Pradeep Ranganathan is an Indian film director and actor from

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 ...

, who works predominantly 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 ...

. He is known for directing ''

Comali ''Comali'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film produced by Ishari K. Ganesh and written and directed by Pradeep Ranganathan in his directorial debut. The film stars Jayam Ravi, Kajal Aggarwal, Yogi Babu, Samyuktha Hegde and K. ...

'' (2019) and '' Love Today'' (2022). He debuted as a lead actor through ''Love Today''. He also runs a

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channe
Morattu Single
which has over 439,000 subscribers.

Career

He began his career by making short films and he used to do multi-tasking including acting, editing and directing. He received his first feature film directorial debut opportunity from Jayam Ravi and Vels International who were impressed after watching some of his short films. He made his directorial debut with ''Comali'' in 2019 which had

Jayam Ravi Mohan Ravi (born 10 September 1980), better known by his stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in the Tamil film industry. He has won a Filmfare Award and three SIIMA Awards. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made his ...

and Kajal Aggarwal in the main lead roles and the film became a commercial success at the box office. Pradeep Ranganathan also eventually made a cameo appearance during the climax portion of ''Comali''. He was the subject of controversy before the theatrical release of ''Comali'' as Rajinikanth demanded the film to be boycotted due to the depiction of the flashback of Rajinikanth where he promised to enter the politics in 1996 being mentioned in a portion of the film trailer. It was also a major talking point and highlight in the trailer of the film. The scene was subsequently removed from the film following the backlash. In an interview, he had revealed that he took inspiration from the 1985 American science fiction film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'' when he first saw the film as a kid on television through a dubbed version. He usually refers to ''Back to the Future'' whenever he begin working on his films. He also revealed that he takes notes from Bollywood director

Rajkumar Hirani Rajkumar Hirani (born 20 November 1962), also called Raju Hirani, is an Indian filmmaker, director, producer and editor known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards and eleve ...

especially crediting Hirani's two most popular films ''

Munna Bhai MBBS ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani (in his directorial debut) and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It was the first installment of '' Munna Bhai series''. Release ...

'' and ''

3 Idiots ''3 Idiots'' (stylized as ''3 idiots'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Adapted loosely from Ch ...

''. His second directorial venture '' Love Today'' which was a modest small budgeted theatrical release in Tamil Nadu became an instant hit and surpassed expectations. Ranganathan rose to prominence and overnight sensation through ''Love Today''. He also made his full fledged acting debut through Love Today where he played the male lead role. He later revealed that ''Love Today'' is a reflection of some of his past personal life memories indicating the film as a sweet dedication to his ex-girlfriend instead of being a revenge film.

Filmography

As director, writer, and actor

Short films

Awards

* Best Debutant Director - SIIMA Awards 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranganathan, Pradeep Living people 21st-century Indian film directors Tamil-language film directors South Indian International Movie Awards winners Year of birth missing (living people)