Selvaraghavan
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Selvaraghavan is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who has directed and acted predominantly
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 ...
films. His directorial debut had with ''
Thulluvadho Ilamai ''Thulluvadho Ilamai'' () is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language teen drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan, but Kasthuri Raja is credited for business reasons and the film marks the acting debut of Dhanush, who plays the lead role. The fi ...
'' (2002) but his father is credited for business reasons, which stars his brother Dhanush K. Raja, Selvaraghavan went on to make a series of romantic drama films with ''
Kadhal Kondein ''Kaadhal Kondein'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic psychological thriller film written and directed by Selvaraghavan, starring his brother Dhanush and newcomers Sonia Agarwal and Sudeep Sarangi, while Nagesh and Daniel Balaji play ...
'' (2003) (also starring Dhanush) and ''
7G Rainbow Colony ''7G Rainbow Colony'' is a 2004 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. The film is shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, the latter titled ''7G Brindavan Colony.'' It stars debutant Ravi Krishna and Sonia ...
'' (2004) before also venturing into coming-of-age films ''
Pudhupettai ''Pudhupettai'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. The film stars the director's brother Dhanush in the lead role, while Sonia Agarwal and Sneha (actress), Sneha play suppor ...
'' (2006) and ''
Mayakkam Enna ''Mayakkam Enna'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language psychological drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan and produced by Gemini Film Circuit in association with Aum Productions Selvaraghavan its own banner. It stars his brother Dhanu ...
'' (2011), both starring Dhanush. He has also ventured into making science fiction and fantasy films, such as depicting a fantasy
Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
kingdom in '' Aayirathil Oruvan'' (2010) and a parallel universe in ''
Irandam Ulagam ''Irandaam Ulagam'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic fantasy film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. Starring Arya and Anushka Shetty, the film's soundtrack was composed by Harris Jayaraj, with a score composed by Anirudh Ravichan ...
'' (2013). He has been critically acclaimed for his directorial skills. He made his film acting debut in the hit film '' Beast''.


Early life

Selvaraghavan was born to film director
Kasthuri Raja Kasthuri Raja is an Indian film director. He is the father of director Selvaraghavan and actor Dhanush. He worked as an assistant director with Director K.S.G. Most of the films he directed were either village based or infatuation of youngsters ...
and Vijayalakshmi. He has a brother,
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
, who is an actor, and two sisters, who are both doctors. In his youth, one of his eyes was removed after he developed
retinal cancer Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and it is almost exclusively fo ...
.


Personal life

On 15 December 2006, he married actress
Sonia Agarwal Sonia Agarwal is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema and a few Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is best known for her performances in the films such as ''Kaadhal Kondein'' (2003), ''7G Rainbow Colony'' (2 ...
, with whom he had previously worked with on three films. After their two-year marriage, Sonia Agarwal and Selvaraghavan filed for divorce with mutual consent in a Chennai family court on 9 August 2009. Selvaraghavan married Gitanjali Raman on 19 June 2011, daughter of former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu P. S. Raman. Gitanjali had worked as his assistant director in ''
Mayakkam Enna ''Mayakkam Enna'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language psychological drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan and produced by Gemini Film Circuit in association with Aum Productions Selvaraghavan its own banner. It stars his brother Dhanu ...
''. The couple have a daughter named Leelavathi born on 20 January 2012, and a son born on 7 October 2013 named Omkar. The couple were blessed with their third child, a baby boy on 7 January 2021 who they named Rishikesh


