Balaji K. Kumar

Last updated

Balaji K. Kumar
Nationality Indian American
Occupation Film Director
Years active2013–present

Balaji K. Kumar is an Indian film director. His first film as a director in Tamil cinema was Vidiyum Munn (2013), a neo-noir crime thriller. Upon release, it received critical acclaim from both the critics and audience, alike. Then he started his career as story board artist for advertising firms like Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi.

Contents

Career

Balaji K. Kumar studied cinematography at UCLA. He directed various advertisements for European and American companies. He directed the English-language film Twelve Twisted Tricks (2003) and the film's trailer premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. [1] The trailer won Best Trailer – No Movie award since the film was not released. His next film was 9 Lives of Mara (2007), which received many awards. [2] He then debuted in Tamil with Vidiyum Munn (2013). The film released to critical acclaim despite being a box office failure. A critic wrote that "Director Balaji undoubtedly is at the top of his game". [3] According to Balaji Kumar, "We have made Vidiyum Munn like a new generation film for a matured audience. The film deals with an universal issue". [4] After working on scripts, he returned after ten years with Kolai (2023), which is a based on a real incident that took place in New York in 1923. [5]

Filmography

As director

YearFilmLanguageNotes
20079 Lives of MaraEnglish [6]
2013 Vidiyum Munn TamilInspired by London to Brighton
2023 Kolai Tamil

Other films

Related Research Articles

<i>London to Brighton</i> 2006 British crime drama thriller film by Paul Andrew Williams

London to Brighton is a 2006 British neo-noir crime film written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Madhavan</span> Indian actor and film producer (born 1970)

Ranganathan Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, director, and producer who predominantly appears in Tamil and Hindi films. Over the course of his career, he has been a recipient of several accolades including one National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Currently, he serves as the President of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siddharth (actor)</span> Indian actor

Siddharth Suryanarayan, known mononymously as Siddharth, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi language films. Apart from acting, he has also been involved in films as a screenwriter, producer and playback singer. He has also been featured in many advertisements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vyjayanthimala</span> Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian (born 1933)

Vyjayanthimala is an Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. Regarded as one of Indian cinema's finest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of several accolades, including five Filmfare Awards and two BFJA Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of 16 with the Tamil film Vaazhkai (1949), and followed this with a role in the Telugu film Jeevitham (1950). Her first work in Hindi cinema was the social guidance film Bahar (1951), which she headlined, and achieved her breakthrough with the romance Nagin (1954).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasanthabalan</span> Indian Tamil film director and screenwriter

Vasanthabalan is an Indian Tamil film director and screenwriter. He has made critically acclaimed films including Veyil (2006), Angadi Theru (2010) and Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vetrimaaran</span> Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter

Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil cinema. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and two Filmfare South Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YNOT Studios</span> Indian film production company

YNOT Studios is an Indian film production company in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established by producer S. Sashikanth. As of 2023, the company has produced 21 feature films, which includes productions made in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi film industries of India. It has collaborated with filmmakers including Sudha Kongara, Balaji Mohan, Pushkar–Gayathri and Karthik Subbaraj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijay Sethupathi</span> Indian actor and film producer

Vijay Gurunatha Sethupathi is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. He has also worked in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada language films.

<i>Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom</i> 2012 film directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan

Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, abbreviated as NKPK, is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film, written and directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan in his directorial debut. Produced by V. S. Rajkumar under the studio Leo Vision, it was distributed by J. Satish Kumar, under his banner JSK Film Corporation. It stars Vijay Sethupathi, Gayathrie, Vigneshwaran Palanisamy, Bagavathi Perumal and Rajkumar, thus marking the acting debut for Rajkumar, Vigneshwaran and Bagavathi. The plot is based on a true story that involves a young man who experiences retrograde amnesia after a cricket incident two days before his wedding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girishh Gopalakrishnan</span> Musical artist

Girishh Gopalakrishnan is an Indian music composer, music producer, singer in the Tamil film industry. He made his debut as a music director with the Tamil film, Marina directed by Pandiraj.

