S. P. Muthuraman, also referred to as SPM, is an Indian film director who 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 ''Kollyw ...

. He has directed 72 films in

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, na ...

. He was one of the most successful commercial directors in Tamil cinema. Initially he worked mainly with

R. Muthuraman Muthuraman Radhakrishnan (4 July 1929 – 16 October 1981) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. He was a leading actor during the 1960s and 1970s and was fondly called as ''Navarasa Thilagam''. He had paired w ...

Jaishankar Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji G ...

and

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

. S. P. Muthuraman debuted as an assistant director in the film

Kalathur Kannamma ''Kalathur Kannamma'' is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh and written by Javar Seetharaman. The film stars Gemini Ganesh, Savitri Ganesh and Kamal Haasan. It revolves around a couple — a wealthy ...

(1960). He has received two South Filmfare Awards and a Best Director award from the Tamil Nadu State Government. Since 1977, his association with

proved to be extremely successful, as they went on work together in 25 films. Muthuraman was mainly responsible for moulding Rajini's career and turning him into a commercial star. He was also the associate producer of the Rajinikanth starrer '' Sivaji''.

Early life and family

Muthuraman was born on 7 April 1935 as the second of seven children in a family in

Karaikudi Karaikudi is a Greater municipality in Sivagangai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 21st largest urban agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area commonly referred to as " Chettinad" and has ...

. As per the norms in their region, Muthuraman's parents gave him another name - Rajaram Mohan - which became obsolete over time. His father Karaikudi Rama.Subbaiah was one of the forerunners of the

Dravidian Movement The Dravidian movement in British India started with the formation of the Justice Party on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by C. Natesa Mudaliar along with T. M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetty as a result of a series of non-B ...

and a member of the erstwhile

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was in ...

during 1972-78. Muthuraman's youngest brother is the Dravidian ideologue

Suba Veerapandian Subbaiah Veerapandian (born 22 April 1952), known popularly as Suba Veerapandian or Subavee, is an Indian Tamil political activist, author, orator, former Tamil professor and former film artist. Since 2007, he has been serving as the genera ...

Career

Muthuraman started his film career through

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, M ...

as an editor, then an assistant director to the duo

Krishnan–Panju R. Krishnan (1909–1997) and S. Panju (1915–1984), collectively referred to as Krishnan–Panju, were Indian film directors. The duo directed more than 50 films in South Indian languages and in Hindi. Early life R. Krishnan was born on 18 ...

, eventually working with

A. Bhimsingh A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh (1924–1978) was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi, 8 films in Telugu, 5 films in Malayalam and 1 film i ...

D. Yoganand Dasari Yoganand (16 April 1922 – 23 November 2006) was a South Indian film director. Early life Yoganand was born in Madras under British India. His parents were Venkata Das, estate manager under Nawaab Raza Ali Khan of Machilipatnam, and La ...

Puttanna Kanagal Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1 December 1933 – 5 June 1985), known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Kannada cinema's most influent ...

, M. Krishnan Nair and

A. C. Tirulokchandar A. C. Thirulokachandar (11 June 1930 – 15 June 2016), also known as A. C. Tirulokchandar, was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked mainly in Tamil films from the 1960s to 1988. He also directed a few films in Hindi and Telugu. ...

Personal life

He married Kamala in 1960. The couple have 3 children. His wife Kamala died on 15 October 1992 before the release of his 70th film, ''Pandiyan''.

Other works

Muthuraman wrote a weekly column for '' The Hindu Tamil'' named ''Cinema Eduththu Paar''; all articles were later published as a single book in paperback format.

Awards

;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* 1977 – Best Director – Tamil for ''

Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu ''Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu'' () is a 1976 Indian Tamil language film directed by S. P. Muthuraman. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Sujatha. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Pushpa Thangadorai. The film was released ...

'' * 1978 – Best Director – Tamil for ''

Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri ''Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri'' () is a 1977 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. It is based on the novel of the same name by Maharishi. The film stars Sivakumar, Rajinikanth and Sumit ...

'' ;

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 ...

* 1979 – Best Director for ''

Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai ''Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai'' () is a 1979 Tamil-language drama film, directed by S. P. Muthuraman, starring Rajinikanth. The film was written and produced by Panju Arunachalam under P. A. Arts Productions. The cast also included Thilak, Cho ...

'' * 2012 – Lifetime Achievement Award – South

Filmography

As director

TV series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muthuraman, S. P. Film directors from Tamil Nadu Tamil film directors Living people People from Sivaganga district 20th-century Indian film directors Filmfare Awards South winners Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Tamil film producers Film producers from Tamil Nadu 1935 births