Vasanth is an Indian director well known in
Tamil language
Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...
films for directing films such as ''
Keladi Kanmani'' (1990), ''
Aasai
''Aasai'' () () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film, written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Suvaluxmi and Prakash Raj, with Rohini, Poornam Viswanathan, Nizhalgal Ravi ...
'' (1995), ''
Nerrukku Ner'' (1997), ''
Rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
'' (2000) and ''
Satham Podathey'' (2007).
Career
Vasanth began his career as a journalist and short story writer, before he began working as an assistant director to
K. Balachander on 18 films including ''
Sindhu Bhairavi'' and ''
Punnagai Mannan''.
He made his first independent film in 1990, the critically acclaimed film ''
Keladi Kanmani'', which starred noted playback singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and enjoyed a 285-days-run at theatres. He next directed ''
Nee Pathi Naan Pathi'', titled after a song from his previous film, which focussed on an
unwed mother's issue. The film features the song "Nivedha", becoming noted for its visualisation and its lyrics consisting of a single word. His third directorial was the thriller ''
Aasai
''Aasai'' () () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film, written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Suvaluxmi and Prakash Raj, with Rohini, Poornam Viswanathan, Nizhalgal Ravi ...
'' (1995), which became a trendsetter and high financial success that ran for more than 200 days. Produced by
Mani Ratnam
Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.
H ...
. as well as the feature film debut of lead actress
Suvalakshmi
Suvaluxmi is an Indian former actress who mainly appeared in Tamil films. She also appeared in Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada films. Portraying homely characters , she is well known of her characters in ''Aasai'' (1995), '' Gokulathil ...
, while Vasanth received the
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director.
In 1997, Vasanth's next project, ''
Nerrukku Ner'' released. Also produced by
Maniratnam, the film introduced actor
Sivakumar
Palaniswamy Gounder (born 27 October 1941), better known by his stage name Sivakumar, is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has appeared in Tamil cinema and television. He made his acting debut in '' Kaakum Karangal'' (1965) and has ...
's eldest son
Suriya, who played a leading role and Bollywood actress
Simran alongside
Vijay and
Kausalya
Kausalya (, ) is a queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the first senior queen consort of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital Ayodhya. She is the mother of Rama, the male protagonist of the epic. She is a secondar ...
also became a commercial success and ran for 175 days. Vasanth's subsequent project ''
Poovellam Kettuppar'' (1999), also starred Suriya, pairing for the first time 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 ...
, who would later become his wife. The film is especially known as being composer
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...
's first major musical success. The following year, two of his directorial released, ''
Appu'' and ''
Rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
''. The former was appreciated for
Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Telugu language, Telugu, Tamil language, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English language, Engl ...
's performance as a
eunuch
A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
, whilst the latter is considered a classic, mainly for its theme and realism by critics and public. ''Rhythm'' told the tale of two individuals who lose their life partners in the same accident and overcome their sorrow to start a new relationship. The film's soundtrack, scored by
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
consists of five songs, each depicting one of the
five elements.
Vasanth had picked ''Rhythm'' to be the film "closest to heart".
''
Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke!'' (2002) was his following project, with its major attraction being the first ensemble soundtrack in Indian cinema, featuring five songs, composed by five debutant music directors but failed at the box office.
In 2007, he made the thriller film ''
Satham Podathey'' (2007), which was critically acclaimed but not a commercial hit. and a blockbuster at the box office, while fetching him a
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Storywriter. 2013 he made the romantic musical ''
Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal'', a film involving three love stories. In 2015, he began his next feature film titled ''Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengalum'', reported to be a "pro-women film", in which he would introduce Carnatic singer
Sudha Ragunathan as a music director.
During his
sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job."
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...
s from filmmaking, Vasanth has worked on several ad films, short films and documentaries as well.
The short films, ''Thakkayin Methu Naanku Kangal (தக்கையின் மீது நான்கு கண்கள்)'', for which he won the
National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film at the
2005 ceremony,
and the critically acclaimed ''Visaranai Commission'', based on Sakithya Academy prize-winning novel by Sa. Kandhasami,
are the other notable works in his career. He has directed more than 40 advertising films for multinational brands and co-directed the
Vijay TV extravaganza ''
Netru, Indru, Naalai'' along with
Mani Ratnam
Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.
H ...
. Besides, Vasanth has been conducting workshops, too, teaching nuances of filmmaking.
His short film ''Sanath'' won the National award for the best film on social awareness, in the 64th National Film Awards, 2016. ''Sanath'' is an inspiring story of a victim of medical negligence, who initially becoming invalid, struggles and opens educational institutions where thousands can learn and become successful in life. This is his second National award.
Filmography
Web series
Voice artist
Actor
;Films
;Television
*''
Kadhal Pagadai'' (1996) as himself (episode 6)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Film directors from Tamil Nadu
Tamil film directors
Living people
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners
People from Cuddalore district
Tamil screenwriters
Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors from Tamil Nadu
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
1963 births