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Prem Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 26 February 1979), better known as Premgi or Premji (/preɪmdʒi/) is an Indian singer, composer, songwriter, actor and comedian. The son of composer and director Gangai Amaran, he often composes rap songs in Tamil cinema and is known for his comical performances in his elder brother Venkat Prabhu's films.

He is also best known for his catchphrases "Enna koduma sir idhu?" (transl. What atrocity is this, sir?) and "Evvalavo pannitom, itha panna mattoma?" (transl. We've done so much, won't we do this also?), the former being a modified version of a famous dialogue used by Prabhu in Chandramukhi (2005).

Career

In 1997, Premgi planned to enter the film industry as a director with a project titled Wanted starring his elder brother and S. P. B. Charan. The film, which had his younger cousin brother as music composer and his father and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as comedians, did not complete shoot.

Primarily interested in composing music, Premgi then started his career as an assistant to film music composer and his cousin Yuvan Shankar Raja, turning a playback singer, singing mostly the rap portions in Yuvan Shankar Raja's compositions, before working with other music composers as well. Working with Yuvan Shankar Raja, he also remixed some of his compositions for the soundtrack albums, the first being "Loosu Penne" from the film Vallavan.

In 2006, however, he made his acting debut in Silambarasan's Vallavan as the heroine's friend, following which he starred in his brother Venkat Prabhu's directorial debut Chennai 600028 (2007), in which he played Seenu. The movie went on to become the year's biggest summer blockbuster, establishing Premgi as a comedy actor. He joined with his brother for his next film Saroja, which fetched him accolades for his performance as Ganesh Kumar.

He appeared as a lead character in his elder brother's Goa (2010), before going on to make further appearances in Mankatha (2011) and Settai (2013). In 2013, he made his Malayalam debut in North 24 Kaatham. In the upcoming Maanga, he plays the lead character and also works as the music composer. He currently acts in Chennai 600028 II: Second Innings, which is a sequel of the super-hit movie Chennai 600028.

Composing

In 2005, he became an independent music director with Gnabagam Varuthe, starring his brother. After that, he composed for Agathiyan's Nenjathai Killathe and for Thozha, in which he played one of the leading roles as well. Apart from film music, he composed music for an episode titled Planet Galatta II – Adra Sakkae on Singapore's satellite channel, "Mediacorp Vasantham".

Amaren composed a song with singer Suresh Peters called "The One Anthem", and it was made as a tribute to the legend Michael Jackson.

Personal life

Premgi is the son of musician Gangai Amaran, and the younger brother of film director and actor Venkat Prabhu. Film composer Ilaiyaraaja is his uncle, while Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja and Bhavatharini are his cousins. He married Indu on 9 June 2024 at Thiruthani Murugan Temple.

His stage name, Premgi, is actually a spelling error, as it is meant to be "Prem G.", the G standing for his father.

Filmography

As actor

Films

Web series

As music director

Discography

Awards

International Tamil Film Awards

• Best Supporting Actor – Mankatha

References

1. ^ "Premji Amaren makes his Malayalam debut!". Sify. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
2. CR, Sharanya (20 January 2017). "I'm not a comedian: Premgi". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
3. "A-Z (V)". 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. ^ "Premji's M'Wood bound". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
5. ^ "Happy Birthday Premji". IndiaGlitz.com. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
6. "Cinema News | Movie Reviews | Movie Trailers - IndiaGlitz". IndiaGlitz.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
7. Manam Magazine (8 April 2016). "Actor Premgi Amaren talks about how to celebrate a party - Premgi Interview - Manam Magazine". Retrieved 25 February 2019 – via YouTube.
8. "Tribute to the King of Pop". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
9. "Actor Premgi Amaren gets married to longtime partner Indu in a private ceremony". India Today. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
10. கண்ணன், சுரேஷ் (21 December 2022). "பயணங்கள் முடிவதில்லை: இளைய நிலா பொழிந்த அமரக்காவியம்; மைக் மோகன் உருவாகக் காரணமாக இருந்த சினிமா!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
11. "Thalapathy 68:Vijay welcomes Meenakshi Chaudhary, Prabhu Deva and Other Cast Members". timesnownews.com. 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
12. "'RK Nagar is not a political film'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
13. "Friendship Anthem (feat. Praveen Pdm, MC Rude, Rahul Mani & Yashmith) - Single by Premgi Amaren on Apple Music". 30 April 2017 – via music.apple.com.

External links

• Premgi Amaren at IMDb
• Premgi Amaren on Twitter
• Premgi Amaren on Facebook

• Biography

• Media from Commons
• Data from Wikidata

• 1979 births
• Living people
• Indian male film actors
• Indian male playback singers
• Telugu playback singers
• Tamil playback singers
• Tamil male actors
• Tamil rappers
• International Tamil Film Award winners
• Tamil comedians
• Tamil film score composers
• Indian male film score composers
• Indian male comedians
• Male actors in Tamil cinema
• Ilaiyaraaja