Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Western music elements and often credited with having introduced hip hop to the Tamil film and music industry and started the "era of remixes" in Tamil Nadu which included mixed EDM and jazz. He is frequently referred to as the "BGM King" and the "Young Maestro" of Tamil Film Music. Yuvan has won two Filmfare Awards South, five Mirchi Music Awards South, four Vijay Awards and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren, better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian Director, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his first three ventures featuring him in a starring role, failing to release, following which he began appearing in character roles. He entered the spotlight for the first time when he turned director with the summer hit Chennai 600028 (2007). He achieved further commercial successes with his subsequent directorials Saroja (2008), Goa (2010), Mankatha (2011), Biriyani (2013), Masss (2015) and Maanaadu (2021). His father Gangai Amaren is a film director and music director.
Chennai 600028 is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language sports comedy film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu in his directorial debut. It stars Jai, Shiva, Premji, Aravind Akash, Nithin Sathya and newcomers Ajay Raj, Vijay Vasanth, Prasanna, Inigo Prabakaran, Karthik and Arun in the lead along with Vijayalakshmi Feroz and Kristine Zedek, making their acting debut as well. The film was produced by S. P. B. Charan along with J. K. Saravana, a Singapore-based award-winning producer. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Premji Amaran and Yuvan Shankar Raja and also Illayaraja respectively.
Prem Kumar Gangai Amaren, better known as Premgi, is an Indian playback singer, composer, songwriter, actor and comedian. The son of composer and director Gangai Amaran, he often composes rap songs in Tamil cinema and is known for his comical performances in his elder brother Venkat Prabhu's films. His stage name, Premgi, is actually a spelling error, as it is meant to be "Prem G.",. He is also best known for his catchphrases Enna Koduma Sir Idhu ? and Evvalavo pannitom, itha panna mattoma, the former being a modified version of a famous dialogue used by Prabhu in Chandramukhi (2005).
Shiva is an Indian Tamil actor, comedian, radio jockey, and dialogue writer. He has featured in several Tamil language films. Prior to his acting career, Shiva worked as a radio jockey with Radio Mirchi. Acting mainly in comedy films, he rose to fame following his performances in the Venkat Prabhu directorials Chennai 600028 and Saroja, before also featuring in Thamizh Padam. His tenure with Radio Mirchi earned him the nickname "Mirchi Shiva".
Sripathi Panditharadhyula Charan is an Indian film playback singer, actor, producer and director known for his works in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema.
Goa is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu in his third directorial project. Starring his regular cast consisting of Jai, Vaibhav, and Premji along with Aravind Akash, Sampath Raj, Piaa Bajpai, Sneha, and the debutant Australian model Melanie Marie in other roles, the film is the first production of Soundarya Rajinikanth's Ocher Picture Productions. Actors Silambarasan Rajendar, Nayantara and Prasanna make guest appearances in the film, which features music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, whilst cinematography is handled by Sakthi Saravanan and the film is edited by K. L. Praveen and N. B. Srikanth.
Goa is the soundtrack album by Yuvan Shankar Raja to the 2010 romantic comedy film of the same name, directed by Venkat Prabhu, and produced by Soundarya Rajinikanth's Ocher Studios, starring Jai, Vaibhav, Premji Amaran, Sneha, Piaa Bajpai and Melanie Marie Jobstreibitzer in prominent roles.
Mankatha is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action crime film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. It stars Ajith Kumar in his 50th film, along with an ensemble cast including Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Lakshmi Rai, Anjali, Andrea Jeremiah, Ashwin Kakumanu, Vaibhav Reddy, Premji Amaren, Mahat Raghavendra, Jayaprakash, Aravind Akash and Subbu Panchu. It was produced by Dhayanidhi Alagiri's Cloud Nine Movies while Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the musical score and soundtrack, with Sakthi Saravanan working as the cinematographer and the duo Praveen K. L. and N. B. Srikanth as editors. Set in Mumbai, the film revolves around a heist of cricket betting money, which are executed by a gang of four thieves, who are joined by a fifth unknown man and its aftermath.
Yuvan – Live in Concert is a concert by Indian musician Yuvan Shankar Raja. The concert, Yuvan's second in his career, took place on Pongal, 16 January 2011 at the YMCA Grounds, Nandanam, Chennai. Following the announcement, popular Tamil television STAR Vijay agreed to collaborate, sponsoring, organising and marketing the concert, while airing a special television series about Yuvan Shankar Raja, with family members and prominent celebrities closely associated to him participating, besides producing a promotional music video, titled "I'll be there for you". The five-hour show, which was attended by 20,000 people, including several noted film personalities, was received very positively and considered a highly successful event. The concert was aired on 11 and 12 February, Friday and Saturday at 2000 hrs on Vijay TV.
