Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Thiagarajan Kumararaja | |
---|---|
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | Loyola College, Chennai |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenplay writer, producer and ad director |
Years active | 2008–present |
Thiagarajan Kumararaja is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed neo-noir gangster film Aaranya Kaandam (2011), which earned him the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director at the 59th National Film Awards.
Career
Thiagarajan Kumararaja was born and raised in
He enrolled for a
Kumararaja began writing his maiden film in December 2006.[2] Although he had wanted to make a "racy film" – he wrote the climax part first, before going on to add multiple storylines – he said that the film had eventually turned out to be a "leisurely paced film, taking its own time to unfold".[1] Kumararaja met Charan in January 2007 and narrated him the script for two hours.[2] Filming was supposed to commence by late 2007,[6][7] but Charan opted to produce another film first. Aaranya Kaandam was launched in December 2008,[8] starring Ravi Krishna and Sampath Raj, with Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, who was being introduced to Tamil films. Kumararaja took more than one and a half years to complete the film, which was entirely shot in and around Chennai.[9] Upon completion, the film ran into trouble when the regional censor board in Chennai refused to clear it, demanding 52 cuts due to profanity and excessive violence.[10] Kumararaja expressed that he made the film for a matured audience and not for children,[11] while adding that he expected difficulties in the censorship. Since he wanted to present the film uncompromisingly to the audiences, he and Charan approached the Central Tribunal at Delhi,[12] that cleared the film. Dubbed as the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema,[13] Aaranya Kaandam opened to strong critical acclaim, winning the Grand Jury Award for Best Film at the 2010 South Asian International Film Festival,[14] and two prizes at the 59th National Film Awards, including the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for Kumararaja.[14]
In 2015, he was involved as a script consultant for the Tamil film Yennai Arindhaal, which was co-written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon.[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Language | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Becky | Yes | Yes | Yes | English | Short film |
2011 | Aaranya Kaandam | Yes | Yes | No | Tamil | |
2019 | Super Deluxe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tamil | |
2023 | Modern Love Chennai | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tamil | Web series Episode 6 - "Ninaivo Oru Paravai"; also creative producer[16]
|
As Other
Year | Film | Language | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Oram Po | Tamil | Dialogue Writer, Lyricist ["Oram Po" Theme] |
2010 | Va | Tamil | Lyricist |
2015 | Yennai Arindhaal | Tamil | Script Consultant[15] |
2015 | X: Past Is Present | English Hindi Bengali Tamil |
Summer Holiday Segment Writer |
2018 | Seethakaathi | Tamil | Lyricist [Ayya] |
Awards
Film | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Becky | 60 Seconds to Fame | One-minute film | first prize | [17] |
Aaranya Kandam
|
59th National Film Awards | Best Debut Film of a Director | Won | [18] |
6th Vijay Awards | Best Director | Nominated | [19][20] | |
Best Story, Screenplay Writer | Won | |||
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | Best Screenplay Writer | Won | ||
South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Director – Tamil
|
Nominated | ||
Super Deluxe | Indian Film Festival of Melbourne | Best Director | Nominated | [21] |
Equality in Cinema (Honorary Award) | Won | |||
9th AACTA Awards | Best Asian Film | Nominated | [22] | |
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | Best Screenplay | Won | [23] | |
Edison Awards | Best Director | Nominated | [24][25] | |
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Critics Choice Film Awards | Best Movie of the Year | Won | [26] | |
Best Film - Tamil | Won | |||
Best Director - Tamil | Won | |||
Best Writing - Tamil | Won | |||
South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Director | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "Aaranya Kaandam: A day in a gangster's life". Rediff. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Sudhish Kamath (5 February 2011). "A new chapter". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "No South Indian actor was ready to play an impotent don: Kumararaja, Aaranya Kaandam director". DearCinema.com. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Ability Fest 2005". Ability Foundation. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Va Quarter Cutting music is worth a listen". Rediff. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "SPB Charan's new gambit". IndiaGlitz. 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Dailynews – SPB Charan's 'Aranya Kaandam'". Cinesouth. 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Events – 'Aaranya Kaandam' Movie Launch". IndiaGlitz.com. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ V Lakshmi (22 January 2009). "Kumar Raja tells all". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ Bijoy Bharathan (8 February 2011). "Thiagarajan: Caught in the crossfire". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ Sreedhar Pillai (26 January 2011). "Censor Board butchered Aaranya Kaandam". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "'I have no problem with the 'A' certificate'". Rediff. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Movie Review : Aaranya Kaandam". Sify. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ a b V Lakshmi (4 November 2010). "Aaranya Kaandam wins best movie award". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ a b Udhav Naig (1 February 2015). "Gautham Menon hires script consultants". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Hymavati, Ravali (8 May 2023). "Modern Love Chennai: This Thiagarajan Kumararaja's Web Series Will Premier On Amazon Prime From This Date". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "From the States". 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ "6th Annual Vijay Awards". India Glitz. 9 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ^ "Vijay Awards 2012 winners". 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Andhadhun, Gully Boy lead nominations at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards 2019". Firstpost. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ "Nominees for the 2019 AACTA Award for Best Asian Film Announced". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ "The prestigious awards of the South-- Vikatan Awards 2019". India TV. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ "Edison Awards 2020 nominations". Edison Awards. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ "Edison Awards 2020 Winners". Flickstatus. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Review — Super Deluxe". Film Critics Circle. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
External links
- Thiagarajan Kumararaja at IMDb