Career


2002–2004

Despite coming from a family from the film industry, Selvaraghavan and his sisters were persuaded by their parents to seek a career with an academic background. He subsequently went on to attain a BEng. in Mechanical Engineering, though his exam performances were unremarkable and he acknowledges he was "never going to become one of the best". During his studies, he engaged part-time in different career paths in a process he describes as "soul-searching", before finding satisfaction as a writer. After he graduated in 1997, he approached producers to fund his screenplay writing, but was unsuccessful and often remained at home as an unemployed graduate. His family faced financial pressures in the early 2000s with his father being out of work, and subsequently they decided to put their remaining earnings into a venture titled ''
Thulluvadho Ilamai ''Thulluvadho Ilamai'' () is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language teen drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan, but Kasthuri Raja is credited for business reasons and the film marks the acting debut of Dhanush, who plays the lead role. The fi ...
'' (2002), which Selvaraghavan had written. Featuring his brother
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
in his first role, alongside Sherin and
Abhinay Abhinay is an Indian actor who has appeared in Malayalam and Tamil language films. He made his debut in the 2002 film, '' Thulluvadho Ilamai'' directed by Kasthuri Raja. He also appeared in advertisement of Oreo Biscuits, Crownply. Career A ...
, the film told the coming-of-age story of six high school students and featured a hit soundtrack by
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
. After taking a small opening, the film began to get teen audiences to cinema halls for its adolescent themes, while also being publicised in quarters as a "soft porn" film. It subsequently went on to become a
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
and won positive reviews from critics for breaking the stereotypes of Tamil films. After release, Selvaraghavan stated that he had also directed the film, but was forced to credit his more established film-maker father
Kasthuri Raja Kasthuri Raja is an Indian film director. He is the father of director Selvaraghavan and actor Dhanush. He worked as an assistant director with Director K.S.G. Most of the films he directed were either village based or infatuation of youngsters ...
as the sole director, in order to help the project find a distributor. Following the success of the previous film, the team chose to collaborate again with the psychotic romantic thriller ''
Kaadhal Kondein ''Kaadhal Kondein'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic psychological thriller film written and directed by Selvaraghavan, starring his brother Dhanush and newcomers Sonia Agarwal and Sudeep Sarangi, while Nagesh and Daniel Balaji pla ...
'' (2003), credited as Selvaraghavan's first film. The venture, produced by his home production, also marked the first collaboration of Selvaraghavan with cinematographer Arvind Krishna, whom he would later associate with regularly. Selvaraghavan had written the script for the film in the late 1990s and had first narrated the story to Dhanush in their shared bedroom at home, before asking him to play the lead role of Vinod after the success of ''Thulluvadho Illamai''. The story explores the mind of a youth who is mentally and physically abused in his childhood. The lack of a mother's love haunts the protagonist throughout the film as the girl of his infatuation is killed. Becoming a psychopath, he desperately tries to woo his newly found lady love and his efforts culminate in a thrilling climax. The film opened in July 2003 to unanimously positive reviews, with a reviewer from ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' noting: "his story, screenplay, dialogue and direction are focused and hit the bull's eye straightway — hardly missing the mark." The film subsequently went on to become a blockbuster and provided career breakthroughs for both Selvaraghavan and Dhanush in the Tamil film industry. Since its release, the film has been remade into several Indian languages, while Selvaraghavan was briefly associated with the Hindi remake to be produced by
Boney Kapoor Achal Surinder "Boney" Kapoor (born 11 November 1955) is an Indian producer primarily associated with Hindi cinema in addition to Tamil and Telugu cinema. Early life Kapoor was born as Achal Surinder Kapoor in 1955, the son of Surinder Kapoor ...
in 2004, but the project did not eventually materialise. Selvaraghavan's next venture was another juvenile love story, ''
7G Rainbow Colony ''7G Rainbow Colony'' is a 2004 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. The film is shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, the latter titled ''7G Brindavan Colony.'' It stars debutant Ravi Krishna and Sonia ...
'', which saw him collaborate with Yuvan Shankar Raja and Arvind Krishna again. He revealed that the film's inspiration came from his college days when he had been fascinated with a Punjabi girl called Ruchika, during his education in
KK Nagar K.K. Nagar (shortened from Kalaignar Karunanidhi Nagar) is a neighbourhood located in the southern part of Chennai, India. This is situated west of Ashok Nagar and the Chennai Airport is around 10 km southwest of this place. K.K. Nagar ...
. He based several of the scenes on real-life happenings with his friends, revealing that the film was "75% biographical" and the lead character was an "average guy" like himself, who "no one would make a film on". He cast
Ravi Krishna Ravi Krishna is a former Indian actor who worked in the Tamil and Telugu film industries. Son of producer A. M. Rathnam, he made his acting debut in Selvaraghavan's critically acclaimed ''7G Rainbow Colony''. He has won Filmfare Award for Best ...
, son of the film's producer
A. M. Rathnam A. M. Rathnam is an Indian film producer, lyricist, screenwriter, and director known for his works in Telugu and Tamil cinema. Under the gamut of Sri Surya Movies Entertainment, Hyderabad, a movie production house owned by him, he has produced ...
, in the leading role after a successful screen test while choosing to retain
Sonia Agarwal Sonia Agarwal is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema and a few Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is best known for her performances in the films such as ''Kaadhal Kondein'' (2003), ''7G Rainbow Colony'' (2 ...
as the lead actress, due to her Punjabi origin. The film opened in October 2004 to positive reviews, with a critic from Sify.com noting: "Unlike other contemporary film-makers running after superstars and making formula films, Selvaraghavan pushes the cinematic envelope and brings savvy freshness to the form, hitherto unexplored". Another reviewer from Rediff.com added: "Selvaraghavan has once again displayed his skill making a movie that is touching without being mushy, and believable because of its realism", noting that "''7G Rainbow Colony'' remains with you, disturbs you and lingers like the glowing embers of a fire long burnt." Consequently, the film and its dubbed Telugu version went on to become amongst the most profitable films of the year. Selvaraghavan later committed to begin work on a Hindi version of the film starring
Vivek Oberoi Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films. Early life Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...
in 2007, but the venture subsequently did not materialise. While making ''7G Rainbow Colony'', Selvaraghavan began pre-production work on a gangster film titled ''Pudhupettai'' – unrelated to his later film – and planned to cast
Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...
, Dhanush,
Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...
,
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 ...
, Ravi Krishna and
Genelia D'Souza Genelia Deshmukh (née D'Souza; born 5 August 1987) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil language films. After gaining wide attention in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, D'Souza beg ...
in the lead roles. The film however did not develop into production.


