Dharani (born V. C. Ramani) is a former Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily worked in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

as well as directing one Telugu film. He is best known for directing the hat-trick action films, '' Dhill'' (2001), '' Dhool'' (2003), and '' Ghilli'' (2004).

Career

He pursued English literature degree at Loyola College then learnt editing at film institute. He also owned an orchestra under the name Dilip Ramani. After his diploma in film technology, he assisted six directors. He first directed the film '' Ethirum Pudhirum'', loosely based on forest brigand Veerappan and his younger brother's death, starring

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

. Political controversies ensured its delayed release in 1999. It received critical acclaim and was awarded second place in the

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 Referenc ...

. The film's producer T. Ajay kumar made Dharani the director of his next production, starring Vikram, '' Dhill''. The film was a box-office success and his next film '' Dhool'', produced by A. M. Rathnam in 2003, again with Vikram along with

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...

and Reemma Sen, was a box office success. He worked with A. M. Rathnam again for the film '' Ghilli'' starring Vijay and Trisha, that was a blockbuster movie and a comeback movie in Vijay's career. It was followed by Telugu film '' Bangaram'', featuring

Pawan Kalyan Konidela Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Kumar; 2 September 1971) is an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and martial artist serving as the List of deputy chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, 11th Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Prade ...

in the lead. In 2008, he directed '' Kuruvi'', rejoining the lead cast of ''Ghilli''. Unlike the previous success in ''Ghilli'', ''Kuruvi'' was an sleeper hit at the box office after completion of 150 days. In 2011, he remade the 2010 Hindi film ''

Dabangg ''Dabangg'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap and produced by Malaika Arora and Arbaaz Khan under Arbaaz Khan Productions with Dhilin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The fil ...

'' in Tamil as '' Osthe'', with

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...

in the lead role, which was again declared an average hit. Dharani announced that he would make a Telugu sports-based film titled ''Merupu'' with

Ram Charan Teja Konidela Ram Charan (born 27 March 1985) is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and is also known for his dancing. He h ...

and Kajal Aggarwal, and the film had an official launch in late April 2010. The film progressed slowly throughout 2010 and was later shelved by 2011. He has not directed any film since.

Filmography

*''All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.'' ;Singer *"Thaarumaaru" ('' Uchathula Shiva'')

Recurring collaborations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dharani Telugu film directors Tamil film directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Indian screenwriters 21st-century Indian screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Tamil screenwriters