Jiiva
Jiiva on the film set of Ko.
Born	Amar B. Choudry (1984-01-04) January 4, 1984 (age 28) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Other names	Jiiva
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996; 2003–present
Height	5′ 11″
Spouse	Supriya (2007–present)

Jiiva (born Amar B. Choudry on 4 January 1984) is an Indian film actor who predominantly appears in Tamil films. Son of film producer R. B. Choudry, he started his career as a child actor in his father's films in 1996. He established himself as a versatile actor in Tamil Cinema.

He performed his first lead role in the 2003 romance film Aasai Aasaiyai, before rising to fame with his breakthrough performance in Raam (2005), for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cyprus International Film Festival.^[1] Since, he became known for his versatility, essaying distinctly different roles in his subsequent films, such as a stuntman in Dishyum (2006), a slum dweller in E (2006) and a psychopath in Kattradhu Thamizh (2007), and garnered high critical acclaim for his performances,^[2] while also achieving commercial success with Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009), Ko (2011) and Nanban (2012).

Career[link]

Early career: 2003–2008[link]

Jiiva had first appeared as a child artist in minuscule roles in two of his father's productions. He made his feature film debut as a lead actor in 2003 with Aasai Aasaiyai,^[3] following which he essayed the lead role in Thithikudhe (2003). Both the ventures, being romance films, were produced by his father R. B. Choudry as well, and failed to succeed at the box office.^[4] His subsequent release, Ameer's mystery thriller Raam (2005) eventually gained him recognition in the film industry.^[5] Jiiva played an autistic teenager, who is highly attached to his mother, but is suspected of having murdered her. The film received critical acclaim and garnered Jiiva positive remarks, with a Sify critic claiming that "as an actor Jiiva has arrived, as he exudes menace with his expressive body and eye language as Ram".^[6] Raam also earned accolades on international platform, being screened at the International Film Festival in Goa and later at the Cyprus International Film Festival, where it won two awards, with Jiiva being chosen as the Best Actor, while its music director, Yuvan Shankar Raja, was awarded for the film's score.^[1][7]

Jiiva next starred in Dishyum (2006) directed by Sasi, which portrayed him as a stuntman, who falls in love with a sculptor (Sandhya). The film, too, carried favorable reviews,^[8][9] emerging commercially successful, whilst Jeeva's performance was lauded, with a review by Indiaglitz citing that he "seems to have taken off from where he had left in Ram" and was "impressive".^[9] Jeeva later quoted that he had risked his life in many of the stunts he performed in the film.^[5] Later that year, Jeeva made his debut in Malayalam cinema with Major Ravi's war film Keerthi Chakra, which saw a dubbed release as Aran in Tamil Nadu. The film, again produced by Jeeva's home banner, featured him as an Indian army soldier alongside Mohanlal. While the original version opened to positive reviews ^[10] and was declared a financial success,^[11] its Tamil version, which had additional footage of Jeeva, comedy tracks with Ganja Karuppu and song montages featuring Jeeva and the lead actress Gopika, bombed at the box-office, with the additional scenes being lamented as the reason for the failure.^[12] His final 2006 release was S. P. Jananathan's E alongside Nayantara which saw him in an unusual slum dweller role and the movie was a success. He then starred in Kattradhu Thamizh (2007), directed by Ram, opposite then newcomer Anjali. The film, which was shot for over a year across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Chennai,^[13] featured him as a lower middle class post-graduate degree holder in Tamil literature, who gradually turns a psychopath, frustrated by the inequality in the social structure. Whilst the film opened to rave reviews,^[14][15] Jeeva's portrayal as Prabhakar was unanimously praised by critics and widely termed as the best in 2007;^[16] a Behindwoods review labelled it as "a performance of his lifetime",^[14] while Rediff wrote that he was "endearing as the young, vulnerable Prabha, [...] perfect as the ganja-smoking near-lunatic [...] and freaking brilliant as the frustrated Tamil graduate".^[15] "He was, in a nutshell, simply superb".^[17] Jeeva had grown a full length beard for the character and cited the hardships during the shoots of the film, which he considered as his most painful experience and a "torturous affair".^[13][18] He revealed that he even had to undergo therapy to "come out of the character" as it was "too emotional".^[18][19] He was highly anticipated to win several awards for his performance, but eventually failed to garner a single nomination, since the film ended up as a commercial failure and went unnoticed.^[20]

During the filming of Ko at Bergen in 2010.

