Agathiyan (born 18 August 1952; ) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, and actor. He was the first director in

Tamil cinema 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 ''Kollywo ...

to win the

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1 ...

for ''

Kadhal Kottai ''Kadhal Kottai'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Agathiyan. It stars Ajith Kumar and Devayani, with Heera, Thalaivasal Vijay, and Karan in supporting roles. The film was a major commercial success and also won th ...

'' (1996). For the film, he also won

National Film Award for Best Screenplay The National Film Award for Best Screenplay is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one o ...

and

Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil The Filmfare Best Director Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The awards were extended to "Best Director" in 1972. Film world, p 43 Superlatives * K. Balachander ...

Career

Agathiyan, a director in his late forties entered films a decade back and struggled as an assistant to various directors. Hailing from a agriculturist family, he spent a happy-go-lucky time in college, and when he decided to pack his bags and come to Chennai to try his luck in films as a director, he lost his family's support. Struggling with no money, he did odd jobs in film companies and became an assistant to anyone who offered him food and shelter. He initially directed movie in 1991 and was credited as Ravi Thasan but it was unsuccessful. Anbalaya Prabhakaran, who acted in that movie and also produces small budgeted films with new directors, gave Ahahtian his second break as a director with ''Madhumathi'', a teenage love story with new faces. The film was a big hit. He was back to where he started, but again fate had bigger things in store for him. Sivasakthi Pandian, a film distributor turned producer, produced ''

Vaanmathi ''Vaanmathi'' is a 1996 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Agathiyan starring Ajith Kumar and Swathi (actress), Swathi. This film portrays hatred that slowly transforms to love between two young people who are ...

'' with Ajith and Swathi. The film was a hit. Next came ''

'' from the same banner and Ahahtian became the toast of the industry. Offers poured in for films. In late 2014, he began work on an untitled project produced by

Bharathiraja Bharathiraja (born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with '' 16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of rural life in his films. ...

starring Santhosh Prathap,

Oviya Helen Nelson, (born 29 April 1991) better known professionally by her stage name Oviya, is an Indian model and actress who works in the Tamil and Malayalam films. She made her breakthrough as an actress in Sarkunam's rural romantic comedy ...

Vijayalakshmi Vijaya lakshmi is a Hindu Indian feminine given name or surname, which means "goddess of victory". The name may refer to: People First name * Vijayalakshmi Atluri, Indian computer scientist *Vijayalakshmi (Kannada actress), Indian actress *Vijaya ...

and Manoj Bharathiraja, but the film was later shelved. He have served as jury member at 57th National Film Awards.

Personal life

He married Radha in 1978. His elder daughter Kani (Karthika), host of

Makkal TV Makkal TV is a Tamil language TV channel. It was launched on 6 September 2006 and is promoted by Makkal Tholai Thodarpu Kuzhumam. Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Ramadoss is the founder of TV and T.Bhuvaneswari is the Vice President and Administrat ...

, is married to film director

Thiru In Tamil, honorifics ( ta, முறை, muṟai) governs daily speech and register of both written and spoken communication. Traditionally, Tamil has been classified into two registers ''viz'' செந்தமிழ் (Centamiḻ) meaning ...

. Kani Thiru is a winner of

Vijay TV Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay chang ...

's ''Cook With Comali'' (Season 2). His second daughter Vijayalakshmi Agathiyan is an actress and is married to film director Feroz. His younger daughter Niranjani Ahathian is a costume designer and actress who is married to director Desingh Periyasamy.

Filmography

;Films

Television

Discography

;As lyricist

Awards

; National Film Awards * 1997 – Best Direction – ''

'' * 1997 – Best Screenplay – ''

'' * 1997 –

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil The Indian Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several aw ...

– ''

'' ; Filmfare Awards South * 1997 –

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

– ''

'' ;

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

* 1996 –

– ''

References

External links

* Living people Tamil film directors Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Best Director National Film Award winners 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors Hindi-language film directors Tamil screenwriters Tamil film producers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners 1952 births {{India-film-director-stub