Biography

Early life[edit]

Samuthirakani was born on 26 April 1973 in Seithur, Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu. He did his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the Rajapalayam Rajus College and he also earned a Bachelor of Law from Ambedkar Law College. However, he aimed to become an actor. He has said that people used to tell him that he did not have the physical appearanace or talent necessary to be an actor.^[6]

Career[edit]

In 1997, he joined as an assistant director under Sundar K. Vijayan. He was then noticed by K. Balachander and was recruited as assistant director for Balachander's 100th film Paarthale Paravasam. He also assisted Balachander in the mega-serial Anni telecasted by Jaya TV. Samuthirakani recalled that the work experience he gained under Balachander helped him in many ways while shooting Arasi and Selvi, the mega-serial telecasted in Sun TV, which were massive hits among housewives.^[7] As an actor he worked as a junior artist, in Jannal serial, telecasted in 1998, directed by K.Balachander.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 2000s, Samuthirakani began his career as a director. He notably launched a shelved film titled Uyir Nanbanukku starring Cheran, before making Unnai Charanadaindhen (2003) for S. P. B. Charan.^[8][9]

However, it was the success of Naadodigal (2009) that established Samuthirakani as a director. Since then he has directed films such as Poraali (2011), Nimirndhu Nil (2014) and Appa (2016). All these films have been remade in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.^[10]

He directed two Telugu films Shambo Shiva Shambo (2010) and Janda Pai Kapiraju (2015), at the 63rd National Film Awards.^[11]

Samuthirakani, who directed and starred in the original Appa (2016), has directed the Malayalam version Aakashamittayee (2017) along with M. Padmakumar.^[12] He also played an important role in Rajinikanth's film Kaala (2018).^[13]

Samuthirakani's returned to directing with Naadodigal 2 (2020), a film that takes up the topic of equality.^[14] In 2020, he played an antagonist in the Trivikram directorial Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. In 2021, he played the main role in the Telugu film, Aakashavaani.^[15] He also directed and acted in the fantasy comedy drama Vinodhaya Sitham.^[16] In 2022, he played Sivakarthikeyan's father in the movie Don. He was also seen playing Rajendranath, the antagonist and Keerthy Suresh's father in the Parasuram directorial Sarkaru Vaari Paata.

Filmography[edit]

Acting roles[edit]

