Sarjun KM | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 April 1986 [1] Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, writer |
| Years active | 2017 – present |
Sarjun KM is an Indian film director and writer who works in the Tamil cinema industry.
[2] He made his directorial feature film debut with Echcharikkai – Idhu Manidhargal Nadamaadum Idam (2018).
Sarjun's career was launched after the release of his first independent short film. Lakshmi . The film Lakshmi was written, edited and directed by Sarjun KM. The film cast Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli in the lead role along with Nandan and Leo Sivadass in supporting characters. The film was distributed by Gautham Vasudev Menon through his official YouTube channel of the film production company Ondraga Entertainment on 1 November 2017. The film was critically acclaimed for the direction, but faced criticism for its storyline, which gained popularity among the general audience and media. [3] In 2018, he directed his next short film Maa under the banner of Ondraga Entertainment, owned by director Gautham Vasudev Menon. Maa also received positive reviews. [4] [5] [6]
He came out with his first feature film, a crime thriller film Echcharikkai , which was written and directed by him. The film got released on 24 August 2018. [7] The film featured actors Sathyaraj, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kishore, Yogi Babu and Vivek Rajgopal. Sarjun's next feature film project, Airaa released on 28 March 2019. [8] The horror film revolves around a female protagonist played by Nayanthara. It also cast Kalaiyarasan and Yogi Babu in lead roles. For the first time actress Nayanthara played a dual role - Vlogger Yamuna and village girl Bhavani. Sudarshan Srinivasan (cinematographer) and Karthik Jogesh (film editor) who were in long-term collaboration with director Sarjun KM in his previous film have also worked on this project.
He directed the episode The Road That Never Ends in the three-episode anthology Addham . The story [9] revolves around a lorry driver played by actor Jayaprakash and a teenage boy who tries to steal the money owned by the lorry driver. [10] [11] [12] He directed the segment Thunintha Pin of Navarasa - an anthology web series, starring Atharvaa and Anjali which is released in Netflix. [13]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Echcharikkai – Idhu Manidhargal Nadamaadum Idam |  |  | |
| 2019 | Airaa | | | |
| 2021 | Blood Money | | | |
| 2023 | Burqa | | |
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Lakshmi | | | |
| 2018 | Maa | | | |
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Addham | | | Telugu | segment: The Road That Never Ends |
| 2021 | Navarasa | | | Tamil | segment: Thunindha Pinn |
| 2025 | Suzhal -2 | | | Tamil | Episodes 3, 4 and 5 |
Gautham Vasudev Menon is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films that were either simultaneously shot with or remakes of his own Tamil films. He has won two National Film Awards, three Nandi Awards and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, starring Silambarasan and Trisha. Jointly produced by Elred Kumar, Jayaraman, VTV Ganesh and P. Madan under the banner Escape Artists Motion Pictures and RS Infotainment, the film was distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies. The story was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Ye Maaya Chesave, starring Naga Chaitanya and Samantha.
Veera is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. Closely associated with director Gautham Vasudev Menon, Veera has worked previously as Menon's assistant in the film Vaaranam Aayiram, before making his debut in the director's experimental thriller Nadunisi Naaygal (2011).
Atharvaa Murali is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. The son of actor Murali and grandson of director S. Siddalingaiah, Atharvaa began his acting career with Baana Kaathadi (2010). He then garnered critical acclaim for his performance as a youngster suffering from delusion in the romantic thriller Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal (2012), before signing on to feature in Bala's period film Paradesi (2013). His role as a rural villager held as a slave in a tea plantation became his breakthrough performance, earning Atharvaa a Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil.
Endrendrum is a 2014 Tamil film written, produced, and directed by Ssinish Sreedharan. It started off as a short film, and over a period of time, it was developed in to a tele-feature film. The film stars Sathish Krishnan and Priyanka Reddy in the lead roles, and Sai Dheena, Theepetti Ganesan, Meera Krishnan, Misha Ghoshal, Bala Saravanan, and Yogi Babu in other roles. The music was composed by Dharan Kumar, and film was edited by Tirupattur Sathyanarayan Suresh. The film was released on 7 March 2014. This film plot is loosely based on Just Like Heaven.
Yogi Babu is an Indian actor and comedian, who appears in Tamil films. He has won Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Aandavan Kattalai (2016), Kolamavu Kokila (2018), Pariyerum Perumal (2018), Love Today (2022) and Maaveeran (2023). He is also a recipient of five SIIMA Awards.
Echcharikkai – Idhu Manidhargal Nadamaadum Idam is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by debutant director Sarjun KM. The film stars Sathyaraj, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kishore, Vivek Rajgopal and Yogi Babu. Principal photography of the film commenced at Pondicherry in December 2016 and shooting wrapped up in April 2017. This story is inspired by The Disappearance of Alice Creed. The film was released on 24 August 2018 on the eve of Varalakshmi Vratam and received poor reviews from the audience.
