Murugadoss Arunasalam (born 25 September 1974), commonly known as A. R. Murugadoss,
is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in the
Tamil film industry
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood ...
. He is best known for directing action films mainly on social issues. In addition, he has worked in
Telugu film
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...
s and
Hindi films. Murugadoss won the
Filmfare Award for Best Director for his 2014 Tamil
action drama
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...
''
Kaththi
''Kaththi'' (; ) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action social drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions, along with Ayngaran International, as the co-produce ...
''.
Murugadoss' first break in the film industry was as an assistant director of ''
Ratchagan
''Ratchagan'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written, produced by K. T. Kunjumon, and directed by Praveen Gandhi. It stars Nagarjuna and Sushmita Sen, alongside Raghuvaran, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vadivelu and Gir ...
'' (1997). He then worked with
S. J. Surya
S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
for the film ''
Kushi'' (2000) before directing his first film, the
Ajith starrer ''
Dheena
''Dheena'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by then-debutante A. R. Murugadoss, starring Ajith Kumar, Suresh Gopi, in his Tamil debut, and Laila. The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raj ...
'' (2001). His first
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film was ''
Ghajini'' (2008), a
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
remake of his
Tamil film of the same name. It became the first Bollywood film to gross over domestically.
He would then go on to direct ''
7am Arivu
''7aum Arivu'' (; ) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language science fiction martial arts film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, featuring Suriya, Johnny Trí Nguyễn and Shruti Haasan. In the film, a medical student enlists the help of a cir ...
in 2011, which would become the first non-Rajini 100cr grosser in Tamil cinema. ''In 2012, he directed the action
thriller ''
Thuppakki
''Thuppakki'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. Produced by Kalaippuli S. Thanu under his studio V Creations, and distributed by Gemini Film Circuit, the film stars Vijay and Kajal ...
'', starring
Vijay, which became the third Tamil film to gross 100 crore at the domestic box office alone. He worked with Vijay again with the box office hits ''
Kaththi
''Kaththi'' (; ) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action social drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions, along with Ayngaran International, as the co-produce ...
'' and ''
Sarkar'' (2018).
Personal life
Murugadoss was born in
Kallakurichi
Kallakurichi is a Municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu. As of 2019, the town had a population of 73528.
Member of the Legislative Assembly (Tamilnadu) is M ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
. The initials "AR" refer to his father's name Arunasalam and were added after Murugadoss signed his first film, ''
Dheena
''Dheena'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by then-debutante A. R. Murugadoss, starring Ajith Kumar, Suresh Gopi, in his Tamil debut, and Laila. The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raj ...
'', in 2001.
Murugadoss currently resides in
Virugambakkam
Virugambakkam is a residential neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is an important residential area of and is famous for its schools, market, residential colonies and residences of film artists. Virugambakkam had some of Chennai's o ...
,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
.
Murugadoss had his schooling at the Government Higher Secondary School
and studied BA in
Bishop Heber College
Bishop Heber College is a religious minority educational institution in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1966, although the school has historical roots extending through various earlier local religious schools to about the m ...
,
Tiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
. His brother,
Dileepan
Dileepan (born Dileepan Arunasalam) is an Indian actor, currently working in the Tamil film industry. He made his film debut with the 2013 film, ''Vathikuchi''.
Early life and family
Dileepan was born in Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu. He is the ...
made his acting debut with ''
Vathikuchi
''Vathikuchi'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by newcomer Kinslin and produced by A. R. Murugadoss in association with Fox Star Studios. The film stars Dileepan, the younger brother of Murugadoss, i ...
'', which is Murugadoss' production venture.
Career
![Murugadoss With Amir Khan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Murugadoss_With_Amir_Khan.jpg)
During his college days, Murugadoss was active in cultural events, particularly in mimicry and drawing.
He subsequently became a cinephile watching up to seven films a week in his hometown and started writing jokes as well. After
Ananda Vikatan
''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India.