Following another financially as well critically successful film Thenavattu (2008), in which he was cast alongside Poonam Bajwa.

Breakthrough: 2009–present[link]

He appeared in director M. Rajesh's maiden venture, the comedy film Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009). His performance was highly praised by critics and the film became a commercial success. In 2010, he starred alongside Poonam again in Kacheri Arambam a failure. Singam Puli, which for the first time features him in dual roles, was his first 2011 release, following which K. V. Anand's political thriller Ko (2011) released. The latter, which featured him as a brave photojournalist, became a commercial success upon release, while his performance received favorable reviews. Rediff noted that the role was a "cake-walk for Jiiva: he's had a ball with the camera, clicking shots in almost impossible situations and making sure his trademark effervescence is present at all times",^[21] while Sify cited that with this performance he was "going to be a force to reckon with in Tamil cinema".^[22] His next two films Rowthiram and Vandhaan Vendraan by R. Kannan released in quick succession; both opened to mixed critical reception.^[23][24][25] Jiiva is called "Ezhuchi Thalapathy" by his fans. A title coined since the success of KO. ^[26]

In 2012, he was first seen in S. Shankar's comedy-drama Nanban, which featured him as part of an ensemble cast including Vijay, Srikanth and Ileana D'Cruz released to highly positive reviews and become a big blockbuster.^[27] His upcoming projects include Mysskin's superhero film Mugamoodi and Gautham Menon's next directorial titled Neethaane En Ponvasantham.^[28] After that, he is to work on Bejoy Nambiar's David, in which he plays one of the three heroes.^[29] Furthermore, he has confirmed that he would be part of S. P. Jananathan's untitled forthcoming project as well, co-starring Jayam Ravi^[30] and also Endrendrum Punnagai with Trisha Krishnan and director Ahmed.^[31]

Other work[link]

Jiiva was a judge on STAR Vijay's reality dance competition Jodi Number One in its third season along with Sangeetha and Aishwarya Rajinikanth. In mid-2011, he announced that he would start a film production company called Spiral Dreams with his brother Jithan Ramesh in order to promote new directors like his father.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Jiiva was born as Amar to film producer R. B. Choudary and Mahjabeen on 4 January 1984 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is the youngest of four brothers. His eldest brother B. Suresh is a co-producer in their home banner Super Good Films, while his second brother Jeevan is an entrepreneur in the steel industry. His third brother is Jithan Ramesh, an actor in the Tamil film industry. On 21 November 2007, Jiiva married his childhood friend Supriya in New Delhi.^[33] They have a son named Sparsha born 14 October 2010.^[34]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jiiva at the Internet Movie Database
• Jiiva on Twitter

Jayam Ravi (Tamil: ஜெயம் ரவி; born 10 September 1980 as Ravi Mohan) is an Indian film actor. Ravi has appeared in films including Jayam, M. Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi, Unakkum Enakkum, Santhosh Subramaniam and Thillalangadi all of which have been directed by his brother, M. Raja. His films are almost all remakes of Tollywood hits.^[2] They repeated the same success in Kollywood, too.

Background[link]

Ravi was born to Mohan, editor of South Indian cinema and Varalakshmi in a Balija family. He has two siblings; his elder brother M. Raja is a noted film director, with most of his films featuring Ravi in the lead role, while his sister Roja is a dentist. He completed his schooling at Jawahar Vidyalaya in Ashok Nagar, Chennai. He studied dancing under the Bharatnatyam dancer Nalini Balakrishnan and performed his arangetram at the age of 12. After completing his degree in Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai,^[3] he decided to get into the film industry. He has also undergone training in acting at the Kishore Namit Kapur Institute in Mumbai.^[4]

He is a martial arts expert. Before acting, Ravi had been an assistant director to Suresh Krishna in the 2001 film Aalavandhan. He was also involved in several discussions and scenes for his brother's directional venture Velayudham.