Balaji Tharaneetharan is an Indian film director. He made directorial debut with 2012 comedy film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom that released on 30 November 2012 to highly positive reviews from critics.

C. V. Kumar is an Indian Tamil film producer, director and distributor who heads the production studio Thirukumaran Entertainment. Known for producing innovative and critically acclaimed films, Kumar has also primarily introduced new talent into the film industry in terms of actors and technicians. His first three films, Attakathi, Pizza and Soodhu Kavvum won critical acclaim as well as bringing in revenue of over 50 crore (US$6.3 million). After producing successful films, Kumar began work on his first directorial venture in 2014.

<i>Vidiyum Munn</i> 2013 Indian film

Vidiyum Munn is a 2013 Indian Tamil thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar. The film stars Pooja Umashankar and Malavika Manikuttan in the lead roles, while R. Amarendran, Vinoth Kishan, and John Vijay play supporting roles. The music was composed by Girishh Gopalakrishnan with cinematography by Sivakumar Vijayan and editing by Sathyaraj Natarajan. The film is about a prostitute trying to rescue a girl from the clutches of prostitution.

Vinoth Kishan is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. He made his debut as a child artiste in Bala's Nandha (2001), before playing villain in Naan Mahaan Alla (2010) and Vidiyum Munn (2013).

R Amarendran is an Indian theatre director and actor who has directed and acted in several plays in English and French staged in Chennai and Pondicherry. R. Amarendran's love for acting started in the 1980s when he was a college student. He took part in the Loyola college production of Girish Karnad's Tughlaq which soon led him to get minor roles in Mithran Devanesan's Gilbert and Sullivan musicals in Chennai, India. He later acted in English plays for several theatre groups in Chennai. In 1989 he was one of four Indians to be selected by the French government to go the L'ecole Nationale d'art Dramatique at the Theatre National de Strasbourg in France to train in acting and to act in a French play that was staged in Delhi, Calcutta and Strasbourg. On his return from France he decided to direct plays himself and in 1992 he founded the Theatre Arlequin. He staged more than 25 plays in English and French the most notable of which were Tartuffe by Molière, The Lesson by Eugène Ionesco, The Maids by Jean Genet and Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's L'Illusion Comique.

Rajakumar is an Indian actor, who has worked in Tamil films. Rajakumar debuted in Balaji Tharaneetharan's critically acclaimed Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (2012), Rajakumar has since appeared in pivotal roles in films including Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham (2013) and Naalu Policeum Nalla Irundha Oorum (2015).

Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan is an Indian actor, who works in the Tamil film industry along with few Malayalam films. He has collaborated with directors Mysskin and Pa. Ranjith, with whom he worked in Madras (2014) for which he received acclaim for his performance.

Sathyaraj Natarajan is an Indian film editor, who has worked on Tamil language films. He was an assistant to Praveen K. L., and has often collaborated in ventures involving director Sai Gokul and won critical acclaimed films for Vidiyum Munn (2013) and Kalyana Samayal Saadham (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijay Kumar (filmmaker)</span> Indian actor, writer, director, lyricist and producer

Vijay Kumar is an Indian actor, writer, director, lyricist and producer. His directorial debut, Uriyadi, a political thriller set in the 1990s, was released in 2016 to high critical acclaim and was lauded as one of the best political thrillers in Tamil cinema. His second project Uriyadi 2 released in April 2019.

<i>Kolai</i> (film) Tamil film

Kolai (transl.Murder) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language mystery-thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar. The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary. The film's music is composed by Girishh G. The film was released on 21 July 2023. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.

References

  1. https://www.oocities.org/etmassey/twelvetwistedtricks.htm
  2. Kumar, S. R. Ashok (24 August 2013). "Audio Beat: Vidiyum Munn - New album, new voice". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 27 August 2013.
  3. "Vidiyum Munn is brilliant". Rediff.com. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  4. "PVR picks up 'Vidiyum Munn'". Sify . Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  5. "Director Balaji Kumar: Kolai is inspired by a real-life incident". The New Indian Express.
  6. "FILM REVIEW - 9 Lives of Mara". films-list.com.