2004–2007

In 2004, he began pre-production on another gangster film titled ''Kasimedu'' for producer Salem A. Chandrasekharan, which would feature
Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...
,
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
and Bharath in the leading roles. The film was later cancelled, and the director became involved in a legal tussle in 2010 for failing to return his advance payments for the project. He later also tried to make the film during 2005 with Vijay in the lead role for producer Ramesh Babu, with the producer again bringing up legal proceedings in late 2016 about the failure to return an advance. Likewise, another project titled ''Doctors'' featuring Dhanush and Sonia Agarwal was shelved after a photo shoot had been held. The following year, he began work on a different gangster film titled ''Oru Naal Oru Kanavu'' for Lakshmi Movie Makers with Dhanush and Sonia Agarwal, based on the gang culture of North Chennai. The title was later changed to ''
Pudhupettai ''Pudhupettai'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. The film stars the director's brother Dhanush in the lead role, while Sonia Agarwal and Sneha (actress), Sneha play suppor ...
'' (2006), with Sneha also selected to play the role of prostitute. Featuring acclaimed technical work by Yuvan Shankar Raja and Arvind Krishna again, the film told the story of a slum kid's growth into a notorious gangster. Talking about the making of the film, Selvaraghavan called it "an experiment" and stated it had "one of the most complicated screenplays", while revealing he was more nervous with the final product in comparison to his previous ventures. It also became the first Tamil film to be shot in Super 35 mm instead of the Cinemascope format, as well to be released in digital format. The film opened to negative reviews in July 2006, with a reviewer from Sify.com adding it was "heartbreakingly disappointing and is nowhere in the league of his earlier films", citing that it "doesn't unfold quickly and moves at snail pace, puffs and pants with too many characters, subplots and quite long for a gangster genre film". A reviewer from
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
also added "Selvaraghavan dishes out a protracted bloodbath and somehow you feel he has let you down", while the critic at Rediff.com stated that "coming from a director like Selvaraghavan, Puthupettai is unbelievable. He loses grip over the plot and the narration goes haywire". It went on to have an average run at the box office despite taking a grand opening, with Selvaraghavan suggesting the excessive bloodshed scenes may have kept family audiences away. Selvaraghavan then moved on to direct a Telugu film which he had committed to make since 2003 with
Venkatesh Venkatesh is a given name and family name from the Indian subcontinent derived from Venkateswara, a Hindu deity. Notable persons with the name include: * A. Venkatesh Naik (born 1936), member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India * A. Venkatesh (directo ...
in the leading role. Titled ''
Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule ''Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule'' () is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan (credited as Sri Raghava). The film stars Venkatesh and Trisha while Sriram and Kota Srinivasa Rao play supporti ...
'', he wrote the script, taking experiences from life experiences of friends who were unemployed graduates, like the film's main character. Featuring an ensemble cast also including
Trisha Krishnan Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known mononymously as Trisha, is an Indian actress and model, who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She was noticed after winning Miss Chennai contest (1999), which marked her entry into the fil ...
, K. Vishwanath,
Swati Reddy Swati may refer to: Films * Swati (1984 film), ''Swati'' (1984 film), a Telugu film * Swati (1986 film), ''Swati'' (1986 film), a 1986 Bollywood romantic drama film * ''Swati Mutyam'', a 1986 Telugu-language drama film written, directed by K. Vi ...
and Srikanth, the film marked a move away from Selvaraghavan's hard-hitting films and was a simple romantic drama film. ''Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule'' opened to positive reviews in April 2007, with critics noting: "Selva reads the safe path in AMAV, and is most likely to emerge with a winner." Another reviewer added: "Selva Raghavan succeeds in touching the right chord by directing a big hero for the first time", adding "he concentrated on entertainment in the first half and mixed strong emotions in the second half to make sure that audience will have certain positive heaviness in their hearts when they leave the theatre." The film went on to gain recognition at award ceremonies the following year, while becoming amongst the biggest commercial successes in the Telugu film industry for 2007.


