Kalaiyarasan | |
---|---|
Born | Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan 20 February 1986 Madras, Tamil Nadu, India |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2010–present |
Spouse | Shanmuga Priya |
Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan (born 20 February 1986) 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. [1]
Kalaiyarasan, a graduate in Computer Applications from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, initially began work as an actor with Parthy Bhaskar's Arjunan Kadhali in 2010, but the film remains unreleased. [2] He then worked with director Mysskin on two ventures, Nandalala (2010) and Mugamoodi (2012), and credits the film maker as his mentor. He also played small role in Ranjith's directorial debut Attakathi (2012), playing the suitor to the heroine, as well as in Vikram Sugumaran's Madha Yaanai Koottam (2013). [3]
Kalaiyarasan's breakthrough as an actor came through his performance in Ranjith's drama film Madras (2014), where he portrayed the pivotal role of Anbu. [4] Set in the backdrop of North Chennai, Kalaiyarasan auditioned and cleared three screen tests before being handed the role and worked closely with the film's lead actor Karthi in order to shown their on-screen camaraderie. Upon release in September 2014, the film became a commercial and critical acclaimed success, while Kalaiyarasan's portrayal won unanimous praise. [5] A critic from Behindwoods.com noted Kalaiyarasan "steals the show and this has to be his lifetime role", adding that "the youngster has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and we have to laud director Ranjith for giving this dynamic performer good scope to showcase his wares". [6] Similarly Sify.com added that his performance is "riveting" and that "his body language and dialogue delivery in almost a parallel role is terrific." [7]
Following the success of Madras, Kalaiyarasan's career in the Tamil film industry took off and garnered him higher-profile films as well as lead roles. Ranjith cast him again in a pivotal supporting role in the Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali (2016), as a school teacher with a vengeance against Rajinikanth's titular character. The film opened to positive reviews for Kalaiyarasan and subsequently went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film of all time. [8] He first portrayed leading roles in Darling 2 (2016) and Raja Manthiri (2016), but his first high-profile project as the protagonist was C. V. Kumar's production Adhe Kangal (2017). Featuring alongside Janani and Sshivada, Kalaiyarasan portrayed a blind chef, with the makers using American chef Christine Hà as a character inspiration for his role. [9] The film opened to positive reviews, with critics praising his portrayal of the character. [10] Kalaiyarasan has a series of solo lead films ready for release in 2017, including Yeidhavan and Uru . [11] [12] He was also be seen in Kaalakkoothu (2018) alongside Prasanna. [13] He has played in lead roles in thrillers films such as Pattinapakkam (2018) and Kalavu (2019). [14] [15]
He was starred with Dhanush in Karthik Subbaraj's Jagame Thandhiram (2021) released on June 18 on Netflix. [16] He has collobored with Pa. Ranjith's in Sarpatta Parambarai (2021), Natchathiram Nagargiradhu (2022) as well as in the web series Victim (2022). [17] [18] [19] He was also seen in Malayalam films Thankam (2023), 2018 (2023) and Charles Enterprises (2023). He was cast in Tamil drama film Mari Selvaraj's Vaazhai (2024) and received positive reviews and strong box office performance. [20] He has played as supporting role in Telegu movie Devara: Part 1 (2024). [21] He played with R. Sarathkumar in the web series Cheran's Journey (2024) and the thriller film The Smile Man (2024). [22] [23] He was cast in action film Madraskaaran which released in 2025. [24]
Kalaiyarasan is married to Shanmuga Priya, who he met at Accenture, his first place of employment. [4]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Film | Actor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Petta | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Flash back portions only |
2023 | 800 | Madhur Mittal | For the role of Muthiah Muralitharan |
Year | Program Name | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Victim | Sekar | SonyLIV | [30] | |
Pettaikaali | Pandi | Aha Tamil | [31] | ||
2023 | Sengalam | Rayar | ZEE5 | [32] | |
2024 | Cheran's Journey | Ameer Sulthan | SonyLIV | [33] | |
Pandavar Bhoomi is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language drama film, written and directed by Cheran. The film stars Arun Vijay, Shamitha and Rajkiran. While Vinu Chakravarthy and Mukesh Tiwari played the antagonists, Chandrasekhar, Ranjith, Manorama and Charle played supporting roles. The film, released on 21 September 2001, won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil (Cheran), and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Second Best Film.
The Filmfare Best Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The awards were extended to "Best Director" in 1972.
Vijayalakshmi Feroz is an Indian actress and reality show winner who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. As the daughter of film director Agathiyan, Vijayalakshmi made her acting debut as a timid girl in Venkat Prabhu's Chennai 600028 (2007), before portraying another timid character in Mysskin's drama film, Anjathe (2009). After appearing in a few further lead roles, she moved on to become a film producer and an actress in television serials. She also participated in the reality show Survivor Tamil in 2021 and later emerged as the winner.
