Atlee (director)

Arun Kumar known mononymously as Atlee, is an Indian film director who makes Tamil-language films. A former assistant director under S. Shankar on the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012), he is best known for his directorial debut, Raja Rani, produced by Fox Star Studios, for which he was awarded the Vijay Award for Best Debut Director. His next ventures as a director, screenplay and writer for Theri (2016), Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019), all featured actor Vijay.

Atlee
Atlee at the 8th Vijay Awards, 2014
Born
Arun Kumar[1]

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NationalityIndian
Alma materSathyabama University[1]
Occupation
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2010–present
Spouse(s)
Krishna Priya
​
(m. 2014)​
[2]

Career

He began his career as an assistant director in Enthiran (2010) under director S. Shankar and continued to work with him in his next project Nanban (2012), a remake of the Hindi film 3 Idiots. In 2013, he made his directorial debut with Raja Rani. The film was produced by Fox Star Studios and AR Murugadoss, and was a romantic comedy featuring Arya, Jai, Nayanthara, Nazriya Nazim and Sathyaraj. Raja Rani earned over 500 million from the South Indian box office within four weeks[3] and won him the Vijay Award for Best Debut Director.[4] Atlee’s next directorial project, Theri, became the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2016. This was his first film with actor Vijay.

He started his own production house called A for Apple Production and jointly produced his first film with Fox Star Studios; the film was Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae, a horror comedy film written and directed by Ike Radha and starring Jiiva, Sridivya and Soori.[5] His next film, Mersal, starring Vijay, Nithya Menon, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha and S. J. Surya, with music by A. R. Rahman and produced by Sri Thenandal Films, was released on Diwali 2017. Critics praised Vijay's performance, A. R. Rahman's soundtrack, the cinematography, the social message and Kumar's direction; Mersal also proved a commercial success, grossing ₹251 crore (US$39.5 million) worldwide to become the fifth-highest-grossing Tamil film and Vijay's highest-grossing film of his career.[6][7] Kumar's next film, Bigil, was his third collaboration with Vijay and released on Diwali 2019.[8]

Personal life

After courting for about 10 years, Atlee married actress Krishna Priya on 9 November 2014.[9][2]

Filmography

As director and writer
Year Film Cast Notes
2013Raja Rani Arya, Nayanthara, Jai, Nazriya Nazim Won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer
Won Edison Award for Best Debut Director
2016Theri Vijay, Samantha, Amy Jackson Won SIIMA Award For Best Director
Won IIFA Utsavam Award for Best Director
2017Mersal Vijay, S. J. Surya, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha, Nithya Menon Won, Vijay Award for Favourite Director
Won, SIIMA Award for Best Director
2019Bigil Vijay, Nayanthara, Jackie Shroff, Kathir

As a producer

[10]

Special appearances
Year Film Notes
2012NanbanIn the song "Asku luska"
2019BigilIn the song "Singapenney"

References
  1. "Exclusive biography of @atlee_dir and on her life". Filmibeat. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  2. "Atlee-Krishna Priya Wedding Reception Photos". International Business Times. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  3. "Raja Rani crosses 50 crore mark". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. "8th Annual Vijay Awards a grand success". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  5. Suganth, M. (19 May 2017) Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae. The Times of India.
  6. Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Mersal creates history; breaches Rs 250-crore mark. IBTimes India (23 November 2017). Retrieved on 2019-01-18.
  7. Mersal box office collection: Vijay, Samantha's film completes 100 days. IBTimes India (25 January 2018). Retrieved on 2019-01-18.
  8. Thalapathy 63: Nayanthara to play Vijay's love interest in Atlee's next?. IBTimes India (15 November 2018). Retrieved on 2019-01-18.
  9. "Director Atlee is engaged to his Rani, Krishna Priya". Behindwoods. 20 January 2016.
  10. https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/before-thalapathy-63-the-films-atlee-has-been-accused-of-plagiarising-1504018-2019-04-17
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