on the ground that he was not good at Tamil dialogue delivery. This elicited a great passion within his heart that he took a vow to get into cine acting with renewed efforts and to make his career a rewarding success! With this one objective in mind, he knocked at the doors of each and every film company asking for acting chance. But there was not any positive response. Marsook had then distributed so many films directed by M.A.Kaja! Vijayakanth was introduced to Kaja by Marsook. As a result Vijayakanth was booked in "Inikkum Ilamai". This was the first film acted by Vijayakanth. After this, he acted in "Thooraththu Idi Muzhakkam", "Neerottam" and "Agal Vilakku". These films didn't bring great success. Yet Vijayakanth too didn't lose heart. He waited for good opportunity. 'Vadaloor Combines' proprietor Chidambaram saw "Neerottam" at Krishnaveni theatre, T.Nagar, Chennai. Seeing Vijayakanth in action, he started developing some interest in him as he identified some hopeful, positive traits in his (Viyayakanth's) style of acting and personality. He wanted to produce a film by booking Vijayakanth. His wish got materialized through "Sattam Oru Iruttarai". In this project too there arose stiff opposition from some quarters protesting against giving the hero chance to Vijayakanth in the film! Yet, overlooking all these objections, the producer stood firm in his decision and made Vijayakanth the hero! S.A.Chandrasekaran directed this film. When, finally, the film got released, it proved to be a grand success! Subsequently Vijayakanth was booked in 18 new films. While he was doing these films, at a specific period, his cinema market started becoming dull again! At this juncture, the film "Saatchi" was released. Vijayakanth had done the lead role in it. S.A.Chandrasekaran had directed it. P.S.Veerappa had produced it. This film, in it's turn, created a new success record. The following is a popular dialogue written by Kalaignar Karunanidhi: "Veezhvathu Naamaaga Irunthaalum Vazhvathu Thamizhaaga Irukkattum".Vijayakanth picked up these words as his heart-loving golden rule. Whenever he addresses any function or releases some press statement or birth day message, he uses to add the words 'Tamil', 'Tamil', 'Tamil' as one of his most ideal slogans. The recent release "Ulavuththurai" is his 125th film. Upto this film he hasn't so far acted even in a single, other language film. He's the only Tamil actor who has achieved this distinction! Though actor Sarathkumar had already acted in films before, his role in "Pulan Visaranai" in which he teamed with Vijayakanth proved to be one of the great limelights in his acting career. Vijayakanth introduced Mansoor Alikhan to filmfield through his "Captain Prabaharan". He (Vijayakanth) has introduced through his different films, film institute students like R.K.Selvamani, R.Aravintharaj, Ilavarasan and a few others as newface film directors. Many different newface heroines also have got introduced through his films. Though Vijayakanth hasn't acted in other language films, each and every film of him has been dubbed into Telugu language and thus has led to huge revenue collection too!

Abi Natchatra was born on 19 June 2005 in Madurai. She is an actress, known for Pizza 3: The Mummy (2023), Hit List (2024) and Glassmates (2024).

Vadivelu was born on 10 October 1960 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor, known for Maamannan (2023), Pokkiri (2007) and Chandramukhi (2005).

Also known as Sasi, Mahalingam Sasikumar is primarily known for his contribution to the Tamil film industry. He is an actor, director, producer, and singer.

Sasikumar completed his early education at St. Peter's Boarding School in Kodaikanal and his graduation in business administration at Vellaichamy Nadar College in Madurai.

Sasikumar began his career in the entertainment industry as an assistant director for Sethu (1999). He got his big break with the Tamil period-action film Subramaniapuram (2008). He was the producer, director, writer, and actor for the movie. Despite a low budget, the film was a huge commercial and critical success.

Sasikumar's success continued with his next action thriller, Poraali (2011), for which he was the producer and lead actor. The film received positive reviews and was even remade in Kannada. His next venture was the Malayalam crime thriller film Masters (2012).

Sasikumar's subsequent two releases, Sundarapandian (2012) and Kutti Puli (2013), were with co-star Lakshmi Menon. He was also the producer for Sundarapandian.

His next film, Tharai Thappattai (2016), had him training with folk singers and dancers for a month. The movie took more than two years to produce, and Sasikumar played the role of the head of a Karagattam troupe. The film didn't disappoint and received mostly positive reviews.

Some of Sasikumar's most notable works in the next few years included Vetrivel (2016), Kidaari (2016), Balle Vellaiyathevaa (2016), Petta (2019), Udanpirappe (2021), and Raja Vamsam (2021). He also produced several films, including Pasanga (2009), Kidaari, Balle Vellaiyathevaa, and Kodiveeran (2017).

Sasikumar won the Best Film and Best Director accolades for Subramaniapuram (2008) at the 2009 Tamil Filmfare Awards. He also won the Best Film and Best Feature Film awards for Pasanga (2009) at the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and National Film Awards, respectively.

Vaishnavi Arulmozhi was born on 17 July 1993 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. She is an actress, known for Veera (2024), Sabhaapathy (2021) and Peranbu (2021).

Kaniha was born on 3 July 1982 in Madurai, Tamilnadu, India. She is an actress and producer, known for Bavuttiyude Namathil (2012), Weapon (2024) and The Greatest of All Time (2024). She is married to Shyam Radhakrishnan.