Film career[link]

Ravi Mohan made his acting debut in the action-masala film Jayam, produced by his father and directed by his brother M. Raja. It was a remake of the 2002 Telugu film of the same name. His next venture was the sentimental drama M. Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi (2004), the remade version of the Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, in which he starred alongside Asin Thottumkal. Ravi's performance was widely positively received; a critic from Sify wrote that he delivered a performance that "makes you want to see more of him"^[5] while The Hindu's Malathi Rangarajan cited that he came out with an "appreciable portrayal throughout."^[6] The film, considered a family entertainer, received the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Film and fetched Ravi himself the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.^[7] It also emerged a high financial success.^[8]

His next release, Daas (2004), another action-masala flick,^[9] and his first original film following two remakes,^[10] featured him as a football player.^[11] The film took an even bigger opening than his previous ones and was declared a hit as well.^[12] He garnered positive remarks from critics, with Sify's reviewer claiming that Ravi was "hundred percent convincing as an action hero," further labelling his performance as "impressive."^[13] Mazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham, was his other release that year, which was "lukewarm" at the box office.^[14] In 2006 he starred in Saran's Idhaya Thirudan, which was a box office bomb,^[15][16] following which he acted in Unakkum Enakkum (initially released and promoted as Something Something Unakkum Enakkum), again under his brother's direction in another remake of a Telugu film. Ravi portrayed a rich, happy-go-lucky NRI from London, who has to live and fight for his love in dire conditions in a rural milieu.^[17] The film, which featured Trisha Krishnan alongside Ravi, became a high critical as well as financial success,^[18] emerging one of the highest-grossing and most-profitable films of the year.^[19][20] The N. Linguswamy-produced Deepavali under Ezhil's direction became his only 2007 release.

In 2008 Ravi appeared in three films. Following a cameo appearance in Velli Thirai, he acted in the family drama Santhosh Subramaniam, once again under his brother's direction in a remake. In the Tamil version of the 2006 Telugu film Bommarillu, starring opposite Genelia D'Souza, he essayed the role of a young man, whose choices and wishes are continually subdued by his father's.^[21][22] Ravi received a nomination for the Best Tamil Actor Award at the 56th Filmfare Awards South.^[23] Next he starred in the action thriller Dhaam Dhoom, directed by cinematographer-director Jeeva, who died in the midst of the film's shooting in Russia.^[24] Completed by Jeeva's assistant Manikandan, his wife Aneez Tanveer and his guru P. C. Sreeram,^[25] Dhaam Dhoom released in mid 2008 in which he portrayed Gautham Subramaniyam, a man accused in a murder he did not commit.^[26] His performance was met with favorable reviews from critics, with Sify's reviewer citing that he was "simply amazing in his role", labelling the film as an "out and out Jayam Ravi movie",^[26] while Indiaglitz noted that Ravi was "probably the perfect choice to play the character".^[27]

In 2009, he starred in the action film Peranmai, directed by S. P. Jananathan, in which he enacted the role of Dhruvan, a tribal forest officer. In his next film, Thillalangadi, he paired up with his brother for the fifth time to appear in a remake of a Telugu work. Thillalangadi, the Tamil version of the 2009 film Kick, opened to mixed critical response and could not repeat the success of its original version. Ravi played a playboy character in choreographer-turned-director Prabhu Deva's romantic musical Engeyum Kaadhal, which also fetched mixed reviews. He is currently working in Ameer Sultan's Aadhi Bhagavan. He also confirmed that he would be part of S. P. Jananathan's untitled forthcoming project co-starring his best pal Jiiva.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jayam Ravi at the Internet Movie Database
• Jayam ravi on facebook
• Jayam ravi on twitter
• Jayamravionline – website

Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director and producer, who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has also directed a few films in Hindi and Telugu languages which are remakes of his own Tamil films. Many of his films have been critically acclaimed, most notably his semi-autobiographical Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), romantic classic Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), his action-thrillers Kaakha Kaakha (2003) and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006). Vaaranam Aayiram won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Early life and education[link]

Gautham was born to a Malayali father and Tamil mother on 25 February 1973 in Ottapalam, a town in Palakkad district of Kerala. Although, born in Kerala he grew up in Trichy.^[1][2] He did his schooling in Vailankanni Raj Mat. Hr., Sec School at K.K Nagar, Trichy and did his Mechanical Engineering in Mookambigai College of Engineering, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.^[3][4]

Career[link]

Early work, 2001[link]

