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

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

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'' (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 ** Blo ...

'' Indian'', which was India's Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film 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 Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop grou ...

'', '' Boys'', '' Enakku 20 Unakku 18'', '' Dhool'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 So ...

'', ''

Arrambam ''Arrambam'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Vishnuvardhan. Produced by A. Raghuram and co-written by Subha, the film stars Ajith Kumar, Arya, Nayanthara and Taapsee Pannu, with Kishore, Rana Daggu ...

'', ''

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 Bes ...

. Jyothi Krishna's directorial debut '' Enakku 20 Unakku 18'' 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 at his office in Valasaravakkam.

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 H ...

. Being the Executive Producer for the actress, he produced his first film '' Karthavyam'', in 1990. Vijayashanti won the National Award for the Best Actress for this film. He made films with

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

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 film ...

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's '' Indian'', 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 - '' Dikk ...

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

'' 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 ''

'', ''

'' and ''

'', all of which were huge success.

Awards

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassin ...

* Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu – '' Karthavyam'' (1990) *

– '' Indian'' (1996) *

– '' Natpukkaga'' (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. Th ...

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 Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily eng ...

(First Prize) – '' Indian'' (1996) *

(First Prize) – '' Natpukkaga'' (1998) Others * Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil – '' Indian'' (1996)

Filmography

;Producer ;Distributor *'' Vyjayanthi IPS'' (1990) *

Gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

(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, Gir ...

) *'' The King'' (1995) (Tamil dubbed version of Malayalam film The King) *'' Unnaiye Kalyanam Pannikiren'' (1996) (Tamil dubbed version of Telugu film Ninne pelladatha) *

Arunachalam Arunachala(m) may refer to: * Arunachalam (name), an Indian name (including a list of persons with the name) * ''Arunachalam'' (film), a 1997 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Sundar C * Arunachala, a holy hill in Tamil Nadu, India * ...

(1997, Telugu) *

Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or Dungaree (fabric), dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis ...

(1998, Telugu) *

Oke Okkadu ''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 ...

(1999, Telugu Dubbed Version of Mudhalvan) ;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