Vasanthabalan | |
|---|---|
 Vasanthabalan in 2014 | |
| Born | |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Screenwriter |
| Years active | 2002 - present |
| Website | https://www.directorvasanthabalan.com/ |
Vasanthabalan (sometimes credited as Vasantha Balan) is an Indian Tamil film director and screenwriter. [1] He has made critically acclaimed films including Veyil (2006), Angadi Theru (2010) and Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014).
Vasanthabalan began his film career as an editing assistant and later became an assistant director to S.Shankar in the latter's directorial debut, Gentleman (1993). He continued to work under Shankar in three more films Kaadhalan (1994), Indian (1996) and Jeans (1998).
He later made his break as an independent director with the box-office failure Album (2002). [2]
His second film, produced by Shankar's S Pictures, Veyil (2006) was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. It was shown as the Indian representative at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. [3] His next release, Angadi Theru (2010), showcased a romantic tale set in the famous Ranganathan Street in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The film won critical acclaim and was a commercial success as well. It was shortlisted for India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. [4] In 2012, he released Aravaan , a period film based on the novel Kaaval Kottam that reflects the life of people of South Tamil Nadu in the 18th century. Following that, he made the period drama Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014), which won critical acclaim.
Siddharth Suryanarayan, known mononymously as Siddharth, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi language films. Apart from acting, he has also been involved in films as a screenwriter, producer and playback singer. He has also been featured in many advertisements.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam language films. He has also done Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of roles and has received several awards including a National Film Award, three Kerala State Film Awards, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award and a South Filmfare Award.
Veyil (transl. Sunshine) is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan. The film stars Bharath, Pasupathy, Bhavana, Priyanka and Sriya Reddy. Upon release, it was commercially successful. The first third of Veyil is very loosely based upon the 1988 Italian classic Cinema Paradiso. It is the first Tamil film screened at Cannes as part of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival under the 'Tous les Cinemas du Monde' section. The film was remade in Bangladeshi Bengali as Antor Jala (2017).
Nirav Shah is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film Paisa Vasool.
Vedhika Kumar is an Indian actress and model who has established a career in the Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films.
Bharath Srinivasan, known professionally as Bharath, is an Indian actor, who works predominantly in Tamil cinema, along with few films in Malayalam, Hindi and Telugu.
Angadi Theru is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan, starring Anjali and debutant Mahesh. The title refers to the Ranganathan Street in Chennai where the story takes place. The film features music jointly composed by Vijay Antony and G. V. Prakash Kumar. An Ayngaran International production, the film was launched on 11 February 2008 and released on 26 March 2010 to critical acclaim. The film was shortlisted for the Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but lost to Peepli Live. It released in Telugu as Shopping Mall. The film was box-office success.
Anjali is an Indian actress and model who appears in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. Following a stint in modelling, she was cast in starring roles in two Telugu productions; her debut film was the Telugu thriller film Photo (2006). She then bagged a role and gained attention in the film Kattradhu Thamizh (2007) with Jiiva. In 2010 and 2011, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil, for her performances in Angaadi Theru and Engaeyum Eppothum, respectively, and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Angadi Theru, subsequently recognised as one of the "finest young actors" in Tamil cinema, and noted for mostly playing "performance-oriented roles".
Ponvannan is an Indian actor and director who has worked in Tamil cinema and television. After beginning his career as an artist (painter), Ponvannan apprenticed as a director and writer under Bharathiraja. He subsequently made his directorial debut with Annai Vayal (1992), before making the critically acclaimed venture, Nadhi Karaiyinile (2003). He has since appeared as a supporting actor in films, winning acclaim for his role in films including Paruthiveeran (2007), Ayan (2009) and Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014). In October 2015, he was elected as the Vice President of the Nadigar Sangam alongside Karunas.
Aravaan (transl. Snake) is a 2012 Indian Tamil language epic historical film directed by Vasanthabalan, based on Su. Venkatesan's novel Kaaval Kottam. It was released in 2012 and stars Aadhi, Dhansika, Archana Kavi and Pasupathy. Kabir Bedi has a prominent role and Bharath is also featured in a cameo role. The film marks noted playback singer Karthik's debut as a music director. Aravaan was released on 2 March 2012 to mixed reviews and had moderate earnings at the box office.
YNOT Studios is an Indian film production company in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established by producer S. Sashikanth. As of 2023, the company has produced 21 feature films, which includes productions made in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi film industries of India. It has collaborated with filmmakers including Sudha Kongara, Balaji Mohan, Pushkar–Gayathri and Karthik Subbaraj.
Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards is the annual film festival conducted in Oslo to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Tamil film industry. NTFF was arranged for the first time in 2010 by VN Music Dreams. NTFF is a celebration of global Tamil cinema.
Kaaviya Thalaivan is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan and produced by S. Sashikanth and Varun Manian under their production companies YNOT Studios and Radiance Media Group. It stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Siddharth, Vedhika and Anaika Soti while Nassar, Thambi Ramaiah, Ponvannan, Mansoor Ali Khan and others appear in supporting roles. Music composed by A. R. Rahman. Set in the early 20th century, the film is about the lives of two theatre artistes and the competition that exists between them in a small drama troupe.
Anaika Soti is an Indian actress and model. She predominantly works in Tamil films and in a few Telugu and Hindi films.
Chezhiyan is an Indian filmmaker and director of photography who works primarily in the Tamil film industry. He received critical acclaim for his work in Kalloori (2007), Paradesi (2013) and To Let (2017).
Mahesh is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. He made his debut in the 2010 film, Angadi Theru, directed by Vasanthabalan.
Radiance Media Group is an Indian film production company led by filmmaker and entrepreneur Varun Manian. Based in Chennai, Radiance Media makes films for audiences in India as well as international markets.
Kaaviya Thalaivan(Epic Hero) is the 2014 soundtrack album to the Tamil historical fiction film of the same name, written and directed by Vasanthabalan. A. R. Rahman has composed the original songs and score for the film. Being a period film, the music of film reflects the sounds during the 1920s pre-Independence Indian era. The album marks poet Vaali's last lyrical work for this A. R. Rahman musical film. Prior to recording the original songs, Rahman carried out a research for six months for the music. Majority of the tracks were recorded by nine months, beginning from October 2012. Every song in the film has an underlying concept that justifies the screenplay. Prior to the album release, three tracks "Vaanga Makka Vaanga", "Yaarumilla" and "Aye Mr. Minor!" were released as singles on 1 September, 1 October and 17 October. The original version of the album that released on 31 October 2014 was aired through Suryan FM.
Richard M. Nathan is an Indian cinematographer, who works in the Tamil film industry.
T. Santhanam was an Indian film art director who worked in the Tamil film industry.