Gautham Menon was a student of mechanical engineering at Mookambigai College of Engineering in the batch of 1993, and his time there inspired him to make his lead characters of Minnale, Vaaranam Aayiram and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, students of the same course. ^[5] He claims to have been inspired by films such as Dead Poet's Society and Nayagan and expressed his desire to his parents to change career path and become a filmmaker and consequently wrote his first film at his college hostel. His mother insisted he became an ad film maker by shooting various commercials and took an apprenticeship under filmmaker Rajiv Menon. He went on to work as an assistant director for Minsaara Kanavu in 1997, in which he also appeared in a cameo role.^[6]

Gautham Menon launched a Tamil romantic film O Lala in 2000 with the project eventually changing producers and title into Minnale with Madhavan, who was at the beginning of his career, being signed on to portray the lead role.^[7] About the making of the film, Menon revealed that he found it difficult as the team was new to the industry with only the editor of the film, Suresh Urs, being a prominent technician in the industry.^[8] Menon had come under further pressure when Madhavan had insisted that Menon narrated the story to his mentor, Mani Ratnam, to identify if the film was a positive career move after the success of his Alaipayuthey. Despite initial reservations, Menon did so and Ratnam was unimpressed; however Menon has cited that he thought that Madhavan "felt sorry" and later agreed to continue with the project.^[8] The film also featured Abbas and newcomer Reemma Sen in significant roles, whilst Menon introduced Harris Jayaraj as music composer with the film.^[7] The film was advertised as a Valentine's Day release in 2001 and told the tale of a young man who falls in love with the girl engaged to his ex-college rival and how he manages to get married to her. Upon release it went on to become a large success commercially and won positive reviews from critics with claims that the film had a lot of " lot of verve and vigour" and that it was "technically excellent".^[9]

The success of the film led to producer Vashu Bhagnani signing him on to direct the Hindi language remake of the film, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, which also featured Madhavan with Diya Mirza and Saif Ali Khan added to the film. Menon was initially apprehensive but said it took "half an hour" to agree and against his intentions, the producer opted against retaining the technical crew of the original.^[6] He changed a few elements, deleted certain scenes and added some more for the version. However in comparison, the film gained poor reviews with a critic citing that "the presentation is not absorbing" though stating that he " handled certain sequences with aplomb"; the film subsequently went on to become a below average grosser at the box office.^[10] The failure of the film left him disappointed, with Menon claiming in hindsight that the film lacked the simplicity of the original with the producer's intervention affecting proceedings.^[11] In 2011, the producer of the film approached him to remake the film with the producer's son Jackky Bhagnani in the lead role, but Menon was uninterested with the offer.^[12]

Police duology, 2003–06[link]

Menon returned in 2003 by directing the realistic police thriller Kaakha Kaakha featuring Suriya, Jyothika and Jeevan in the lead roles. The film portrayed the personal life of a police officer and how his life is affected by gangsters, showing a different perspective of police in comparison to other Tamil films of the time.^[11] Menon revealed that he was inspired to make the film after reading of articles on how encounter specialists shoot gangsters and how their families get threatening calls in return, and initially approached Madhavan, Ajith Kumar and then Vikram for the role without success, with all three actors citing that they did not want to play a police officer. The lead actress Jyothika asked Menon to consider Suriya for the role, and he was subsequently selected after Menon saw his portrayal in Nandha.^[13] He did a rehearsal of the script with the actors, a costume trial with Jyothika and then enrolled Suriya in a commando training school before beginning production, which he described as a "very planned shoot".^[13] The film consequently opened to very positive reviews from critics on the way to becoming another success for Menon, with critics labeling it as a "career high film".^[14] Furthermore, the film was described as for "action lovers who believe in logical storylines and deft treatment" with Menon being praised for his linear narrative screenplay.^[15]

Gautham Menon subsequently remade the film in the Telugu language for producer Venkata Raju and went on to claim that the new version was better than the previous version and that his new lead actor Venkatesh was more convincing that Surya in the role.^[16] The film also featured actress Asin and Saleem Baig in prominent roles and went on to earn commercial and critical acclaim with reviewers citing that "film redeems itself due to the technical excellence and masterful craft of Gautham", drawing comparisons of Menon with noted film makers Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma.^[17] In July 2004, Menon also agreed terms to direct and produce another version of Kaakha Kaakha in Hindi with Sunny Deol in the lead role and revealed that the script was written five years ago with Deol in mind, but the film eventually failed to take off.^[18] Producer Vipul Shah approached him to direct the Hindi version of the film in 2010 as Force with John Abraham and Genelia D'Souza, and Menon initially agreed before pulling out again.^[19] Menon and the original producer, Dhanu, also floated an idea of an English version with a Chechnyan backdrop, though talks with a potential collaboration with Ashok Amritraj collapsed.^[13]