Airaa is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language horror film written and directed by KM Sarjun. The film stars Nayanthara and Kalaiyarasan. The film is produced by Kotapadi J Rajesh under the production banner KJR Studios. The film was initially expected to be released on the eve of Christmas but the shooting wasn't completed as planned until December 2018. Nayanthara is playing a dual role in a film for the second time after Maya (2015).
Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada is the soundtrack album for the 2016 Tamil film of the same name. Starring Silambarasan and Manjima Mohan in lead roles, the film was directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and has music composed by A. R. Rahman, collaborating with Silambarasan and Gautham Menon once again, after Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (2010). The song titles were revealed by Menon in March 2016. The soundtrack album consisting of five songs were released by Ondraga Entertainment and Divo on 7 October 2016.
Queen is an Indian Tamil-language period biographical drama streaming television series created by Reshma Ghatala. An adaptation of Anita Sivakumaran's novel of the same name, which is loosely based on the life of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the script was written by Ghatala, with Gautham Vasudev Menon and Prasath Murugesan, jointly directing the series.
Joshua: Imai Pol Kaakha is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and produced by Ishari K. Ganesh. The film, the first instalment in the planned shared universe, stars Varun in titular role, alongside Raahei, Dhivyadharshini, Mansoor Ali Khan and Krishna. In the film, Joshua, a contract killer-turned bodyguard, seeks to protect his ex-girlfriend Kundhavi Chidambaram from a Mexican drug cartel.
Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language short film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. A sequel to his feature film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), it stars Silambarasan and Trisha reprising their roles from that film. The short was released on 21 May 2020 on YouTube.
Navarasa is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language anthology television series created by Mani Ratnam, who also collaborated with Jayendra Panchapakesan to produce it through their newly formed banner Justickets. The series features nine stand-alone episodes based on the Indian concept of the Navarasas, filmed by Priyadarshan, Karthik Subbaraj, Vasanth, Arvind Swami, Bejoy Nambiar, Karthick Naren, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Sarjun KM and Rathindran R. Prasad. It comprises an ensemble cast of Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi, Siddharth, Revathi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Prayaga Martin, Arvind Swamy, Prasanna, Poorna, Delhi Ganesh, Rohini, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Yogi Babu, Manikuttan, Remya Nambeesan, Aditi Balan, Bobby Simha, Riythvika, Sree Raam, Atharvaa, Nedumudi Venu, Anjali and Kishore, amongst others.
Uthara Menon is an Indian costume designer, who has worked in the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries.
Kutty Story is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language romantic anthology film, consisting of four short film segments directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vijay, Venkat Prabhu and Nalan Kumarasamy and produced by Ishari K. Ganesh under the banner of Vels Film International. The film stars Menon, Amala Paul, Vinoth Kishan, Amitash Pradhan, Megha Akash, Sunaina, Varun, Sakshi Agarwal, Vijay Sethupathi and Aditi Balan. The film was released on 12 February 2021.
Lakshmi is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language short film written, directed and edited by Sarjun KM, and was produced by I. B. Karthikeyan under the banner Big Print Pictures. The film stars Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli in the titular character along with Nandan and Leo Sivadass which revolves around the life of the protagonist Lakshmi. The film had background music composed by Sundaramurthy KS and was cinematographed by Sudarshan Srinivasan.
Maa (transl. Mother) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language short film directed and edited by Sarjun KM and produced by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Venkat Somasundaram and Reshma Ghatala under his banner Ondraga Entertainment. The script was written by Sarjun and Priyanka Ravindran, and it features Anikha Surendran and Kani Kusruti in the lead roles. The music is composed by Sundaramurthy KS and cinematography was handled by Sudharshan Srinivasan. It was released on 25 January 2018. The makers released a Telugu dubbed version of the short film on 23 February 2018.
Navarasa is the soundtrack album for the Netflix original series of the same name jointly created by Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan. The series consists of nine short films based on the nine Indian aesthetics and has music composed by A. R. Rahman, Santhosh Narayanan, Sundaramurthy KS, Rajesh Murugesan, Karthik, Ron Ethan Yohann, Govind Vasantha, Justin Prabhakaran and Vishal Bhardwaj.
Karumegangal Kalaigindrana is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Thangar Bachan and starring Bharathiraja, Aditi Balan, Gautham Vasudev Menon and Yogi Babu in the lead roles. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar with cinematography by N. K. Ekambaram and editing by B. Lenin. The film was released on 1 September 2023.
The following is a list of unproduced Gautham Vasudev Menon projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, Indian film director Gautham Vasudev Menon has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, or would see life under a different production team.