Priyadarshan is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his involvement in Indian cinema. Over a career spanning nearly three decades, Priyadarshan has directed a portfolio of over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, predominantly Malayalam and Hindi, alongside notable works in Tamil and Telugu. His career has been decorated with several accolades, including three National Film Awards, multiple Kerala State Film Awards, and the prestigious Padma Shri in 2012, India's fourth-highest civilian honor.
Anniyan ( transl. Stranger) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Vikram as a law-abiding lawyer who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and develops two other identities: a fashion model, and a murderous vigilante seeking to eradicate corrupution. The cast also includes Sadha, Vivek, Nedumudi Venu, Nassar and Prakash Raj.
Ranganathan Madhavan is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director who predominantly works in Tamil and Hindi cinema. He has won one National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards South, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and five SIIMA Awards. As of 2023, Madhavan is the President of FTII, Pune.
Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language musical war film written, produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. It was based on a short story, "Amuthavum Avanum" by Sujatha. The film stars R. Madhavan, Simran and P. S. Keerthana with Nandita Das, J. D. Chakravarthy, Prakash Raj and Pasupathy portraying other pivotal characters. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman, while Ravi K. Chandran handled the cinematography. Mani Ratnam presents the story of a child of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage adopted by Indian parents, whose desire is to meet her biological mother in the midst of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was released on 14 February 2002.
Aayutha Ezhuthu is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language political action film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, which is loosely based on the life story of George Reddy, a scholar from Osmania University of Hyderabad, stars Suriya, R. Madhavan and Siddharth in the lead roles. Esha Deol, Meera Jasmine, Trisha, Sriman, Janagaraj and Bharathiraja appears in supporting roles. Notably, this film is the Tamil debut of Esha Deol and the only Tamil film she has ever acted in. The film's title was taken from the name of the Tamil letter ஃ – three dots corresponding to the film's three different personalities from completely different strata of society.
Vairamuthu Ramasamy is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first worked as a translator, while also being a published poet. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the film Nizhalgal, an Ilaiyaraaja musical, directed by Bharathiraja. During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems which have won him seven National Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist. He has also been honored with a Padma Shri, a Padma Bhushan and a Sahitya Akademi Award, for his abundant literary output.
Netru, Indru, Naalai was a series of musical theatre performances that were held in Chennai, India, by Indian film director Mani Ratnam. Choreography for the show was provided by Kala and Brinda. There were unconfirmed reports of close to 12,000 people attending the show.
Akkineni Sreekar Prasad is an Indian film editor known for his works across Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu language films. In a career spanning more than 35 years, he has edited over 600 films. He is a recipient of nine National Film Awards including seven wins for Best Editing which is a record in that category. He also won five Kerala State Film Awards, two Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, and four Filmfare Awards among others.
Boys is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age musical film directed by S. Shankar. It stars newcomers Siddharth, Bharath, Manikandan, S. Thaman, Nakkhul and Genelia, in her Tamil debut.The score and soundtrack are composed by A. R. Rahman. The story revolves around six youngsters, who experience the downfalls of adolescent life. The film was released on 29 August 2003.
Iyarkai is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by S. P. Jananathan in his directorial debut. The film stars Shaam and Radhika. Arun Vijay—who at the time was known as Arun Kumar—makes a cameo appearance and Bollywood actor Seema Biswas plays a supporting role. Iyarkai marks the debuts of Radhika and Biswas in Tamil cinema.
Pavithra is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, produced and directed by K. Subash under his home banner, Dhanooja Films. The film stars Radhika, Nassar, Ajith Kumar and Keerthana. It was released on 2 November 1994, Diwali day, and won two National Film Awards: Best Male Playback Singer and Best Lyrics (Vairamuthu).
Kaalapaani is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language epic historical drama film written by T. Damodaran and directed by Priyadarshan. Set in 1915, the film focuses on the lives of Indian independence activists incarcerated in the Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the British Raj. The ensemble cast includes Mohanlal, Prabhu, Tabu, Amrish Puri, Nedumudi Venu, Sreenivasan, Tinnu Anand, Annu Kapoor, Alex Draper, Sankaradi, and Vineeth. The film was produced by Mohanlal for Pranavam Arts in association with R. Mohan's Shogun Films.
Enthiran (transl. Robot) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the first instalment in the Enthiran film series. The film stars Rajinikanth in the main dual lead role as a scientist and the robot he created. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam and Karunas play supporting roles. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman while the dialogues, cinematography, editing and art direction were handled by Madhan Karky, R. Rathnavelu, Anthony and Sabu Cyril respectively. The story revolves around the struggle of a scientist named Vaseegaran to control his sophisticated android robot named Chitti, after Chitti's software is upgraded to give it the ability to comprehend and exhibit human emotions and to commission it to the Indian Army. The project backfires when Chitti falls in love with Vaseegaran's girlfriend Sana, and is manipulated by Vaseegaran's mentor Bohra into becoming homicidal.
Thenmavin Kompath is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. It was produced and edited by N. Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobana, and Nedumudi Venu, with Kaviyoor Ponnamma, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sukumari, Kuthiravattam Pappu, Sreenivasan, Sankaradi, and Sharat Saxena in supporting roles. The background score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh, while the Berny-Ignatius duo composed the songs. K. V. Anand was the cinematographer.
Berny and Ignatius is an Indian musical duo consisting of brothers Berny Puthenveettil and Ignatius Puthenveettil. Primarily working in the Malayalam film industry, they are best known for their work in films such as Thenmavin Kombath, Chandralekha, Kottaram Veettile Apputtan, Kalyanaraman, Chess, and Kaaryasthan. Thenmavin Kombath earned them the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director in 1994.
The Vijay for Best Art Director is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil (Kollywood) films.
Pranavam Arts International was an Indian film production and distribution company based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, founded in 1990 by Indian actor Mohanlal. Since then the company has produced a total of 11 films, including two of the most-expensive Malayalam films of its time—Kaalapani (1996) and Vanaprastham (1999). Vanaprastham was selected at the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. The company has won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film (Vanaprastham) and two Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film. The company's distribution division was called Pranamam Pictures.
Enthiran is the soundtrack album to the 2010 Tamil science fiction-action film of the same name, directed by S. Shankar and starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai. The soundtrack album includes seven tracks composed by A. R. Rahman and was released on 31 July 2010 by Think Music. The release coincided with a promotional event held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Rightaa Thappaa is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by journalist-turned-filmmaker R. Buvana. It stars Ramana, Uma and Seetha. The film, Buvana's first full-length feature film, deals with eve teasing and was based on a true incident. Karthik Raja composed the music and Mahesh Muthuswamy was the cinematographer.
