Vasanthabalan (sometimes credited as Vasantha Balan) is an Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

film director and screenwriter, known for his

Tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Films in Tamil Cinema. He has made critically acclaimed films including ''

Veyil ''Veyil'' ( en, Sunshine, italics=yes or ''Sun Blaze'') is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan. Bharath and Pasupathy are the male leads whereas Bhavana, Priyanka and Sriya Reddy plays the female le ...

'' (2006), ''

Angadi Theru ''Angadi Theru'' ( Market Street) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan, starring debutant Mahesh and Anjali. The title refers to the Ranganathan Street in Chennai where the story takes place. ...

'' (2010) and '' Kaaviya Thalaivan'' (2014).

Career

Vasanthabalan began his film career as an editing assistant and later became an assistant director to

S.Shankar Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963), credited as S. Shankar or his mononym Shankar, is an Indian filmmaker who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is one of the most prolific and highest paid film directors in India. His films typicall ...

in the latter's directorial debut, ''

Gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

'' (1993). He continued to work under Shankar in three more films'' Kaadhalan'' (1994), ''

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

'' (1996) and ''

Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

'' (1998)and first attempted to make a film titled ''Aathi'' with Rajasekar in the lead role, but the project was stalled. He later made his break as an independent director with the box-office failure ''

Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' (2002). His second film, produced by Shankar's

S Pictures S Pictures is a film production company owned by film director S. Shankar. Many of the films produced by S Pictures are commercial hits with moderate budget. Filmography Films produced Films distributed In addition to the films produced by ...

, ''

'' (2006) was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. It was shown as the Indian representative at the

2007 Cannes Film Festival The 60th Cannes Film Festival ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. The President of the Jury was British director Stephen Frears. Twenty two films from twelve countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 26 May. ''4 M ...

. His next release, ''

'' (2010), showcased a romantic tale set in the famous

Ranganathan Street Ranganathan Street is a major commercial street in the neighborhood of T. Nagar, located in Chennai, India. It is one of the most crowded streets in Chennai. The street houses several commercial establishments, primarily those involved in the ...

in the city of

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 ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. 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 The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. In 2012, he released ''

Aravaan ''Aravaan'' () 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 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.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{TamilNaduStateAwardForBestDirector Tamil film directors Living people Film directors from Tamil Nadu People from Virudhunagar district Filmfare Awards South winners 21st-century Indian film directors Year of birth missing (living people)