The die-hard romantic Bharathiraja was born in Alli Nagaram, a small, sylvan village near Theni as Chinnasamy on 17 July 1941. He was the fifth child to his parents, Periya Maya Thevar and Meenatchiammaal alias Karuthammaal. His childhood passions were deer hunting and literature. As a full-blooded youth, he dreamt of making it to the dream world of filmmaking. He had an unremitting passion for acting and all the other theatrical pursuits right from his earliest days as a vagrant youth. He also happened to be a good platform speaker and went places spreading social awareness among the unlettered villagers. By the way, he got a job as a Sanitary Inspector in the Public Health Department in 1963, at a monthly salary of Indian Rs.75/-

Bharathiraja wrote, directed and acted in his first dramas "Oor Sirikkirathu" (The Town Laughs) and "Summa Oru Kadhai" (Just a Story) in Theni Pazhani Chettiyapatti village during festival seasons. This kindled the creative spirit in him and gave him the confidence to look for an opening in Tamil film industry.

As he moved to Madras to seek greener pastures and to give vent to his creative thirst, Bharathiraja staged his "Summa Oru Kadhai" and "Adhigaaram" (Power) with the help of his friends. He also took part in radio dramas and music programs. But since these opportunities were too infrequent to be depended upon for a living, he took up a job in a petrol bunk keeping his cinema ambitions intact.

After a fairly long struggle, Bharathiraja at last joined Puttannaa Ganagal as an assistant director in 1967 and still considers him his Guru. Eventually working with Krishnan Nair, Avinasi Mani and A. Jaganathan, he learned the grammar of film making and got his first directorial opportunity in 1977.

Bharathiraja is married to Chandra Leelavathi, and they have two children - son Manoj (the hero of ' Tajmahal') and daughter Janani.

Cheran was born on 12 December 1970 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor and writer, known for Autograph (2004), Porkkalam (1998) and Thavamai Thavamiruntu (2005). He is married to Selvarani.

Ameer Sultan was born on 5 December 1967 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor and writer, known for Paruthiveeran (2007), Vada Chennai (2018) and Raam (2005).

Ilavarasu was born in Melur, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is known for Muthukku Muthaaga (2011), Jai Bhim (2021) and 7aum Arivu (2011).

Nivetha Pethuraj, born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, is a talented and accomplished actress known for her captivating performances in the film industry. Her journey into the world of cinema has been marked by versatility and dedication, making her a notable figure in the South Indian film fraternity.

Nivetha made her acting debut with the critically acclaimed Telugu film "Mental Madhilo" in 2017, where her nuanced portrayal of the character garnered praise for its depth and authenticity. Her ability to bring characters to life with sincerity and conviction has set her apart as an actress of substance.

In 2019, Nivetha gained further recognition with her role in the Telugu film "Chitralahari," showcasing her range as an actress and leaving a lasting impact on audiences. The film's success only solidified her position in the industry, and she continued to receive acclaim for her performances.

However, it was in 2021 that Nivetha Pethuraj truly made a mark with her notable role in the film "Red." The action thriller, which featured a gripping narrative, allowed her to display her acting prowess alongside a stellar cast. The film's success not only elevated Nivetha's career but also established her as a sought-after talent in the South Indian film scene.

Nivetha Pethuraj's journey in the entertainment industry is a testament to her passion for acting and her commitment to delivering impactful performances. With her talent, charm, and dedication, she continues to captivate audiences and carve a niche for herself in the ever-evolving world of cinema. As she continues to explore diverse roles and projects, Nivetha remains a celebrated figure in the realm of Indian cinema.

Velraj was born on 21 October 1969 in Thirunagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Asuran (2019), Velaiyilla Pattathari (2014) and Aadukalam (2011).

Vettai Muthukumar was born on 24 April 1977 in Madurai, Tamilnadu, India. He is an actor, known for Mahaan (2022), Sarpatta Parambarai (2021) and Petta (2019).

Meenakshi Govindarajan was born on 12 April 2000 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. She is an actress, known for Veerapandiyapuram (2022), Demonte Colony 2 (2024) and Kadhale Kadhale.

Robo Shankar was born on 24 December 1978 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor, known for Velaikkaran (2017), The Legend (2022) and Puli (2015).

Born and educated in Madurai, Chimbu was the eldest son to Mr & Mrs Venkatraman and Theravium. At very young age Chimbu excelled in drawing and paintings. During one of the state level competition conducted by the famous tamil weekly Andanda Vikatan Chimbu won the top prize and got himself recruited by the weekly post completion of his Bachelor degree in Science, He also has a diploma in Journalism. He worked as a Sub editor and as a Cartoonist for Andnada Vikatan for 3 years. Among his various cartoon strips "Keemovil oru Somu" was a hugely successful Comic. This was later released as a book. Also his political cartoons in the weeklies got him critical acclaim. Among his various cartoon characters, Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi got widespread acclaim from both readers & his peers. This Character/Cartoon later on became his launch pad into film world as a writer/ director.

M.S. Subbalakshmi was born on 16 September 1916 in Madurai, Madras Presidency, British India. She was a music artist and actress, known for Meera (1945), Seva Sadan (1938) and Meera (1947). She was married to T. Sadasivam. She died on 11 December 2004 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Shredha Rajagopalan was born on 28 October 1998 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. She is an actress, known for Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya (2019) and Pictionary UK (2024).

Nandhini Myna was born on 26 January 1992 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. She is an actress, known for Vikram (2022), November Story (2021) and Viruman (2022). She is married to Yogeshwaran Venugopal. They have one child.

Vinuchakravarthy was born on 15 December 1945 in Usilampatti, Madras Presidency, Madurai District, British India. He was an actor and writer, known for Oru Kaidhiyin Diary (1985), Villain (2002) and Rajadhani (1994). He was married to Karna Poo. He died on 27 April 2017 in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.

Praveen Antony was born on 2 February 1990 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an editor, known for Enai Noki Paayum Thota (2019), Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum (2016) and Dhruva Natchathiram Chapter 1: Yuddha Kaandam.