Gautham Menon was then signed on to direct a venture starring Kamal Haasan and produced by Kaja Mohideen, and initially suggested a one-line story which went on to become Pachaikili Muthucharam for the collaboration.^[13] Kamal Haasan wanted a different story and thus the investigative thriller film, Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, was written with Jyothika, Kamalinee Mukerji, Prakash Raj, Daniel Balaji and Saleem Baig added to the cast. The film told another episode from a police officer's life, with an Indian cop moved to America to investigate the case of psychotic serial killers before returning to pursue the chase in India. During the shooting, the unit ran into problems after the producer had attempted suicide and as a result, Kamal Haasan wanted to quit the project.^[13] Menon subsequently convinced him to stay on as they had taken advance payments. He has since revealed that unlike Kamal Haasan's other films, he did not take particular control of the script or production of the film. The film however had gone through change from the original script with less emphasis on the antagonists than Menon had hoped and he also revealed that scenes for songs were forced in and shot without him.^[13] The film released in August 2006 and went on to become his third successive hit film in Tamil and once again, he won rave reviews for his direction.^[20][21] Menon later expressed interest in remaking the film in Hindi with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role without the love angle, though the project fell through after discussions. In 2012, he re-began negotiations with producers to make a Hindi version of the film with Shahrukh Khan in the lead role.^[22] He has stated his intent on making a trilogy of police episode films, with a possible third featuring Vikram in the lead role.^[13]

Experimentation and success, 2007–08[link]

His next project, Pachaikili Muthucharam, based on the novel Derailed by James Siegel, featured Sarath Kumar and Jyothika in the lead roles and was released in February 2007. Initially the lead role was offered to Kamal Haasan who passed the opportunity, while actors Cheran and Madhavan declined citing date and image problems respectively.^[23] Menon met Sarath Kumar at an event where he cited he was looking to change his 'action' image and Menon subsequently cast him in the lead role.^[23] During production, the film ran into further casting trouble with Simran dropping out her assigned role and was replaced by Shobana after another actress, Tabu, also rejected the role.^[24] Shobana was also duly replaced by a newcomer, Andrea Jeremiah to portray the character of Kalyani in the film. The film was under production for over a year and coincided with the making of his previous film which was largely delayed. The film initially opened to positive reviews with a critic citing that Menon is "growing with each passing film. His style is distinctive, his vision clear, his team rallies around him and he manages to pull it off each time he attempts".^[25][26] However the film became a financial failure for the producer, Venu Ravichandran and in regard to the failure of the film, Menon went on to claim that Sarath Kumar was "wrong for the film" and that he tweaked the story to fit his image; he also claimed that his father's ailing health and consequent death a week before the release had left him mentally affected.^[23]

His next release, Vaaranam Aayiram, saw him re-collaborate with Suriya, who played dual roles in the film. The film illustrates the theme of how a father often came across in his son's life as a hero and inspiration, and Menon dedicated the film to his late father who had died in 2007.^[27] The pre-production of the film, then titled Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam began in 2003, with Menon planning his a romantic film with Suriya as a follow up to their successful previous collaboration, Kaakha Kaakha.^[28] Abhirami was signed and then dropped due to her height before a relatively new actress at the time Asin was selected to make her debut in Tamil films with the project. The first schedule of the film began in January 2004 in Visakhapatanam and consequently romantic scenes with Suriya and Asin were shot for ten days and then a photo shoot with the pair.^[28] The film was subsequently stalled and was eventually relaunched with a new cast including Divya Spandana, Simran and Sameera Reddy in 2006 with Oscar Ravichandran stepping in as producer, who opted for a change of title. Menon has described the film as "autobiographical and a very personal story and if people didn’t know, that 70% of this [the film] is from my life".^[23] The film's production process became noted for the strain and the hard work that Suriya had gone through to portray the different roles with production taking close to two years.^[27] The film released to a positive response, with critics heaping praise on Suriya's performance while claiming that the film was "just a feather in Gautam's hat" and that it was "hardly a classic".^[29] The film was made at a budget of 15 crore rupees and became a commercial success, bringing in almost 22 crore rupees worldwide.^[27] It went on to become Menon's most appreciated work till date winning five Filmfare Awards, nine Vijay Awards and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2008 amongst other accolades.

