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Ezhilmaaran S. is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He made his directorial debut with the 1999 romance film Thulladha Manamum Thullum. His success streak continued with Pennin Manathai Thottu (2000), Poovellam Un Vasam (2001) and Deepavali (2007). He made a comeback in 2012 after a brief sabbatical with Manam Kothi Paravai which opened to moderate reviews from critics but was a commercial hit. He has won two Tamil Nadu state awards. Film Directors Suseenthiran and Karu Pazhaniappan were his assistants.

Career

1999-2007: Romance films and initial success

Ezhil made his debut as a filmmaker with Thulladha Manamum Thullum under R. B. Choudary's production house. The film features Vijay and Simran. in the lead roles Prior to release, the role of Vijay's mother in the film was kept under wraps with the media speculating who would play the role. Eventually, no actress played the role, although the character played a pivotal part in the film. Vijay took a pay cut for the film, accepting only 3 million rupees instead of 5 million rupees, as he had signed the film before the release of his blockbuster Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997). Initially, Ezhil wanted comedian Vadivelu to play the lead role. Vadivelu, who was impressed with the story, told Ezhil that the storyline was too good and he did not know whether it will work with him in the lead. Vadivelu also asked Ezhil to wait for six months, and if the latter did not get anyone else as the hero, then Vadivelu will act in it. Vadivelu was then was replaced by Vijay. The film went on to become a blockbuster, running for 100 days across dozens of theatres in Tamil Nadu, while it also enjoyed similar success in the neighboring state of Kerala.

Vijay and Ezhil immediately decided to follow up this film with another collaboration, Pennin Manathai Thottu, with either Isha Koppikar or Roja to be hired as the lead actress. However, soon after pre-production, Vijay was replaced by Prabhu Deva and the film went on to release in 2000. Like Thulladha Manamum Thullum, it also became a success.

Ajith Kumar signed the film Poovellam Un Vasam in early 2001 after he pulled out of Praveen Gandhi's commercial film Star. The producers had initially approached Simran, Aishwarya Rai and then Preity Zinta to star, with their refusals leading to the casting of Jyothika. Miss World 2001, Yukta Mookhey was hired to appear in an item number. Ajith gained mass image before the filming so producer Ravichandran expressed his doubts to Ezhil about carrying on with such a family oriented film with an action hero like Ajith in hand. But Ezhil was confident about Ajith's capabilities in pulling off varying roles. The film opened to positive reviews with The Hindu critic labelling it as "reasonably interesting", with Ajith's performance being praised as "Ajith is natural and neat" with claims that "he has to work harder on his soliloquies and sad expressions". The success of the film prompted Ezhil, Ajith Kumar and Jyothika to team up for a venture the following year with Raja.

In 2005, Ezhil directed Amudhae, which received mixed reviews. His 2007 film Deepavali, however, received positive reviews and became a success.

2012-present: Rural comedy films

In 2012, Ezhil made a comeback after a brief sabbatical with Manam Kothi Paravai. When his friends, producer Ambeth Kumar and Ranjeev Menon, asked him how the film's shooting was proceeding, he made them listen to the film's songs by D. Imman. Impressed, they decided to produce it. It was initially expected that Yuvan Shankar Raja, whom Ezhil had worked with in Deepavali, would compose the music, but as the budget of this film could not afford to have Yuvan as the music composer, Ezhil opted for Imman. After the lead role in Marina and an important role in the recently released 3, Sivakarthikeyan is taking up a full-fledged lead role again for Manam Kothi Paravai. The film, which is set in a village, has been shot at Ezhil's native place Kayathur, near Mayavaram and Siva Karthikeyan's Thiruvizhimizhalai.

After a fairly successful outing with Manam Kothi Paravai, Ezhil started his next film titled Desingu Raja, which was in a similar genre rural comedy. He hired Vimal to play the lead Idhayakani, who has been named so by his parents and is a diehard MGR fan. Bindu Madhavi was signed to play the female lead as a Rajinikanth fanatic in the movie, thus pairing with Vimal for the second time after Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga. She said "I play a cheerful, naughty village girl". Muktha Bhanu danced for one song along with Vimal and the group dancers which was shot in Thiruvarur. The film received positive reviews and became a box office hit.

In 2014, Ezhil directed Vellaikaara Durai, which received mixed reviews but was a hit at the box office. His 2016 film Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran was a commercial success. 2017 saw him directing Udhayanidhi Stalin in Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen.

In 2022, Ezhil directed Yutha Satham, an action film. It received negative reviews.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as			Notes	Ref.
		Director	Writer	Producer
1999	Thulladha Manamum Thullum	Y	Y	N	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Second Prize)
2000	Pennin Manathai Thottu	Y	Y	N
2001	Poovellam Un Vasam	Y	Y	N	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Family Film (Second Prize)
2002	Raja	Y	Y	N
2005	Amudhae	Y	Y	N
2007	Deepavali	Y	Y	N
2012	Manam Kothi Paravai	Y	Y	Y	First movie as producer	'
2013	Desingu Raja	Y	Y	N
2014	Vellaikaara Durai	Y	Y	N
2016	Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran	Y	Y	Y
2017	Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen	Y	Y	N
2022	Yutha Satham	Y	N	N
2025	Desingu Raja 2 †	Y	Y	N	Filming

References

1. "Iflicks: Latest Tamil cinema news | Kollywood latest news | Tamil movie stills". Iflicks.in. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
2. Manam Kothi Paravai Review – Manam Kothi Paravai Movie Review Archived 18 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved on 13 April 2014. This was the breakthrough performance in his film career
3. "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry". Rediff.com. 25 January 1999. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
4. ^ "Starbacks.ca". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
5. cinemalead.com (24 June 2013). "Vadivelu was the first choice for Thullatha Manamum Thulllum ! - Vadivelu Was The First Choice Of Thullatha Manamum Thullum- Ezhil- Vijay- Karu Palaniapan- Supergood Films". Cinemalead.com. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
6. "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry". Rediff.com. 2 July 1999. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
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8. ^ "A success team reunites". The Hindu. 26 April 2002. Archived from the original on 4 July 2003. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
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11. "When Ajith - the action hero, proved he could do varied roles, Ajith, Poovellam Un Vaasam". Behindwoods.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
12. ^ "Film Review: Poovellam Un Vaasam". The Hindu. 24 August 2001. Archived from the original on 22 January 2002. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
13. "Manam Kothi Paravai". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 14 April 2012.
14. "Yuvan, Imman and Ezhil". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
15. "Siva Karthikeyan's 3!". Behindwoods. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
16. "'Manam Kothi Paravai' shot in two villages". Nowrunning.com. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
17. "Love between a MGR fanatic and a Rajini fanatic, Vimal, Bindu Madhavi". Behindwoods. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
18. "Role play for Bindu". The Times of India. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
19. "Ayngaran International". Ayngaran.com. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
20. "Thullaatha Manamum Thullum - Tamil Movie Review". Thiraipadam.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
21. "Raja". The Hindu. 12 July 2002. Archived from the original on 22 April 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
22. "Amuthe". Sify. 20 May 2005. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
23. "Review". Sify. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
24. "Review". Sify. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
25. "Vellaikara Durai (Vellakara Durai) Tamil Movie, Wiki, Story, Review, Release Date, Trailers". Filmibeat. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
26. "Vemal-Ezhil join again for Desingu Raja 2". DTNext. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

External links

• Ezhil at IMDb

• Tamil film directors
• Living people
• Film directors from Tamil Nadu
• 1964 births
• 20th-century Indian people
• 21st-century Indian people
• People from Nagapattinam district