K. S. Ravikumar

K. S. Ravikumar (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema.

Ravikumar assisted various directors such as Bharathiraja, Vikraman, E. Ramdoss, Nagesh, Ramarajan and K. Rangaraj.

Ravikumar worked as co-director on R. B. Choudary's production Pudhu Vasantham directed by Vikraman and the success of the film prompted the producer to give Ravikumar a chance to make his directorial debut.

Ravikumar thus debuted as a film maker through Puriyaadha Pudhir (1990), a crime thriller starring Rahman and Raghuvaran.

A remake of the Kannada film Tarka, the film won positive reviews upon release and remains as Ravikumar's only film outside the masala film genre.

The success of the film meant that Ravikumar was able to expand his team of assistants and shortly after began work on a film under the same production house titled Pudhu Kaaviyam with Vikram in the lead role, though the venture was later shelved.

He subsequently switched his genre of films to make a series of village action entertainers and regularly collaborated with actor Sarath Kumar, scoring successes with Cheran Pandiyan (1991) and Nattamai (1994), after which he became a highly sought after film maker in the Tamil film industry.

Ravikumar then signed on to make Muthu (1995), adapting Priyadarshan's Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath, for a film produced by K. Balachander and starring Rajinikanth.

Despite buying the official remake rights, he worked on his own screenplay, and the film consequently went on to gain "cult classic" status in India and Japan, as well as becoming one of the most profitable Tamil films till date at release.

Soon after he worked with Kamal Haasan for the first time in Avvai Shanmugi (1996), an Indian adaptation of the American comedy film, Mrs. Doubtfire.

The film, also featuring Meena and Gemini Ganesan, won positive reviews and performed well at the box office.

The Hindu praised the film claiming "turns out to be entertainer, mouthful from start to finish".

The success of his two films with the two leading Tamil actors prompted further opportunities in big productions in 1997, notably Vijayakanth's Dharma Chakkaram and the comedy Pistha featuring Karthik.

In December 1997, Ravikumar announced his next project Padayappa (1999) would feature Rajinikanth again as the lead actor with Sivaji Ganesan also in a pivotal role.

Though principal photography for the film was supposed to have started in April 1998, the FEFSI strike that took place at that time delayed the project.

After the strike ended, Ravikumar was able to complete Arjun's Kondattam and the successful drama with Sarath Kumar, Natpukkaga (1998).

The shoot of Padayappa began in November 1998 and was subsequently completed in three months, with the film became a blockbuster upon release, as well as earning positive reviews from critics.

The film was further delayed when Ravikumar accepted to quickly remake Natpukkaga in Telugu as Sneham Kosam (1999) with Chiranjeevi in the lead.

Following the success of Padayappa, producer K. R. Gangadharan signed Ravikumar to direct a film and was insistent that the title should be Minsara Kanna (1999), after the popular song from Ravikumar's earlier film.

His only collaboration with actor Vijay till date, the film opened to below average reviews collections.

He then completed the village action film Paattali (1999) with Sarath Kumar within a month, as well as directing a portion of the record-breaking comedy drama Suyamvaram, bringing his release count for the year to five.

Ravikumar consequently worked on his first home production through the comedy film Thenali (2000), starring Kamal Haasan in the titular role.

While his wife Karpagam produced the film under his home studio RK Celluloids, Ravikumar worked on the screenplay and direction for the film also starring Jayaram, Jyothika and Devayani.

Completing the film swiftly despite avid publicity, Thenali won critical and commercial acclaim, prompting grand felicitations of the director at the success meet.

In 2001, he had two releases; the Telugu marital comedy Bava Nachadu and the family drama Samudhiram, in which he worked with Sarath Kumar again.

In 2002, Ravikumar made a third collaboration with Kamal Haasan through the comedy drama Panchathanthiram, which was produced by his manager P. L. Thenappan.

Telling the story of five friends and a trip to Bangalore which goes awry, the film opened to rave reviews and made profits at the box office.

Villain (2002), his first film featuring Ajith Kumar, was shot swiftly within forty days and also became a blockbuster upon release.

He later remade the film in Telugu in 2003 under the same name with Rajasekhar in the lead role, after finishing Paarai (2003), another village action film with Sarath Kumar.

In 2004, he began production on a third film starring Rajinikanth titled Jaggubhai.

Ravikumar spent six months on pre-production works and missed out on the opportunity to direct Kamal Haasan in Vasool Raja MBBS during the period, but the film was later shelved after a photo shoot.

Rajinikanth had asked for changes to the script and after several months of tinkering, the pair decided to part ways and abandon the project.

He moved on to make Aethiree (2004), a film about an imposter gangster with Madhavan, before agreeing terms with NIC Arts to make a follow-up film with Ajith Kumar in three roles from November 2004, after Villain's success.

Despite beginning production soon after the launch, financial problems meant that it progressed slowly and Varalaru, only had a theatrical release in late 2006.

The film, however, won positive reviews and became the blockbuster hit for Ajith until that date.

In between, he worked quickly on another action drama, Saravana (2006) with Silambarasan, a remake of the Telugu film Bhadra (2005).

Ravikumar collaborated with Kamal Haasan again in the high-budget venture Dasavathaaram (2008), where the actor portrayed ten different roles.

Revealing that the film was an action adventure, encompassing mankind's concern for the environment, science and faith, Dasavathaaram became Ravikumar's most expensive and lengthy shoot till date.

The film opened to positive reviews and became the most profitable Tamil film of 2008, with Ravikumar's work garnering a Filmfare Best Tamil Director Award nomination.

Aadhavan (2009) featuring Suriya and Nayantara was his next release, and it saw him return to his standard "commercial packaging" and the film performed well at the box office.