History and profile
''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
published them, Murugadoss began to think of becoming a story writer.
At
Bharathidasan University
Bharathidasan University (BDU) is a university in the city of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on Tiruchirappalli-Pudukkottai National Highway 336. It has affiliated colleges in the districts of Ariyalur district, Karur, Nag ...
he started to write sketch comedies and acted in them.
After college he tried to join the
Madras Film Institute
The M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, formerly known as the Adyar Film Institute, is Asia's first-ever film and television training institute. Established in 1945 as Adyar Film Institute, it is one of the pioneer film in ...
, but was rejected. Nevertheless, Murugadoss stayed in Chennai in multiple functions. First he became an assistant writer of P. Kalaimani and wrote dialogues for the Tamil film ''Madurai Meenakshi.'' He became assistant director of ''
Ratchagan
''Ratchagan'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written, produced by K. T. Kunjumon, and directed by Praveen Gandhi. It stars Nagarjuna and Sushmita Sen, alongside Raghuvaran, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vadivelu and Gir ...
'' (1997) for half of the film and continued as assistant script director for the Telugu film ''Kalusukundam Ra''.
Murugadoss then worked with
S. J. Surya
S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
for the film ''
Kushi''.
In 2003, he contemplated making a film titled ''Varathan'' with
Vikram in the lead role for producer
Oscar Ravichandran
Viswanathan Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films Pvt. Ltd, previously known as Oscar Films. Ravichandran started his vent ...
, but later moved on to other projects.
S. J. Suryah
S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
recommended Murugadoss to
Ajith Kumar for directing his debut film, ''
Dheena
''Dheena'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by then-debutante A. R. Murugadoss, starring Ajith Kumar, Suresh Gopi, in his Tamil debut, and Laila. The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raj ...
''. His next films were ''
Ramana
Ramana may refer to:
* Ramana, Pakistan, place in Pakistan
* Ramana, Azerbaijan, place in Azerbaijan
* Chintapalli Ramana, Telugu film writer
* Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, Telugu scriptwriter
* Ramana Maharshi, Hindu spiritual figure
* Ramana Reddy ...
'', ''
Ghajini'', and ''
Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
''. His fifth film was ''
Ghajini'', which was a Hindi remake of his same-titled 2005 film and marked his Bollywood debut. It released on 25 December 2008 and became the first Bollywood film to gross over 100 crore domestically.
His next Tamil film ''
7aum Arivu
''7aum Arivu'' (; ) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language science fiction martial arts film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, featuring Suriya, Johnny Trí Nguyễn and Shruti Haasan. In the film, a medical student enlists the help of a cir ...
'', was released on
Diwali 2011 and was more successful outside India than in Tamil Nadu. Murugadoss signed a deal with
Fox Star Studios
Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star, part of the Disney International Operations segment of The Walt Disney Company. Th ...
to produce two Tamil films.
In 2012, he directed the action thriller ''
Thuppakki
''Thuppakki'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. Produced by Kalaippuli S. Thanu under his studio V Creations, and distributed by Gemini Film Circuit, the film stars Vijay and Kajal ...
'', starring
Vijay and produced by
S. Dhanu released on Diwali 2012 to mostly positive reviews and became the fourth Tamil film to enter the 100 crore club after ''
Enthiran
''Enthiran'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the first instalment in the ''Enthiran'' franchise. The film stars Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with Danny ...
''. Thuppakki collected over 180 crores as reported by producer. He also directed the Hindi remake of the film, ''
Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty''. In 2014, he was the writer and producer for the fantasy film ''
Maan Karate
''Maan Karate'' () is a 2014 Tamil-language sports comedy film written and directed by Krish Thirukumaran. The film was written and co-produced by AR Murugadoss and produced by P. Madhan under banner of Escape Artists Motion Pictures. It s ...
