Parthasarathy Srinivasan, known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, choreographer, playback singer, lyricist, television presenter, social activist and politician who works in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, he has also appeared in some Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali films. Haasan is also known for introducing many new technologies to Tamil cinema. He has won numerous accolades, including four National Film Awards, nine Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, four Nandi Awards, one Rashtrapati Award, two Filmfare Awards and eighteen Filmfare Awards South. He was awarded the Kalaimamani Award in 1984, the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier) in 2016.
Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian actor and playback singer who works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, Vijay has acted in 68 films and is one of the most commercially successful actors in Tamil cinema with multiple films amongst the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time and is amongst the highest paid actors in India. He has won several awards as an actor. Referred to as "Thalapathy" (transl. commander), Vijay has a significant fan following.
Anbe Sivam is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language slice-of-life drama film directed by Sundar C and produced by K. Muralitharan, V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal under the banner of Lakshmi Movie Makers. The film was written by Kamal Haasan, and Madhan provided the dialogues. Anbe Sivam stars Haasan, Madhavan and Kiran Rathod, with Nassar, Santhana Bharathi, Seema and Uma Riyaz Khan playing supporting characters. The film tells the story of Nallasivam and Anbarasu, two men of contrasting personalities who undertake an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai.
Jyothika Saravanan is an Indian actress and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. Appeared in over 50 Films, Jyothika has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and the Kalaimamani Award. Jyothika is regarded as one of the most prolific actresses in Tamil cinema, and has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by the media.
Srikanth is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. He is credited as Sriram in Telugu films. He debuted in K. Balachander's tele serial Jannal – Marabu Kavithaigal (1999). His film debut was in the romantic film Roja Kootam (2002) and went on to star in more such films including April Maadhathil (2002), Parthiban Kanavu (2003) and Okariki Okaru (2003). He subsequently went on to portray action roles in Drohi (2010). In 2012, he starred in Nanban, the Tamil remake of 3 Idiots, directed by S. Shankar.
Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; was an Indian actor and comedian mostly remembered for his comic roles in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 films from 1958 to 2008, performing in a variety of roles as comedian, lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He has also acted in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. Nagesh's style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet the "Jerry Lewis of India". He was also nicknamed as the King of Comedy due to his impeccable comedy timing and body language. He featured regularly in the film projects of M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan even at a time when there was a massive rift between the two leading actors in Tamil cinema at that time.
Harris Jayaraj is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi.
Nayanthara is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, Nayanthara was the only South Indian actress to be featured in the Forbes India "Celebrity 100" list of 2018. She has acted in more than 75 films in a career spanning over two decades and has won numerous awards, such as five Filmfare Awards South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award, a Nandi Award and seven SIIMA Awards.
Naan Kadavul is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Bala and produced by K. S. Sreenivasan under Vasan Visual Ventures. The film is based on the Tamil novel Yezhaam Ulagam by Jeyamohan, who also penned the film's dialogues. The film stars Arya, alongside Pooja Umashankar, Rajendran, Krishnamoorthy, Azhagan Thamizhmani and Vijaya Bharathi. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while cinematography and editing were handed by Arthur A. Wilson and Suresh Urs respectively.
Dasavathaaram is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by K. S. Ravikumar, written by Kamal Haasan and produced by V. Ravichandran under Aascar Film Pvt. Ltd. It stars Kamal Haasan in ten distinct roles, alongside an ensemble cast of Asin, Jaya Prada, Mallika Sherawat, K. R. Vijaya, Rekha Harris, Nagesh, P. Vasu, Raghuram, Napoleon and M. S. Bhaskar. In the film, a biotechnology scientist named Govind is forced to steal a vial containing a deadly bioweapon from his corrupt boss, who intended to sell it to a terrorist nation, and keep it contained. All the while, Govind is hunted by an American mercenary named Christian Fletcher, an Indian police officer named Balram Naidu, and a set of dark events. Several other people also get involved in Govind’s journey and all their stories connect after the striking of 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, thus bringing philosophical views into the picture. The film incorporates numerous themes and philosophies, including chaos theory, butterfly effect, existence of God, casteism, Islamophobia, Vaishnavism, and determinism.
S. Ravi Varman is an Indian cinematographer, filmmaker, producer and writer. He predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries. Varman began his career in Malayalam cinema. He directed a romantic film in Tamil titled Moscowin Kavery (2010). He is an honorary member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AM-pass). He was awarded the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his work in Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022).
Vinayagar Sundar Vel, known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, playback singer and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani award.
Anjali is an Indian actress who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. Anjali is recognised as one of the finest actors in Tamil films, known for her "performance-oriented roles". She is a recipient of several accolades including three Filmfare Awards South and two Nandi Awards.
Kanal Kannan is an Indian actor, action choreographer and screenwriter who works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. He has worked with actors Ajith Kumar, Vijay, Vikram, Suriya, Vishal, Arjun Sarja and R. Sarath Kumar in many films. Stunt coordinators including Stunt Silva, Peter Hein, Anal Arasu, K. Ganesh Kumar, Silva, Rajasekhar, Hari Dinesh, T. Ramesh and Thunder Jeeva have worked as fighters and assistants to him.
Ezhilmaaran S. is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He made his directorial debut with the 1999 romance film Thulladha Manamum Thullum. His success streak continued with Pennin Manathai Thottu (2000), Poovellam Un Vasam (2001) and Deepavali (2007). He made a comeback in 2012 after a brief sabbatical with Manam Kothi Paravai which opened to moderate reviews from critics but was a commercial hit. He has won two Tamil Nadu state awards. Film Directors Suseenthiran and Karu Pazhaniappan were his assistants.
Lyca Productions is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by Subaskaran Allirajah in 2014. A subgroup of Lycamobile, the production studio has been involved in the production and distribution of Tamil films, Hindi films, Telugu films and Malayalam films made in India. It has produced some of Tamil cinema's biggest budget films, such as 2.0 (2018), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023).
Bharathan is an Indian filmmaker and writer who works in Tamil films. He has directed with actor Vijay twice in his career.
Jyothika is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil films. She also acted in some Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada films. She debuted in Bollywood in the Hindi film Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1997), directed by Priyadarshan. She starred in her first Tamil film Vaali (1999) and her first Telugu film Tagore (2003), opposite Chiranjeevi.She won one National Award, four Filmfare Awards, six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Cinema Express Awards, one South Indian International Movie Award, International Tamil Film Award and four Dinakaran Awards. She is also a recipient of the Kalaimamani Award. She is regarded as one of the most prolific actresses in Tamil cinema. She has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by The Times of India and The Hindu.
