A. M. Rathnam is an Indian film producer, lyricist, screenwriter, and director known for his works in Telugu and

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

. Under the gamut of Sri Surya Movies Entertainment, Hyderabad, a movie production house owned by him, he has produced blockbusters in Telugu such as '' Karthavyam'' (1990), '' Peddarikam'' (1992), ''

Sneham Kosam ''Sneham Kosam'' () is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by A. M. Ratnam under the Sri Surya Movies banner. Directed by K. S. Ravikumar, the film stars Chiranjeevi in a dual role of father and son, along with Meena while Vija ...

'' (1999), and '' Kushi'' (2001). He ventured into

in 1996 with the

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

'', which was India's Official Entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. He then produced films such as '' Kushi'', '' Run'', ''

Boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

'', ''

Enakku 20 Unakku 18 ''Enakku 20 Unakku 18'' () is a 2003 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Jyothi Krishna. This film is a remake of the Hindi film ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai''. The film stars Tarun, Trisha, and Shriya Saran. It was filmed simultaneous ...

'', ''

Dhool ''Dhool'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Dharani. The film stars Vikram, Jyothika and Reema Sen. Vivek, Sayaji Shinde, Telangana Shakuntala, and Pasupathy, among others, play important roles. Produced by ...

'', ''

Ghilli ''Ghilli'' () is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language romantic action masala film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam. It is a remake of the Telugu-language film ''Okkadu'' (2003). The film stars Vijay, Trisha and Prakash Raj with Ashi ...

'', ''

7G Rainbow Colony ''7G Rainbow Colony'' is a 2004 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan. The film is shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, the latter titled ''7G Brindavan Colony.'' It stars debutant Ravi Krishna and Son ...

'', '' Arrambam'', ''

Yennai Arindhaal ''Yennai Arindhaal'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, and produced by A. M. Rathnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Trisha Krishnan, Anushka Shetty and Arun Vijay and re ...

'' and ''

Vedalam ''Vedalam'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Siva. It stars Ajith Kumar, Lakshmi Menon and Shruti Hassan while Ashwin Kakumanu, Rahul Dev, Thambi Ramaiah, Kabir Duhan Singh, and Soori play supporting ro ...

''.

Personal life

Rathnam was born in Buchireddypalem of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. Rathnam has two sons, director and actor Jyothi Krishna and actor

Ravi Krishna Ravi Krishna is a former Indian actor who worked in the Tamil and Telugu film industries. Son of producer A. M. Rathnam, he made his acting debut in Selvaraghavan's critically acclaimed ''7G Rainbow Colony''. He has won Filmfare Award for Best ...

. Jyothi Krishna's directorial debut ''

'' and its Telugu version, as well as Ravi Krishna's first four films, that also include Jyothi Krishna's second directorial venture '' Kedi'', were all produced by Rathnam himself. In 2012, he built a temple for

Shirdi Sai Baba Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

at his office in

Valasaravakkam Valasaravakkam is a neighbourhood in the Chennai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a residential suburb of the city of Chennai. It is located in the Poonamallee Taluk at a distance of approximately 15 kilometres from the Kilometer ...

Career

Ratnam started his career as a make-up man for superstar actress

Vijayashanti Vijayashanti (born 24 June 1966) is an Indian actress, producer and politician. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has acted in 187 feature films in a variety of roles in various languages predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, in addition to Hi ...

. Being the Executive Producer for the actress, he produced his first film '' Karthavyam'', in 1990. Vijayashanti won the

National Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

for the Best Actress for this film. He made films with Kamal Haasan,

Chiranjeevi Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu, as well as some fil ...

and many other actors. He later began producing films in Tamil and Hindi as well, dubbing and releasing several films in other languages. He went on to finance

Shankar Shankar may refer to: People * Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist *S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar * San ...

's ''

'', which earned him the

Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil (Kollywood) films. Winners Nominations 1970s *1972 - '' Pattikada Pattanama'' *1973 - '' Bharatha Vilas'' *1974 - ''Dikkat ...

and was later submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' and ''

'' starring Chiranjeevi. Rathnam produced the Tamil romance film '' Kushi'', starring Vijay and its same-titled Telugu remake the following year, starring

Pawan Kalyan Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Babu; 2 September is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and politician. His films are predominantly in Telugu cinema. Kalyan is the younger brother of actor-ex.politician Chiranjeevi, and made his debut in the 1996 ...

, both of which were directed by S. J. Surya and became highly successful. Later, he produced two more films, ''

'' and ''

Sivakasi Sivakasi () is a city and Municipal Corporation in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This city is known for its fireworks, firecracker, matchbox and printing industries. Sivakasi city alone meets about 90% fire cracke ...

'' starring Vijay. Both Ghilli and Sivakasi were highly successful at the box office. During the early 1990s, he directed two films '' Peddarikam'' and '' Sankalpam'' in Telugu. He has also written the screenplay for the film ''

Naaga ''Naaga'' is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language political action film starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Sadaf, Jennifer Kotwal and Raghuvaran in main roles. The film is directed by D.K Suresh. The film was released on 10 January 2003. The film's ...

''. Later, he changed the name of his production company from Sri Surya Movies Entertainment to Shri Sai Raam Creations, which is now headed by S. Aishwarya. He had done three films with Ajith Kumar such as '' Arrambam'', ''

'' and ''

'', all of which were huge success.

Awards

Filmfare Awards South *

Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, a ...

– '' Karthavyam'' (1990) *

– ''

'' (1996) *

– ''

Natpukkaga ''Natpukkaga'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar, starring R. Sarathkumar, Simran, Vijayakumar and Sujatha. It became a blockbuster upon release. The film won two Filmfare Awards South and Tamil Nadu S ...

'' (1998)

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film is given by the Government of Tamil Nadu as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. It includes prizes for three top places. Key List of winners Reference ...

(First Prize) – ''

'' (1996) *

(First Prize) – ''

'' (1998) Others *

Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil The Cinema Express Best Film Award is given as a part of its annual Cinema Express Awards for Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lan ...

– ''

'' (1996)

Filmography

;Producer ;Distributor *'' Vyjayanthi IPS'' (1990) * Gentleman (1993, Telugu) * Premikudu (1994, Telugu Dubbed version of

Kadhalan ''Kadhalan'' ( ) is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film written and directed by S. Shankar and produced by K. T. Kunjumon. The film stars Prabhu Deva and Nagma (in her major Tamil cinema debut), while Vadivelu, Raghuvaran, ...

) *'' The King'' (1995) (Tamil dubbed version of Malayalam film The King) *'' Unnaiye Kalyanam Pannikiren'' (1996) (Tamil dubbed version of Telugu film Ninne pelladatha) * Arunachalam (1997, Telugu) * Jeans (1998, Telugu) * Oke Okkadu (1999, Telugu Dubbed Version of

Mudhalvan ''Mudhalvan'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film produced by R. Madhesh and S. Shankar, written and directed by Shankar. The film stars Arjun, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran while Vadivelu and Manivannan appear in ...

) ;Lyricist *Jeans - Telugu version *Oke Okkadu - Telugu version of Mudhalvan *Boys - Telugu version *Naaga - Entha Chinna Muddu, Macarina, Oka Konte, Megham Karigenu

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathnam, A. M. Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Tamil film producers Telugu film producers Living people Telugu people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Nellore district