2007–2011

After the disappointing reception to his previous Tamil film, Selvaraghavan took a sabbatical to plan future projects and set up a production company, ''White Elephants'', along with
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
and Arvind Krishna, whose first project ''Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam'' began filming in November 2006. The team began shooting with
Karthi Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. ...
, whose first film ''
Paruthiveeran ''Paruthiveeran'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Ameer. The film stars Karthi in his feature film debut as the title character, with Priyamani as the female lead and Ponvannan, Saravanan, Ganja K ...
'' (2007) was awaiting release, and Sandhya. The film was stalled in early 2007 due to cinematographer Arvind Krishna's decision to leave ''White Elephants'' and the project was eventually shelved. In July 2007, Selvaraghavan announced a new film with Karthi and
Reemma Sen Reema Sen (born 29 October 1981) is an Indian actress and model who primarily appeared in Bengali theatre films, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films. Early life and education Sen was born in Kolkata on 29 October 1981. She completed high school fro ...
in the cast, with Ramji replacing regular Arvind Krishna as the cinematographer. The film was titled as '' Aayirathil Oruvan'' (2010), and
Andrea Jeremiah Andrea Maria Jeremiah is an Indian actress, playback singer, and a musician, who works predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam language films. She made her acting debut in Tamil language, Tamil film ''Pachaikili Muthucharam'' (2007 ...
and
Parthiban R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...
also were soon after added to the principal cast. Nearly six months after filming began, Yuvan Shankar Raja also left the project after falling out with Selvaraghavan, and was replaced by G. V. Prakash Kumar. After extensive development and pre-production which took four months for scripting, the film started the first schedule in the forests of
Chalakudy Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls. ...
in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
during October 2007. The project developed a reputation for its gruelling shoots, a novel concept in Tamil films, at an early stage of production. Shoots in all regions were tough and demanding for the crew as the film featured more than three thousand junior artistes from a variety of unions across India, with the language barrier becoming a problem. In February 2009, filming was completed after 263 days of shooting; therefore the producers signalled for a summer release, but it was postponed by six months. The film, an adventure fantasy, tells the story of an archaeologist, a coolie and a member of the army going in search of the archaeologist's father to a ruined city before they stumble upon the lost
Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
civilisation and its king and find unexplained links between them and the culture. Uncut, the film was made to run for 220 minutes, but the theatrical release was heavily censored at 183 minutes and upon release in January 2010, the film remarkably gained mixed reviews. Sify.com cited that the film represented "something new in the placid world of Tamil cinema" adding that it "broke away from the shackles of the stereotypes". Selvaraghavan also was praised by the reviewer with claims that "the director transports us to a whole new world and at the end of it all, we are dumb stuck by the visuals, the packaging and the new way of storytelling".
Rediff Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
.com gave the film 3.5 out of 5 claiming that viewers should "steel your stomach before ouwatch it" and "regardless of the minor discrepancies, ''AO'' is definitely a movie to watch". In contrast, Behindwoods.com gave the film 0.5 out of 5 describing the film as "wildly crass", dismissing that "the underdeveloped script lacks everything – starting from strong plot twists to captive locations to graphics to credibility, above all". The film evoked a strong opening at the box office and gained average collections. Despite the mixed reaction to the film, Selvaraghavan has expressed interest in making a sequel to the film featuring
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
in the future. Selvaraghavan then relaunched his marital drama film ''Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam'' in November 2008 and filming started with a new cast of
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
and
Andrea Jeremiah Andrea Maria Jeremiah is an Indian actress, playback singer, and a musician, who works predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam language films. She made her acting debut in Tamil language, Tamil film ''Pachaikili Muthucharam'' (2007 ...
in the leading roles. Ramji and G. V. Prakash Kumar had taken over as the cinematographer and music director respectively. The film was described to be a "quick project" with Selvaraghavan and Dhanush's sister Vimalageetha taking up the production reins. However, filming was subsequently stalled for unknown reasons in February 2009. In August 2009, the film was launched again for the third time with a first schedule planned in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
and Selvaraghavan taking over exclusively as producer. However, the film was yet again abandoned in October 2009. The director had also begun pre-production work on a film featuring Vishal and