Anupama Prakash Kumar is an Indian actress and model. Having appeared in more than 300 commercials, she made her debut as an actress in the 2003 Kannada film Partha before being recognised for her roles in Cheran's Pokkisham in Tamil and the 2010 Hindi movie Ishqiya. She went on to play supporting roles in mostly Tamil films.
John Vijay is an Indian actor who works in Tamil, Malayalam,Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. He is well known for his performances in Oram Po (2007), Thillalangadi (2010), Mouna Guru (2011), Kalakalappu (2012) and Sarpatta Parambarai (2021).
Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter working mainly in Tamil cinema.
C. V. Kumar is an Indian film producer, film director and film 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$5.9 million). After producing successful films, Kumar began work on his first directorial venture in 2014.
Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian film composer and musician who has worked predominately worked in Tamil cinema, while also having some Telugu and Malayalam films to his credit.
Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language political action drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. The film stars Karthi, Catherine Tresa and Kalaiyarasan while Charles Vinoth, Riythvika, V. I. S. Jayapalan, Poster Nandakumar and Mime Gopi play supporting roles. Set in the backdrop of North Madras, Kaali (Karthi) and his friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan), get embroiled in a brutal political rivalry, between two factions of a political party after laying claim to a wall.
Pa. Ranjith is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi, before earning positive reviews for his second film, the political action-drama Madras (2014). He wrote and directed the action-drama films Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018), both starring Rajinikanth.
Riythvika Panneerselvam is an Indian actress who appears in supporting roles in Tamil films. In 2018, she participated in the show Bigg Boss 2 and emerged as the winner.
Yeidhavan is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Sakthi Rajasekaran and produced by S. Sudhakaran. The film stars Kalaiyarasan and Satna Titus and C. Premkumar handling the camera. The music was composed by Paartav Barggo, and editing was done by I. J. Alen. The film released on 12 May 2017.
Adhe Kangal is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film written and directed by debutant Rohin Venkatesan and produced by C. V. Kumar. The film features Kalaiyarasan, Janani and Sshivada in the lead roles and Bala Saravanan in a supporting role. The music was composed by Ghibran with cinematography by Ravivarman Neelamegam and editing by Leo John Paul. The film had a theatrical release on 26 January 2017, coinciding with India's Republic Day to unanimously positive reviews. The film was declared as a sleeper hit at the box office.
Jagame Thandhiram is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by YNOT Studios together with Reliance Entertainment. The film stars Dhanush, James Cosmo, Joju George, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Kalaiyarasan. It marks the Indian film debut of Cosmo and the Tamil debut of Joju George. The film follows Suruli, a gangster from Madurai, who is recruited to help Peter Sprott, a British crime lord, to take down a rival, but later gets caught off guard by the moral dilemmas that follow.
Sarpatta Parambarai is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language sports action film directed by Pa. Ranjith, who also co-produced the film under his banner Neelam Productions, along with Shanmugam Dhakshanaraj of K9 Studios. The film stars Arya, John Kokken, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Dushara Vijayan, Pasupathy, Anupama Kumar and Sanchana Natarajan. Set in the 1970s, the film revolves around a clash between two clans namely Idiyappa Parambarai and Sarpatta Parambarai in North Chennai, which also showcases the boxing culture in the locality and the politics involved in it.
Jagame Thandhiram is the eleven-song soundtrack album composed by Santhosh Narayanan for the 2021 Tamil film of the same name, starring Dhanush and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. Continuing his association with Subbaraj after Anirudh Ravichander being roped in for Petta, the film also marks Santhosh's third collaboration with Dhanush after Kodi, Vada Chennai and Karnan. The album which featured lyrics written by Vivek, Dhanush, Arivu, Anthony Daasan and Madurai Babaraj was released by Sony Music India on 6 June 2021.
"Neeye Oli" is the 2021 Tamil song composed by Santhosh Narayanan and Shan Vincent de Paul, who also recorded the track along with Navz-47; with lyrics for the track being written by Arivu and Shan Vincent de Paul. It is the second release from the upcoming studio album Made in Jaffna curated by Shan which was under production for four years. It released on 30 June 2021 by the music label/management Maajja, an independent platform launched by A. R. Rahman. The song is used as the theme track for Pa. Ranjith-directorial Sarpatta Parambarai.
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film directed by Pa. Ranjith, starring Dushara Vijayan, Kalidas Jayaram and Kalaiyarasan.
Vaazhai is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language children's drama film written, co-produced and directed by Mari Selvaraj. It is produced by Disney+ Hotstar, Navvi Studios and Farmer’s Master Plan Production. The film stars debutantes Ponvel M., Raghul R., Kalaiyarasan and Nikhila Vimal in the lead roles, alongside J. Satish Kumar, Dhivya Duraisamy, Karnan Janaki and Nivedita Rajappan. Partially based on Selvaraj's life, in the film, Sivanaindhan works at a banana plantation while going to school; however, he hates working there.