Velu Prabhakaran

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Velu Prabakaran
Occupation(s)Film director
actor
cinematographer
Years active1984–present
SpouseShirley Das

Velu Prabakaran is an Indian filmmaker, cinematographer and actor. He is known for his themes highlighting atheism and revolutionary subjects in his films. [1]

Contents

Career

Velu Prabakaran began as a cinematographer before making his directorial debut with the 1989 horror film Nalaya Manithan , before also directing its sequel Adhisaya Manithan (1990). He then made two more consecutive action films under R. K. Selvamani's production in Asuran and Rajali , with both becoming box office failures. [2] He then worked on action films with lead characters, who often featured as a revolutionary, making Kadavul (1997), Sivan (1999) and Puratchikkaaran (2000). In 2000, he began pre-production on a film titled Deepavali and approached Kamal Haasan to play the lead role. However, the actor's rejection meant that the project was later shelved. [3]

Velu Prabakaran began work on the production of a film titled Kadhal Arangam in 2004, writing the story, screenplay and dialogue for the project. [4] Starring newcomers Preethi Rangayani and Shirley Das in leading roles, he revealed that the film would expose the falsehood of kama in society, though he later gave directorial credits of the film to his brother Velu Raja. The film also takes on the prevailing caste system and explores sexuality. Thus, the censors were not willing to give it a certificate due to objectionable scenes and an ongoing battle with the censor board emerged in December 2004. [5] In December 2006, Velu Prabakaran held an emotional appeal at a press conference stating that the film touched upon issues of social concern and stressed the importance of sex education amongst youngsters. In 2009, the team finally agreed to tone down the scenes and mute certain dialogues and to compromise with the censors the film, they changed the title from Kadhal Arangam to Kadhal Kathai. [6] In the title credits of the film, Velu Prabakaran included an extended scene which narrates his opinions and difficulties of the way the film released; while he also plays the role of a film director in the venture, noting that parts were autobiographical. [7] The film opened to very negative reviews from critics, with a reviewer noting "the movie has apparently no script or whatever and is a string of events interspersed with sex scenes." [8] Another critic noted "it's too boring to even qualify as a sex flick", describing the film as "unwatchable". [9]

In 2009, he signed on to direct a film titled Devadasi under JSK Film Corporation telling the tale of a 16th-century romance, though delays meant that he began another project titled Mugamoodi Koothu and then another titled Kalainganin Kadhal, where he would play the lead role. [10] The projects failed to take off and since then the director has kept away from the film industry for a number of years, before releasing a teaser trailer to Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary during January 2017.

Personal life

Velu Prabhakaran was previously married to actress and director P. Jayadevi. At the age of 60 in June 2017, Velu Prabakaran announced to marry Shirley Das who acted in his film Kadhal Kadhai (2009). [11] [12]

Filmography

YearTitleCredited asNotes
DirectorWriterCinematographerActorRole
1989 Nalaya Manithan Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
1989Sariyana JodiGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
1989 Pick Pocket Green check.svg
1990 Adhisaya Manithan Green check.svg
1991 Uruvam Green check.svg
1993 Uthama Raasa Green check.svg
1995 Puthiya Aatchi Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgTamizhmani
1995 Asuran Green check.svgGreen check.svg
1996 Rajali Green check.svgGreen check.svg
1997 Kadavul Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRajapandi Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer
1999 Sivan Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
2000 Puratchikkaaran Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgTamizhmani
2003 Vikadan Green check.svg
2007 Naalaiya Pozhuthum Unnodu Green check.svg
2009 Kadhal Kadhai Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgHimself
2011 Pathinaaru Green check.svg
2017 Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
2019 Gangs of Madras Green check.svg
2021 Jango Green check.svg
2021 Anti Indian Green check.svgHajiyar
2022 Cadaver Green check.svg
2023 Pizza 3: The Mummy Green check.svg
2023 Raid Green check.svg
2024 Weapon Green check.svgOmkar
2024Appu VI STDGreen check.svg

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References

  1. ↑ Kumar, S.R.Ashok (10 March 2007). "Film runs into trouble with Censor Board". The Hindu (india). Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "reference". Indolink.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ "Nn". cinematoday2.itgo.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Making a mark". The Hindu . 24 May 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Velu Prabhakaran's clash with censors". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Velu Prabakaran's bold film gets censor nod!". Sify . Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Grill Mill". The Hindu . 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "KADHAL KADHAI MOVIE REVIEW". Behindwoods. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Kadhal Kadhai — Perverse, uninteresting and badly made". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Velu Prabakaran's 'Mugamoodi Koothu'". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "60-year-old director Velu Prabhakaran marries actress Shirley Das". 4 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Tamil director Velu Prabhakaran marries his Kadhal Kadhai heroine Shirley Das". India Today.
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