Trisha Krishnan Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known mononymously as Trisha, is an Indian actress and model, who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She was noticed after winning Miss Chennai contest (1999), which marked her entry into the fil ...
in the lead roles in late 2008, however, the actor and director called off the project months later after having creative differences. After discussions which had been ongoing for a year, Selvaraghavan announced a collaboration with Vikram in January 2008 and worked on the film's script for a year during the making of ''Aayirathil Oruvan''. The project, dubbed by the media as ''Sindubad'', finally began shooting in September 2009 in
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
, with
Swati Reddy Swati may refer to: Films * Swati (1984 film), ''Swati'' (1984 film), a Telugu film * Swati (1986 film), ''Swati'' (1986 film), a 1986 Bollywood romantic drama film * ''Swati Mutyam'', a 1986 Telugu-language drama film written, directed by K. Vi ...
signed on as the female lead with
Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005)) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Directo ...
as music director. Filming continued in caves near the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
with the team facing trouble with the freezing weather conditions, while Selvaraghavan announced that the next schedule would be held abroad in the United States. However, in February 2010, the film was momentarily shelved and the project subsequently never took off again after the producer Singanamala Ramesh walked out. Soon after in June 2010, another project announced by Selvaraghavan, a bilingual featuring
Rana Daggubati Ramanaidu "Rana" Daggubati (; born 14 December 1984) is an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi and Tamil languages. Rana is described as one of the few actors in India who were ...
set in 50 BC, was also postponed after the pair felt it was too early to work on the film. Likewise, another proposed project for producer Ramesh Babu titled ''Pei Ottum Nilayam'', featuring the producer's son Santhosh Ramesh, failed to materialise. In early 2011,
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 l ...
agreed terms with Selvaraghavan to be the director of the actor's venture ''
Vishwaroopam ''Vishwaroopam'' (titled ''Vishwaroop'' in Hindi; ) is a 2013 Indian action spy film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role, and is written by Kamal Hassan, Chakri Toleti and Atul Tiwari. The film has Rahul Bose ...
''. Months into the collaboration, he was ousted from the project, with Kamal Haasan unhappy at the director's commitment to the project. Selvaraghavan later noted that he expected creative control of the project, which Kamal Haasan was unwilling to offer him. After release of ''Aayirathil Oruvan'', Selvaraghavan began work on a fantasy romance script titled ''Maruvan'', which would yet again feature Dhanush and Andrea Jeremiah in the lead roles. Production started in July 2010 and the shoot of the film progressed slowly, with the project undergoing a title change to ''Irandam Ulagam''. However, the film subsequently ran into trouble after Andrea Jeremiah pulled out of the film, citing differences with the director, and Selvaraghavan chose to shelve the project and begin a new film instead featuring Dhanush and
Richa Gangopadhyay Richa Gangopadhyay Langella ( Gangopadhyay ; born 20 March 1986) is an Indian-born American former actress and model who predominantly appeared in Telugu language films. She resides at Portland, Oregon. She was cast along with the prominent ...
. The film began production in May 2011 and the entire filming portions were completed within three months. During production, Selvaraghavan announced he would collaborate with Yuvan Shankar Raja again after G. V. Prakash Kumar became busy, but eventually later changed his mind and retained his original choice. The title was confirmed as ''
Mayakkam Enna ''Mayakkam Enna'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language psychological drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan and produced by Gemini Film Circuit in association with Aum Productions Selvaraghavan its own banner. It stars his brother Dhanu ...
'' (2011), and the film depicted the story of an aspiring
wildlife photographer Wildlife photography is a genre of photography concerned with documenting various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat. As well as requiring photography skills, wildlife photographers may need field craft skills. For example, some anima ...
and his struggles in life. Selvaraghavan revealed that he drew instances from his and Dhanush's lives and adapted the screenplay to make it applicable to "gen-next" audiences. The film opened in November 2011 to unanimously positive reviews, with a critic from ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' noting it is an "electrifying movie that captures the attention of the youth", and that "Selva's narrative style takes the film to a level that caters to all age groups". Sify.com wrote that the film has "simplistic story telling with hard hitting impact" and that "''Mayakkam Enna'' will stay with you long after the lights have come back on", while Rediff noted that if Selvaraghavan "had tightened the second half, we would have had a masterpiece on our hands."


