Kalaiyarasan

Last updated

Kalaiyarasan
Born
Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan

(1986-02-20) 20 February 1986 (age 38)
OccupationActor
Years active2010–present
SpouseShanmuga 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]

Contents

Career

2010-2013: Debut and early work

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]

2014-2019: Breakthrough and success

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]

2021-present

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]

Personal life

Kalaiyarasan is married to Shanmuga Priya, who he met at Accenture, his first place of employment. [4]

Filmography

As actor

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 Nandalala Drunkard
2012 Attakathi Dinakaran
Mugamoodi Viji
2013 Madha Yaanai Koottam Boologaraasa
2014 Madras Anbu Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Tamil Supporting Actor
2015 Darling Shiva
Urumeen John Christopher
2016 Darling 2 Aravind
Raja Manthiri Karthik
Kabali Tamizh Kumaran
2017 Adhe Kangal Varun
Mupparimanam HimselfCameo appearance
Yeidhavan Krishna
Uru Jeevan
2018 Titanic Kadhalum Kavundhu Pogum UnknownUnreleased
Thaanaa Serndha Koottam Iniyan's friend
Kaalakkoothu Hari
Pattinapakkam Vetri
2019 Kalavu Sujeeth
Airaa Amudhan
2021 Jagame Thanthiram Deepan
Sarpatta Parambarai Vetriselvan
Laabam Benny
Udanpirappe Adhiban
2022 Kuthiraivaal Saravanan
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu Arjun
Kalaga Thalaivan Gandhi
Estate Sasi
2023 Thankam Abbas Malayalam film
Pathu Thala Ameer
Burqa Surya
2018 SethupathyMalayalam film [25]
Karungaapiyam Shakthi [26]
Charles Enterprises CharlesMalayalam film [27]
2024 Hot Spot Ezhumalaisegment: "Fame Game"
Vaazhai Kani [28]
Devara: Part 1 Kunjara Telugu film [29]
The Smile Man Prabhu
2025 Madraskaaran TBA
TBA MugamTBAFilming
TBA ThandakaaranyamTBAFilming

As dubbing artist

YearFilmActorNotes
2019 Petta Nawazuddin Siddiqui Flash back portions only
2023 800 Madhur Mittal For the role of Muthiah Muralitharan

Web series

YearProgram NameRoleNetworkNotesRef.
2022 Victim Sekar SonyLIV [30]
Pettaikaali Pandi Aha Tamil [31]
2023 Sengalam Rayar ZEE5 [32]
2024 Cheran's Journey Ameer Sulthan SonyLIV [33]

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References

  1. "Mysskin sir hugged and kissed me" – Kalaiyarasan – BW Green Room Archived 9 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine . YouTube (17 August 2014). Retrieved on 2015-09-16.
  2. Exclusive Interview with 'Madras' star Kalaiyarasan – Jill More – Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, English, Hindi- Movie Reviews and News Archived 16 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine . Jill More (9 October 2014). Retrieved on 2015-09-16.
  3. Gupta, Rinku. (30 August 2015) Madras Has Changed My Life Archived 2 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine . The New Indian Express. Retrieved on 2015-09-16.
  4. 1 2 Software to celluloid Archived 26 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine . The Hindu (24 January 2015). Retrieved on 2015-09-16.
  5. Gupta, Rinku. (1 October 2014) When a Cameo Became a Big Break Archived 4 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine . The New Indian Express. Retrieved on 2015-09-16.
  6. Madras (aka) Madras review Archived 26 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine . Behindwoods.com (26 September 2014). Retrieved on 2015-09-16.
  7. Movie Review: Madras. Sify
  8. Rao, Subha J. (12 September 2015). "Sharing space with Kabali". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  9. "'Adhe Kangal' gets ready". Sify . Archived from the original on 8 November 2016.
  10. "Adhe Kangal review- Engaging watch". Sify . Archived from the original on 27 January 2017.
  11. "Yeidhavan Review".
  12. "Uru: A quality thriller".
  13. "'Kaalakkoothu' review: Good performances in a predictable film with an oft-told message".
  14. "Pattinapakkam".
  15. "Kalavu review: A neatly planned theft".
  16. "Dhanush gifts new thermals to a feverish Kalaiyarasan on Jagame Thandhiram sets".
  17. "'Sarpatta Parambarai' review: Pa Ranjith and Arya's sports film is a knock-out".
  18. "Natchathiram Nagargirathu".
  19. "Victim: Who Is Next? Season 1".
  20. "'Vaazhai' box office collection day 3: Mari Selvaraj's directorial dominates the Tamil Nadu box office, surpasses Rs 10 crore".
  21. "Devara Part 1 review: Jr NTR's film is visually spectacular but predictable".
  22. "'Journey' Review: Director Cheran's web series is a disappointing watch".
  23. "The Smile Man review: Sarath Kumar's film fails to realise its full potential".
  24. "Madraskaaran X Review: Here's Audience Reactions To Shane Nigam And Kalaiyarasan's Action Film".
  25. "Jude Anthony Joseph Unveils Title of his Upcoming Film Based on 2018 Kerala Floods". News18. 5 November 2022. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  26. "Kajal Aggarwal's Karungaapiyam trailer out". Cinema Express . 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  27. "Charles Enterprises gets a release date". Cinema Express . 10 April 2023. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  28. "Vaazhai makers release new poster on Mari Selvaraj's birthday". Cinema Express . 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  29. https://x.com/KalaiActor/status/1722973147928944700 [ bare URL ]
  30. "Victim: Who Is Next? Season 1".
  31. "Pettaikaali Episode 1 review: Kalaiyarasan stands out in this engaging rural drama on jallikattu".
  32. "அரசியல் திரில்லராக உருவாகியுள்ள 'செங்களம்' இணையத் தொடர்! - மார்ச் 24 ஆம் தேதி ஜீ5 தளத்தில் வெளியாகிறது". www.cinemainbox.com (in Tamil). 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  33. "Aari Arjunan to star in Cheran's OTT debut". The New Indian Express. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.