M. Muthaiya is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Tamil cinema.

Career

Muthaiya moved to Chennai from

Srivilliputhur Srivilliputhur (), is a Municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Srivilliputhur is 11-tiered tower structure dedicated to the Vatapa ...

Virudhunagar Virudhunagar is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located southwest of the state capital Chennai and south of Madurai. Virudhunagar emerged as an important trade ...

to make movies and debuted with the rural drama '' Kutti Puli'' (2013) starring Sasikumar. The film did not receive favorable reviews from the media but went on to perform well at the box office. Muthaiya moved on to make ''

Komban ''Komban'' is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by M. Muthaiah and produced by Studio Green. The film stars Karthi and Lakshmi Menon, while Rajkiran, Super Subbarayan, Thambi Ramaiah, Karunas, and Kovai Sarala play sup ...

'' (2015), a story set in the

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) i ...

district starring

Karthi Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Awar ...

, Lakshmi Menon, and

Rajkiran J. Mohideen Abdul Khadar, known by his stage name Rajkiran, is an Indian actor, producer and director, who has acted in more than 30 Tamil films. Early life Rajkiran was born as J. Mohideen Abdul Khadar on 16 March 1959 at Keelakarai into a M ...

. The film is about an aggressive man (Karthi) and his relationship with his father-in-law (Rajkiran). Muthaiya, inspired by the egotistical tussles between his father and his grandmother, scripted the story straight from his own experiences. The release of ''Komban'' was mired by controversy when protesters claimed that the story revolved around the animosity between different Thevar caste groups and that it therefore had the potential to incite violence in southern districts of Tamil Nadu. After a brief legal battle, the film opened to positive reviews and did well commercially. Following the success of ''Komban'', Muthaiya made '' Marudhu'' (2016), featuring Vishal and

Sridivya Sri Divya (born 1 April 1993) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Tamil and Telugu films. She won Nandi Award for Best Child Actress for ''Bharati'', a Telugu film in 2006. Early life Sri Divya was born in Hyderabad of present-da ...

in the lead roles. In 2017, Muthaiya reunited with Sasikumar to make another rural drama film titled '' Kodiveeran''. Prior to the release of the film, the film's producer committed suicide due to financial problems. In January 2018, Muthaiya began work on '' Devarattam'', a second film with Studio Green, which features a brother-sisters relationship with Gautham Karthik in the lead role. The film released on 1 May 2019. Overall, the film is an average rural action entertainer with routine elements which may work for audiences in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

and surrounding areas. Muthaiya has followed the same successful style in '' Pulikkuthi Pandi'' (2021), which stars

Vikram Prabhu Vikram Prabhu is an Indian actor working in Tamil language films who made his debut in Prabhu Solomon's '' Kumki'' (2012). He also played the protagonist in ''Ivan Veramathiri'' (2013) and '' Vellaikaara Durai'' (2014). He is the son of actor P ...

and Lakshmi Menon comparing their previous film. ''Pulikkuthi Pandi'' is Lakshmi Menon's third film under Muthaiah's direction, and the film also marks the actress's comeback to big screens after four years of film. In August 2022, Muthaiya's much expected ''

Viruman masala film written and directed by M. Muthaiah. Produced by Suriya under 2D Entertainment, the film stars Karthi and debutante Aditi Shankar. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the music with cinematography by Selvakumar S. K. It was released thea ...

'', the first time under the banner of 2D Entertainment was released. The film features

in the lead role, marking his second collaboration with Muthaiah, and was produced by

Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...

and

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

. The film claimed to be an overall hit on a commercial basis even though it critically attained mixed reviews, like Muthaiya's previous movies. Aditi Shankar the daughter of most celebrated Indian director S. Shankar, made her acting debut as the female lead.

Directing style

Muthaiya is known for his regional village and caste-oriented based scripts and mostly directs

Theni Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, located in a distance of 70km from Madurai. It is known for the large-scale trading of garlic, c ...

, and

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

-based movies.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muthaiah, M. Living people Tamil film directors Tamil-language film directors Tamil screenwriters 21st-century Indian film directors Film directors from Tamil Nadu Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu Year of birth missing (living people)