Pandiraj

Director Pandiraj
Born	(1976-06-07) 7 June 1976 Virachilai Township, Pudukkottai district, Tamilnadu
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter, film producer, distributor
Years active	2009-present

Pandiraj (பாண்டிராஜ் in Tamil) is an Indian film director and producer, who works in Tamil cinema. His debut film, Pasanga (2009), was commercially successful^[1] and won several awards, including the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. As of 2015, he has directed four films and has introduced several actors and technicians in all major departments to the Tamil film industry.

Early life

Pandiraj was born 7 June 1976 and brought up in Virachilai Township, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India. After Schooling, he moved to Chennai in 1996. He worked as an "office-boy" with director K. Bhagyaraj. During his early years, he wrote several short stories for the famous Tamil Bagya. Gradually, his interest in film making increased and after hurdles, he got the chance to be an assistant director to filmmaker Cheran. He later worked as an assistant director to Thangar Bachan and Chimbu Deven in six films.

Career

In 2009, Pandiraj became an independent director with director M. Sasikumar agreeing to produce the film. Titled Pasanga, it was a children's film featuring several new child actors and Vimal in his first lead role. Pasanga was said to be a dedication to Pandiraj's childhood memories and was shot during the school vacations and on weekends.^[2] The film was a critical success, winning several national and international awards, including three National Film Awards,^[3] and being screened at various film festivals.

Following the success of Pasanga, Pandiraj directed his second film, Vamsam with newcomer Arulnithi and Sunaina in the lead roles. The film, which was produced by Arulnidhi's father and M. Karunanidhi's youngest son, M. K. Thamizharasu, gained positive reviews and went well in the box office.

In 2012, Pandiraj set up his a film production studio named Pasanga Productions. His first production was his own directorial Marina which marked the feature film debut for television anchor and comedian Sivakarthikeyan. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

The director's next Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga was also produced by him. Pandiraj cast the lead actors of his previous films, Sivakarthikeyan and Vimal, in the film, who were paired Bindu Madhavi and Regina Cassandra. The romantic comedy film received positive responses from critics and became a commercial hit.

Pandiraj distributed his former assistant Naveen's debut film Moodar Koodam under his Pasanga Productions studio. He also wrote the dialogues for cinematographer Vijay Milton's second directorial Goli Soda.^[4]

In 2015, Pandiraj was working on two directorials, a romantic comedy, Idhu Namma Aalu starring Silambarasan and Nayantara, and another children's film titled Haiku, produced by actor Suriya.^[5]

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as			Notes
		Director	Producer	Writer
2009	Pasanga	Y	N	Y	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil National Film Award for Best Screenplay (Dialogues) Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film Vijay Award for Best Find of the Year Vijay Award for Best Crew Nominated-Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil Nominated-Vijay Award for Best Director Nominated-Vijay Award for Best Story, Screenplay Writer
2010	Vamsam	Y	N	Y
2012	Marina	Y	Y	Y
2013	Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga	Y	Y	Y
2013	Moodar Koodam	N	N	N	Distributor
2014	Goli Soda	N	N	Y	Dialogues
2015	Pasanga 2	Y	Y	Y
2016	Kathakali	Y	Y	Y
2016	Idhu Namma Aalu	Y	N	Y
2018	Semma	N	Y	Y
2018	Kadaikutty Singam	Y	N	Y

References

External links

• Official website