Vasuki Bhaskar is an Indian fashion and costume designer, working in the Tamil film industry. She is the daughter of film producer R.D. Bhaskar and Pavalar Creations is their own production house.
Mankatha is the soundtrack album, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, to the 2011 film of the same name, directed by Venkat Prabhu that stars Ajith Kumar in the lead role along with an ensemble cast including Arjun, Trisha, Vaibhav, Lakshmi Rai, Andrea Jeremiah, Premgi and Anjali. The album features eight tracks, with lyrics penned by Vaali, Gangai Amaran, and Niranjan Bharathi. Following a number of postponements, it was finally released on 10 August 2011 by Sony Music India.
Biriyani is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action comedy-thriller film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. Produced by Studio Green, it stars Karthi and Hansika Motwani alongside an ensemble cast including Premji, Nassar, Ramki, Sampath Raj, Madhumitha, Jayaprakash, Prem, and Mandy Takhar. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the score and soundtrack of Biriyani, which marks his 100th film, while Sakthi Saravanan and Praveen-Srikanth handled cinematography and editing, respectively. Filming started in November 2012, lasted for over nine months and took place primarily at Chennai, Hyderabad and Ambur. The film was released on 20 December 2013. The fim received mixed to positive reviews. The film was reported to be inspired by the 2004 American film Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, though Prabhu was lauded for making creative changes to the story. The film did a decent run and recovered its budget at the box-office.
Biriyani is the soundtrack album, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, to the 2013 black comedy film of the same name, directed by Venkat Prabhu starring Karthi, Hansika Motwani, Premgi Amaren and Mandy Takhar. It is the 100th album of Yuvan Shankar Raja. In this album, there are 6 songs and two remixes with lyrics written by Gangai Amaran, Vaali, Madhan Karky, Psycho.unit, Gaana Bala, Tanvi Shah and Yuvan Himself. The film also features Karthi, its protagonist, debuting as a Playback singer. After multiple postponements, the soundtrack album was released on 21 August 2013.
Massu Engira Masilamani, also known by its former title Masss, is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action horror comedy film directed by Venkat Prabhu. The film was produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under his Studio Green banner alongside his then-newly formed studio Aadnah Arts, and was distributed by Eros International and Dream factory. The film features an ensemble cast including Suriya, Nayanthara, Pranitha Subhash, Premgi , Parthiban and Samuthirakani. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the film's soundtrack and score, whereas cinematography and editing were handled by R. D. Rajasekhar and Praveen K. L. respectively. In the film Masss, A con artist starts interacting with ghosts when his partner in crime dies in an accident. During one such encounter, he stumbles upon Shakthi, a ghost who wants to seeks revenge against his family's killers.
Thodari (transl. Train) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action-romance film co produced, written and directed by Prabhu Solomon. It stars Dhanush and Keerthy Suresh, with D. Imman composing the film's music. Set on an express train, Thodari follows a pantry worker who tries to save the passengers and his girlfriend from hijackers and a politician's bodyguard amid a runaway train incident.
Chennai 600028 II is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language sports comedy film co-produced, written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, who also produces the film along with S. P. B. Charan under Black Ticket Company and Capital Film Works. The film, which is a sequel to Chennai 600028 (2007), features Vaibhav in a prominent role in addition to several cast members from the earlier film including Jai, Shiva, Premji, Aravind Akash, Inigo Prabakaran and Nithin Sathya. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film was released on 9 December 2016 to extremely positive reviews and performed extremely well at the box office.
Ajay Raaj is an Indian actor and choreographer who appears in Tamil language films. While working as a dance choreographer, Ajay made his acting debut with Agathiyan's Selvam (2005), before appearing in Chennai 600028 (2007) and has since appeared regularly in films associated with director Venkat Prabhu and his team.
Party is a unreleased Indian comedy film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by T. Siva. The film stars Jai, Shiva, Sathyaraj, Jayaram, Shaam, Ramya Krishnan, Regina Cassandra, with Sanchita Shetty, Nivetha Pethuraj, Nandha Durairaj, Nassar and Chandran appear in supporting roles. After the release of his seventh directorial and debut production venture, it was announced that director Venkat Prabhu will do a film for Amma Creations banner of T.Siva which is celebrating its 25th year in film industry. Despite having completed filming, the film remains unreleased.
Thalapathy 68 is the working title of an upcoming Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay, leading an ensemble cast that includes Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh, Vaibhav, Premgi Amaren, Aravind Akash and Ajay Raj.
