AR Murugadoss

Murugadoss Arunasalam (born 25 September 1974), commonly known as AR Murugadoss,[1][2] is an Indian director, producer, and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry.[3][4] He is best known for directing action films mainly on social issues.In addition, he has worked in Telugu films and Hindi films. Murugadoss won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for his 2014 Tamil action drama Kaththi.

In this Indian name, the name Arunasalam is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Murugadoss.
Murugadoss
AR Murugadoss in 2009
Born
Murugadoss Arunasalam

(1974-09-25) 25 September 1974
Kallakkurichi, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2001–present
Spouse(s)
Ramya (m. 2005)
RelativesDileepan (brother)

Murugadoss' first break in the film industry was as an assistant director of Ratchagan (1997). He then worked with S. J. Surya for the film Kushi (2000) before directing his first film, the Ajith starred Dheena, in 2001. His first Bollywood film, Ghajini (2008), which was a Hindi remake of his Tamil same titled 2005 film, became the first ever Bollywood film to gross over ₹100 crore domestically.[5] In 2012, he directed the action thriller Thuppakki, starring Vijay, which became the Third Tamil film to enter the 100 Crore Club after Enthiran (2010) and Sivaji: The Boss. He worked with Vijay again with the box office hits Kaththi and Sarkar (2018).

Personal life

Murugadoss was born in Kallakkurichi, Tamil Nadu.[6] The initials "AR" refer to his father's name Arunasalam and were added after Murugadoss signed his first film, Dheena, in 2001.[2] Murugadoss currently resides in Virugambakkam, Chennai.[7] Murugadoss had his schooling at the Government Higher Secondary School[2] and studied BA in Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirapalli.[8] His brother, Dileepan made his acting debut with Vathikuchi, which is Murugadoss' production venture.

Career
Murugadoss with Aamir Khan in 2009

During his college days, Murugadoss was active in cultural events, particularly in mimicry and drawing.[2] He subsequently became a cinephile watching up to seven films a week in his hometown and started writing jokes as well. After Ananda Vikatan published them, Murugadoss began to think of becoming a story writer.[2] At Bharathidasan University he started to write sketch comedies and acted in them.[2] After college he tried to join the Madras Film Institute, but was rejected. Nevertheless, Murugadoss stayed in Chennai in multiple functions. First he became an assistant writer of P. Kalaimani and wrote dialogues for the Tamil film Madurai Meenakshi. He became assistant director of Ratchagan (1997) for half of the film and continued as assistant script director for the Telugu film Kalusukundam Ra.[2] Murugadoss then worked with S. J. Surya for the film Kushi.

S. J. Suryah recommended Murugadoss to Ajith Kumar for directing his debut film, Dheena. His next films were Ramana, Ghajini, and Stalin. His fifth film was Ghajini, which was a Hindi remake of his same-titled 2005 film and marked his Bollywood debut. It released on 25 December 2008 and became the first ever Bollywood film to gross over ₹100 crore domestically.[5] His next Tamil film 7aum Arivu, was released on Diwali 2011 and was more successful outside India than in Tamil Nadu. Murugadoss signed a deal with Fox Star Studios to produce two Tamil films.[9]

In 2012, he directed the action thriller Thuppakki, starring Vijay and produced by S. Dhanu released on Diwali 2012 to mostly positive reviews and became the second Tamil film to enter the ₹100 crore club[10] after Enthiran. Thuppakki collected over ₹180 crores as reported by producer. He also directed the Hindi remake of the film, Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty.[11] In 2014, he was the writer and producer for the fantasy film Maan Karate starring Sivakarthikeyan which was directed by his former assistant Thirukumaran.

In 2014, he directed the action drama Kaththi starring Vijay and produced by Lyca Productions released on Diwali 2014 and emerged as one of the top-grossing films in Kollywood for 2014, collecting an estimated ₹131 crores. In 2016, he directed Akira starring Sonakshi Sinha. It is a remake of Tamil film Mouna Guru. Recently, he directed Spyder starring Mahesh Babu and Rakul Preet Singh.[12][13] He joined with Vijay once again for the movie Sarkar which is produced by Sun Pictures Kalanithi Maran which released on 6 November 2018 for the Diwali. It released in over 3000 screens around the world.

Filmography

As director, producer, and writer
Year Film Language Director Producer Writer Notes
2001 Dheena Tamil Yes Yes
2002 Ramana Tamil Yes Yes Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer
2005 Ghajini Tamil Yes Yes Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil
2006 Stalin Telugu Yes Yes
2008 Ghajini Hindi Yes Yes Won, Apsara Award for Best Director
Won, Stardust Award for Hottest New Filmmaker
Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director
2011 Engaeyum Eppothum Tamil Yes
2011 7am Arivu Tamil Yes Yes Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil
2012 Thuppakki Tamil Yes Yes Nominated, SIIMA Awards for Best Director
Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil
2013 Vathikuchi Tamil Yes Yes
2013 Raja Rani Tamil Yes
2014 Maan Karate Tamil Yes Yes
2014 Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty Hindi Yes Yes
2014 Kaththi Tamil Yes Yes Won, Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil
Nominated, SIIMA Awards For Best Director
Nominated, IIFA Utsavam for Award for Best Director
2015 10 Endrathukulla Tamil Yes
2016 Akira Hindi Yes Yes Yes
2017 Rangoon Tamil Yes
2017 Spyder Telugu/Tamil Yes Yes
2018 Sarkar
 Tamil Yes Yes Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director

Nominated, SIIMA Awards For Best Director

2020 Darbar Tamil Yes Yes
2020 Raangi[14] Tamil Yes
As actor

References
  1. "Murugadoss: Tamil cinema's golden messenger". N Madhavan. Forbes India. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  2. "Murugadoss — Man with the midas touch". SouthScope. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. "Aamir's next director speaks". Rediff. 18 April 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  4. Seenivasan, Meera (22 February 2008). "Murugadoss upbeat over Mumbai entry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  5. "Journey of the 100-Crore Bollywood Film - Forbes India Blog". Forbes India. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  6. "I could not even buy a cup of tea for my father with my money: Murugadoss". Priya Gupta, TNN. The Times of India. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  7. "A.R.Murugadoss Biography". Sulekha. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  8. "Thought of becoming a Naxalite in college days: Murugadoss". Kollytalk. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  9. "Fox International ties up with Murugadoss to produce Tamil films - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". Dnaindia.com. 5 September 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  10. "Vijay's Thuppakki makes 180 crore!". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  11. Punwani, Umesh (20 June 2014). "Holiday crosses 100 crores at the Box Office". India.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  12. "Akira is the title for AR Murugadoss-Sonakshi project?". Sify. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  13. "Mahesh Babu-AR Murugdoss film heads to Ahmedabad for next schedule - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  14. "Second look of Trisha's Raangi is here, check it out". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
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