2010 onwards[link]

In 2010, Menon made a return to romantic genre after nine years with the Tamil romantic film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, starring Silambarasan and Trisha Krishnan.^[30] The film explored the complicated relationship between a Hindu Tamil assistant director, Karthik, and a Syrian Christian Malayali girl, Jessie and their resultant emotional conflicts. The film featured music by A. R. Rahman in his first collaboration with Menon whilst cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa was also selected to be a part of the technical crew. Menon cited that he was "a week away from starting the film with a newcomer" before his producer insisted they looked at Silambarasan, with Menon revealing that he was unimpressed with the actor's previous work.^[8] The film was in production for close to a year and throughout the opening week of filming, promotional posters from classic Indian romantic films were released featuring the lead pair.^[31] Prior to release, the film became the first Tamil project to have a music soundtrack premiere outside of India, with a successful launch at the BAFTA in London.^[32] Upon release, the film achieved positive reviews, with several critics giving the film "classic" status, whilst also become a commercially successful venture.^[33][34] Reviewers praised Menon citing that "credit for their perfect portrayal, of course, goes to Gautam Menon. This is one director who's got the pulse of today's urban youth perfectly" and that "crafted a movie that will stay in our hearts for a long, long time."^[34] The film was simultaneously released with a Telugu version, titled Ye Maaya Chesave featuring a fresh cast of Naga Chaitanya and debutante Samantha in the lead roles. Like the Tamil version, the film won critical acclaim and being given "classic" status from critics.^[34][34][35] Both films also went on to become large commercial successes, and the films have received awards from award committees.

Menon had also made progress over the previous two years directing the psychological thriller Nadunisi Naaygal featuring his assistant and debutant Veera Bahu and Sameera Reddy in the lead roles. Menon claimed that the film was inspired by a true event from the USA, while also claiming that a novel also helped form the story of the film.^[8] During the making, he explicitly revealed that the film was for "the multiplex audience" and would face a limited release, citing that "it will not cater to all sections of the audience".^[8] He promoted the film by presenting a chat show dubbed as Koffee with Gautham where he intereviewed Bharathiraja and Silambarasan, both of whom had previously worked in such psychological thriller films with Sigappu Rojakkal and Manmadhan. The film, which was his first home production under Photon Kathaas and did not have a background score, told the story of a victim of child abuse and the havoc he causes to women, narrating the events of a particular day. The film opened to mixed reviews with one critic citing it as "above average" but warning that "don’t go expecting a typical Gautham romantic film" and that it "is definitely not for the family audiences", while criticizing that "there are too many loopholes in the story, raising doubts about logic".^[36] In contrast another critic dubbed it as an "unimpressive show by star director Menon, as it is neither convincing nor appealing, despite having some engrossing moments".^[37]

Future ventures, 2012–present[link]

Menon returned to Bollywood with the Hindi language remake of his film, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, titled Ekk Deewana Tha with Prateik Babbar and Amy Jackson playing the lead roles.^[38] The film was a box office failure,^[39] with Menon admitting that he "got the casting wrong".^[40] Furthermore, he has expressed that he is likely to restart his long-delayed project Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam with reports emerging that he may begin the film again with a fresh cast.^[41] Another film, a home production Thuppariyum Anand has also been announced with Menon stating that he has completed the script and handed copies to Aamir Khan and Kamal Haasan, in the hope that either will do the film.^[42] However Ajithkumar was choosen for the film in 2012.^[43] Menon is also currently directing a trilingual romantic film titled as Neethaane En Ponvasantham in Tamil, Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu in Telugu and Assi Nabey Poore Sau in Hindi. While Jiiva, Nani and Aditya Roy Kapoor play the lead roles in their respective languages, Samantha plays the female lead in all three versions.^[44] Furthermore in July 2011, his production house revealed that he had agreed to direct Yohan: Adhyayam Ondru, a detective story set in United Kingdom, with Vijay in the lead role.^[45][46] This venture will be a joint production of Photon Kathaas, Eros International and Future Film Production (UK).^[47][48] Meanwhile Menon has gone on to confirm that he will direct a television weekly serial featuring Parthiban in the lead role as a police officer.^[49]

Filmography[link]

As a producer[link]

Awards, Nominations and Honours[link]