2013–present

Selvaraghavan then chose to restart work on ''Irandam Ulagam'' in September 2011, with a new cast of
Arya Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
and Anushka Shetty and began shooting for the film again from the start.
Harris Jayaraj Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi. He has been honoured with K ...
was signed on to be the film's composer, associating with Selvaraghavan for the first time, and production was under way in December 2011. The team shot long schedules in Hyderabad and then across
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, trying to replicate an imaginary
exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
which is depicted in the story. The film narrates two love stories taking place in parallel universes and how they come to coincide, with the lead actors both playing double roles. Talking about the film, the director noted that he tried to readdress the problem of the "concept of pure love being lost to today's generation" and incorporated elements of mysticism, Sufism and a Zen feel to the story. By October 2013, the team revealed that all post-production work including
computer generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images ma ...
which took months was finally over and the content was locked and ready for release. The cost for the film eventually totalled nearly 60 crores, becoming the director's most expensive production till date. The film received mostly average reviews from critics upon release. ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' wrote: "With just a handful of movies, Selvaraghavan has announced himself a major filmmaker, and it falls on us to look at his latest venture, ''Irandaam Ulagam'', as the (worthy) next installment in a thematically connected oeuvre as well as a (problematic) standalone film. It's a love story without a shred of genuine passion".
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote: "The disjointed way in which the scenes play out in this world at times makes one wonder if we are seeing the film version of a feverish dream Selvaraghavan might have had".
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
wrote: "''Irandam Ulagam'' is not everybody's cup of tea, but film is made with a lot of passion and sincerity. However, like all his previous films, this one too is ahead of its time", while
The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
noted: "brilliantly conceived, the film, however, falls short on execution". The high production values meant that the film became a box office failure and the producer suffered heavy losses on investment. In December 2013, Selvaraghavan began pre-production on a new venture titled ''Alaivarisai'', produced by Varun Manian, which would feature
Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...
and
Trisha Krishnan Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known mononymously as Trisha, is an Indian actress and model, who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She was noticed after winning Miss Chennai contest (1999), which marked her entry into the fil ...
in the lead roles. The film was put on hold in May 2014, with Manian announcing that Selvaraghavan had to sort out issues with his previous producers PVP Cinemas, before beginning work on the venture. In February 2015, Selvaraghavan announced that he would begin work on the film again with immediate effect and that the project would have new producers in the form of Selvaraghavan's wife Gitanjali and Siddharth Rao. Retitled as ''Kaan'', a photo shoot was held in April 2015 with Silambarasan, Trisha,
Taapsee Pannu Taapsee Pannu (born 1 August 1987) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards. After a brief modelling career, Pannu ventured into acting with the Telugu film ''Jh ...
and
Jagapati Babu Veeramachaneni Jagapathi Rao Chowdary (born 12 February 1962), professionally known as Jagapathi Babu (), is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has also appeared in a few Tamil, , Kannada and Malayalam films. ...
, before Trisha opted out of the project and was replaced by
Catherine Tresa Catherine Tresa Alexander (born 10 September 1989) is an Indian actress and model. She has established her career predominantly in Telugu and Tamil films. She made her debut in 2010 in the Kannada film ''Shankar IPS''. Catherine has been nominat ...
. The film progressed and by July 2015, Selvaraghavan revealed that the film was scheduled to release by December 2015 and that the producers had also planned an international version. In a sudden turn of events in October 2015, Selvaraghavan put the film on hold, stating that financial restraints meant that the project was not viable. Selvaraghavan subsequently began pre-production work on another venture featuring
Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...
,
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 ...
and
Sai Pallavi Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan (born 9 May 1992), known by her stage name Sai Pallavi, is an Indian actress and dancer who works in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. She has won several awards including four Filmfare Awards South, and was ...
. and at the moment they were filming the project, it was speculated as the revived version of ''Kaan'', but Selvaraghavan stated that it was an original story that required research, dedication, and a proper screenplay as it is not an easy film. It was one of the most anticipated movies of the year, in 2019. It released on 31 May 2019 to negative reviews from the critics and audience, alike. The direction, confusing story and screenplay,
Sai Pallavi Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan (born 9 May 1992), known by her stage name Sai Pallavi, is an Indian actress and dancer who works in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. She has won several awards including four Filmfare Awards South, and was ...
's performance, and editing were highly criticized. Following '' NGK'', his long-awaited '' Nenjam Marappathillai'', which was originally supposed to be released in 2016, released on 5 March 2021 to positive reviews from the critics and audience, though the predictability and climax of the film were criticized. A
gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
starring
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 ...
,
Regina Cassandra Regina Cassandra (born 13 December 1990) is an Indian actress and Model who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film ''Kanda Naal Mudhal'' in 2005 and made her Telugu film debut with '' Siva Manasu ...
, and
Nandita Swetha Swetha (born 30 April 1990), professionally known as Nandita Swetha, is an Indian actress, model, dancer and media personality who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu language films. Swetha also starred in the Kannada film industry with t ...
, it was looked as his comeback, as a director, after the severe backlash to ''NGK''. Selvaraghavan made his debut, as an actor, with Vijay's '' Beast'', directed by
Nelson Dilipkumar Nelson Dilipkumar, credited in films as Nelson, is an Indian director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. His films are action thrillers and are known for featuring elements of dark humor. Nelson won the Best Screenplay Awa ...
. Though it received mixed reviews from the critics and underperformed commercially, his performance was praised by everybody. He then followed it up with ''
Saani Kaayidham ''Saani Kaayidham'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action crime film directed by Arun Matheswaran. The film stars Keerthy Suresh and Selvaraghavan in lead roles. Sundar Arumugam produced the film while the music and cinematography were han ...
'', co-starring
Keerthy Suresh Keerthy Suresh (born 17 October 1992) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to a few Malayalam films. She was recognised as Forbes 30 under 30 in 2021.She won the National Film Award for Best Act ...
and directed by Arun Matheswaran, of ''
Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...
'' fame. His performance in the film was highly acclaimed. His next release, as a director, is '' Naane Varuven'' with Dhanush in the lead. Kalaippuli S. Thanu is producing it under his V Creations banner, and
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
is composing the music for the film, which is his eighth collaboration with Selvaraghavan. He has also announced the sequel to ''Aayirathil Oruvan'', with Dhanush, as the main lead. He has been involved in the pre-production for it, since 2021. It is being planned for a release in 2024.


Filmography


Directorial work

*''All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.''


As actor


As lyricist


Accolades


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 ...


Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...


SIIMA South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...


References


External links

* {{Commons category-inline Living people 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian screenwriters Film directors from Chennai Screenwriters from Chennai Tamil film directors Tamil screenwriters Tamil-language film directors Telugu film directors 1977 births