'' starring
Sivakarthikeyan
Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also referred to as SK, is an Indian actor, singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil films. He has also won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison ...
which was directed by his former assistant Thirukumaran.
In 2014, he directed the action drama ''
Kaththi
''Kaththi'' (; ) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action social drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions, along with Ayngaran International, as the co-produce ...
'' starring Vijay and produced by
Lyca Productions
Lyca Productions is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by Subaskaran Allirajah in 2014. A subgroup of Lycamobile, the production studio has been involved in the production and distribution of Tamil films made in India. It h ...
released on Diwali 2014 and emerged as one of the top-grossing films in Kollywood for 2014, collecting an estimated 131 crores. In 2016, he directed ''
Akira'' starring
Sonakshi Sinha
Sonakshi Sinha (; born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. After working as a costume designer in independent films, she made her acting with the action film ''Dabangg'' in 2010, which won her the Filmfare Award for Be ...
. It is a remake of Tamil film ''
Mouna Guru
''Mouna Guru'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Santha Kumar and produced by M. K. Thamizharasu. The film stars Arulnidhi and Ineya, while John Vijay, Madhusudhan Rao, Uma Riyaz Khan, Krishnamoorthy, and Bala ...
''. Then, he directed ''
Spyder
The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor a ...
'' starring
Mahesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...
and
Rakul Preet Singh
Rakul Preet Singh (born 10 October 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Kannada film '' Gilli'' (2009). She has won several awards including a SIIMA Award with ...
. He joined with Vijay once again for the movie ''
Sarkar'' which is produced by
Sun Pictures Kalanithi Maran
Kalanithi Murasoli Maran is an Indian billionaire media mogul who is the chairman and founder of the Sun Group. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a mov ...
which released on 6 November 2018 for the Diwali. It released in over 3000 screens around the world. The next, his film ''
Darbar'' starring
Rajinikanth was released on 9 January 2020.
Filmography
;As director, producer, and writer
;As actor
*''
Poochudava
''Poochudava'' is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Udayasankar and produced by K. Jayaraman. The film stars Abbas and Simran. Manivannan, Nagesh, Kalpana, Jai Ganesh, Chinni Jayanth, PC Ramakrishnan and Kavitha play supp ...
'' (1997)
*''
7am Arivu
''7aum Arivu'' (; ) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language science fiction martial arts film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, featuring Suriya, Johnny Trí Nguyễn and Shruti Haasan. In the film, a medical student enlists the help of a cir ...
'' (2011)
*''
Thuppakki
''Thuppakki'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. Produced by Kalaippuli S. Thanu under his studio V Creations, and distributed by Gemini Film Circuit, the film stars Vijay and Kajal ...
(2012)''
*''
Maan Karate
''Maan Karate'' () is a 2014 Tamil-language sports comedy film written and directed by Krish Thirukumaran. The film was written and co-produced by AR Murugadoss and produced by P. Madhan under banner of Escape Artists Motion Pictures. It s ...
'' (2014)
*''
Kaththi
''Kaththi'' (; ) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action social drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions, along with Ayngaran International, as the co-produce ...
'' (2014)
*''
Isai
''Isai'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language musical psychological thriller film co-produced, written, directed and composed by S. J. Suryah, making his comeback as a director after a 10-year hiatus since 2005. The film stars himself in the lead ...
'' (2015)
*''
NOTA
Nota Sports and Racing Cars is an automobile manufacturer in Australia. The company was founded by Guy Buckingham in 1952. He was an aircraft engineer and used his expertise to build triangulated spaceframed sportscars. Possibly Australia's ...
'' (2018)
*''
Sarkar''
Awards
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murugadoss, AR
Tamil film directors
Tamil-language film directors
Tamil screenwriters
Living people
Filmfare Awards South winners
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners
People from Viluppuram district
Film producers from Tamil Nadu
21st-century Indian film directors
Film directors from Tamil Nadu
Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu
1974 births