Awards

• Vijay Award for Favourite Director for Vaaranam Aayiram (2008)
• National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for Vaaranam Aayiram (2008)
• Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer for Ye Maaya Chesave (2010)

Nominations

• Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil for Kaakha Kaakha (2003)
• Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil for Kaakha Kaakha (2003)
• Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil for Vaaranam Aayiram (2008)
• Vijay Award for Best Director for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010)
• Vijay Award for Favourite Director for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010)
• Filmfare Award for Best Director - Tamil for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010)
• Filmfare Award for Best Director - Telugu for Ye Maaya Chesave (2010)

Honours

• Rotary Club of Chennai - Honoured for Creative Excellence (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gautham Menon at the Internet Movie Database

Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran at the CCL match, 2011.
Born	Shriya Saran (1982-09-11) 11 September 1982 (age 29) Uttarakhand, India
Other names	Shriya, Shreya
Occupation	Actress, model, philanthropist
Years active	2001–present
Website
shriyasaran.com

Shriya Saran (Hindi: श्रिया सरन, Śriyā Saran ^?; born 11 September 1982),^[1] also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada. Saran made her film debut in 2001 with the Telugu film Ishtam, and had her first commercial success with Santhosham (2002). She subsequently appeared in several more Telugu films, while making in-roads in the Hindi and Tamil film industries.

In 2007, Saran starred in Sivaji: The Boss, the highest grossing Tamil film at that time. She also gained critical acclaim for her role in the 2007 Bollywood film Awarapan. In 2008, Saran played the lead role in her first English film, the American-Indian co-production The Other End of the Line. Her following projects included popular films such as Kanthaswamy (2009) in Tamil, and Pokkiri Raja (2010) in Malayalam, her roles in which have established her as one of the leading actresses in the South Indian film industries.^[2]

Apart from her work in films, Saran has been the brand ambassador for several stores across India, endorsing beauty and health products. Among other activities, she has volunteered for a number of charity organisations, and in 2011 opened a spa employing visually challenged people.

Early life[link]

Shriya Saran was born in the Dehradun / Haridwar region of Uttarakhand in Northern India to Pushpendra Saran and Neeraja Saran.^[1][2] Her father worked for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and her mother was a chemistry teacher in Delhi Public School, Ranipur in Haridwar.^[1] Saran completed her schooling there and at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road.^[3] Her family lived in the small town of BHEL colony in Haridwar when she was growing up.^[4] She later studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi^[1] and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature.^[1][5] Saran is an accomplished dancer. She was first trained as a child by her mother in Kathak and Rajasthani folk dance, and later trained in Kathak style by Shovana Narayan.^[6] She was involved with many dance teams in college and with her teacher. They would incorporate social issues into their dance routines.^[3] She has a brother named Abhiroop who lives in Mumbai.^[5]

Career[link]

Early career (2001–03)[link]

While in her sophomore year at the LSR College in Delhi, Saran got her first opportunity to appear in front of the camera for a video shoot. Following her dance teacher's recommendation, she was invited to appear in the music video of Renoo Nathan's "Thirakti Kyun Hawa".^[2] Shot in Banaras, the video was seen by Ramoji Films who offered her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam.^[2] Saran accepted the part, and even before it was released she was signed to four more films,^[2] including Nuvve Nuvve, in which she played a millionaire's daughter who falls for a middle class man. In 2002, she starred in Santosham, co-starring Nagarjuna, Prabhu Deva and Gracy Singh, which was her first commercial success.^[7] The film took the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film and Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu). Saran played a girl who lets someone she loves go with another, but wins him back later in life. For her performance, she earned a nomination for the CineMAA Award for Best Actor- Female, giving her a good foothold in the Telugu industry in the early part of her career.

In 2003, Saran acted a supporting role in her first Hindi film, Tujhe Meri Kasam, starring debutants Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza in leading roles. She also performed the lead female role in several Telugu films including Tagore, which was screened at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, and was a commercial success.^[8] She followed it with her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18, alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan,^[9] which was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu, in which she played a football coach. Though she acted in films in three languages that year, overall eight of the first ten films of her career were in Telugu.

Ups and downs (2004–07)[link]

In 2004, Saran acted in two Hindi and two Telugu films, including Nenunnanu, where she played a student in classical singing. She had ten 2005 releases, nine of which were Telugu films, the most notable for her being Chatrapathi. There she appeared opposite Prabhas, and earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award. A reviewer for Moviebuzz said that as an action film, Saran's character of the lead's love interest was not well developed; that she was there primarily for the songs.^[10] Meanwhile, she tried to make her comeback in Tamil with Mazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham. Neither the movie nor her performance were received well.^[11] Also in 2005, she appeared as one of only three characters in the film Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu, which was about a married couple's first night together, and made a guest appearance in a children's film called Bommalata, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. Saran's only lead role in 2006, excluding three special appearances, was in the Tamil film Thiruvilayadal Arambam.

In 2007, she was chosen to play the lead female role opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji: The Boss,^[12] which was the most expensive Indian film at that time.^[13][14] R. G. Vijayasarathy wrote in his review for Rediff that aside from her beauty, Saran "proves that she can act too".^[15] Her performance earned her a South Scope Style Award for Best Tamil Actress, her first award win, and a nomination at the Vijay Awards.^[16] The role also made her a star in the south Indian film industry.^[17] During this phase of her career, she made several special appearances in item numbers, including in the films Devadasu, Munna, and Tulasi.

Also in 2007, Saran made her comeback in Hindi cinema with Awaarapan, which was a joint production between India and Pakistan, and in which she played a Muslim girl and had to learn Urdu.^[18] This was her fourth Hindi film, but the others had failed to make any impact.^[19] Sanjay Ram, writing for Business of Cinema, gave the film 2.5 of 5 stars, and said that Saran provided a brief but compelling performance.^[20] Saran later said that the film strengthened her conviction that all religions are equal.^[19] Later that year she appeared in one more Tamil film, Azhagiya Tamil Magan opposite Vijay. Though critics exalted her looks, her performance received mixed reviews, with one reviewer, Nandhu Sundharam of Rediff, going so far as to say that her "acting is as bad as her looks are good".^[21] That same year Saran made her Kannada cinema debut with a small part in the film Arasu. In all she appeared in six films in 2007, in four different languages.

Recent work (2008–present)[link]

In 2008, Saran acted in the Hindi film Mission Istanbul with Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Shabbir Ahluwalia. She played the character of Anjali Sagar which was inspired by the character of Romila Dutta played by Preity Zinta in the film Lakshya;^[22] a journalist who desires to have a child with her husband, which leads to their separation, since he is reluctant. Bollywood Hungama critics said that her character was wasted, as again she gets very little screen time.^[23] However, she did pick up the Stardust Exciting New Face Award.^[24]

Saran then made her Hollywood debut in Ashok Amritraj's The Other End of the Line.^[25] She played the role of Priya Sethi who works as a telephone operator in an Indian call centre, while acting alongside Jesse Metcalfe,^[26] Anupham Kher and Tara Sharma. Shriya's performance was praised by critics, particularly her on-screen chemistry with Jesse Metcalfe.^[27] John Anderson, writing for Variety magazine, said it was "a winning Stateside debut for beautiful Indian actress Shriya Saran."^[28]

Her most important 2009 release was the commercially successful^[29] Tamil film Kanthaswamy, alongside Vikram. She earned a nomination at the Vijay Awards. Vikram himself said in a interview that her role was on par with his, and she easily stole the show on most occasions.^[30] Of her character in the film, Saran said that it was the best she has done so far.^[29] Also that year she appeared as the female lead in Thoranai. A reviewer said that her glamour and the songs were the only high points of the film.^[31] For Thoranai and Kanthaswamy together, she received her third award win, the Amrita Mathrubhumi Award for Best Actress.^[32] She then appeared in another English film, Cooking with Stella, which is a comedy, but also takes a look at the serious nature of relationships between servants and employers. It was selected to the Toronto International Film Festival, which Saran attended.^[33]

In 2010, Saran made her Malayalam debut with Pokkiri Raja, in which she appeared opposite Mammootty and Prithviraj.^[34] The film was declared a super hit in the first week, breaking the record in Malayalam cinema for opening week gross income,^[35] though it was not received well critically, and it was said of Saran that all she had to do was look pretty.^[36] She then enacted her first lead role in a Telugu film after five years, in the commercially successful action-comedy film Don Seenu opposite Ravi Teja, where she plays the sister of a mobster. In the opinion of some critics, she stole the show with her dances and romantic scenes.^[37] The year 2010 was her second busiest after 2005, having appeared in eight films in all, this time in four languages.