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Films

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
2001	Parthale Paravasam	A back-pain patient	Tamil
2004	Neranja Manasu	Villager	Tamil	Cameo appearance
2006	Poi		Tamil	Uncredited role
2007	Paruthiveeran		Tamil	Uncredited role
2008	Subramaniapuram	Kanagu	Tamil	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
2010	Shambo Shiva Shambo	Car driver	Telugu	Cameo appearance
	Shikkar	Abdullah	Malayalam
	Easan	ACP Sangayya	Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Male)
2012	Masters		Malayalam	Cameo appearance
	Thiruvambadi Thamban	Ramu	Malayalam
	Saattai	Dayalan	Tamil
	Neerparavai	Uduman Gani	Tamil
	The Hitlist	SP Anapazhakan	Malayalam	Cameo appearance
2013	D Company	Chaukidar	Malayalam
2014	Ninaithathu Yaaro	Himself	Tamil	Guest appearance
	Nimirndhu Nil	A car driver	Tamil	Guest appearance Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Third Prize)
	Velaiyilla Pattathari	Raghuvaran's father	Tamil	Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
	Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil	P. Krishna Pillai	Malayalam
	Poovarasam Peepee		Tamil	Guest appearance
	Kaadu	Nandha	Tamil
2015	Sandamarutham	Inspector Thirumalai	Tamil
	The Reporter	Parthasarathy	Malayalam
	Massu Engira Masilamani	Radha Krishnan (RK)	Tamil
	Buddhanin Sirippu	Vettri	Tamil
	Kaaval	Inspector Chandrasekar	Tamil
	Kamaraj		Tamil
	Adhibar	Raja	Tamil
	Paayum Puli	Selvaraj (Selvam)	Tamil
	Strawberry	Aathi	Tamil
	Pasanga 2	Father	Tamil	Guest appearance
2016	Tharkappu	Iraianbu	Tamil
	Rajini Murugan	"Ezhrai" Mookan	Tamil
	Visaranai	Inspector Muthuvel	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
	Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum	Kumar	Tamil
	Vetrivel		Tamil	Cameo appearance
	Amma Kanakku	Principal Ranganathan	Tamil
	Appa	Dhayalan	Tamil
	Karinkunnam 6'S	Saravanan	Malayalam	Cameo appearance
	Oppam	Vasudevan	Malayalam	Nominated, 19th Asianet film awards for Best actor in a negative role IIFA Utsavam for performance in a negative role Malayalam
	Achamindri	Inspector Sathya	Tamil
2017	Thondan	Maha Vishnu	Tamil
	Kootathil Oruthan	Sathyamurthy (Sathya)	Tamil
	Velaiilla Pattadhari 2	Raghuvaran's father	Tamil
2018	Nimir	Vellaiyappan	Tamil	also dialogue writer
	Madura Veeran	Rathnavelu	Tamil
	Yemaali	Inspector Aravindh	Tamil
	Kaala	Vaaliyappan	Tamil
	Goli Soda 2	Natesan	Tamil
	Maniyaar Kudumbam	S.Nallavan	Tamil	Cameo appearance
	60 Vayadu Maaniram	Ranga	Tamil
	Aan Devathai	Elango	Tamil
	Vada Chennai	Gunaa	Tamil
2019	Peranbu	Dr. Dhanapal	Tamil	Cameo appearance
	Pettikadai		Tamil
	Kolanji	Appasamy	Tamil
	Jackpot	Film Director	Tamil	Special appearance
	Kaappaan	Joseph Selvaraj	Tamil
	Namma Veettu Pillai	Chandrabose	Tamil
	Adutha Saattai	Dayalan	Tamil	also producer
	Sillu Karupatti	Dhanapal	Tamil
2020	Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo	Appala Naidu	Telugu
	Naadodigal 2	Bus driver	Tamil	Special appearance; also voice-over
	Ettuthikkum Para	Ambedkar	Tamil
	Walter	Bala	Tamil
	Naanga Romba Busy	Himself	Tamil	Cameo appearance; Released on Sun TV
2021	Krack	Katari Krishna	Telugu
	Pulikkuthi Pandi	Karumbalai Pandi	Tamil	Released on Sun TV
	Sangathalaivan	Sivalingam	Tamil
	Aelay	Muthukkutty Sudhakar (Imbuttu Kanji)	Tamil	Released on Star Vijay & Netflix
	Vellai Yaanai	Vellai Kunju	Tamil	Released on Sun TV
	Devadas Brothers	The writer	Tamil
	Thalaivi	R. N. Veerappan	Tamil
	Aakashavaani	Chandram Master	Telugu	Released on SonyLIV
	Vinodhaya Sitham	Time	Tamil	Released on ZEE5
	Udanpirappe	Sargunam Vaathiyaar	Tamil	Released on Amazon Prime Video
	MGR Magan	Agnishwaran	Tamil	Released on Disney+ Hotstar
	Chithirai Sevvaanam	Muthu Pandi	Tamil	Released on ZEE5
	Writer	Thangaraju	Tamil
2022	Kombu Vatcha Singamda	Eelam fighter	Tamil	Cameo appearance
	Bheemla Nayak	Jeevan Kumar	Telugu
	Maaran	Palani	Tamil	Released on Disney+ Hotstar
	RRR	Venkateswarulu	Telugu
	Sarkaru Vaari Paata	MP Rajendranath	Telugu
	Don	Ganesan	Tamil
	Yaanai	Ramachandran	Tamil	[17]
	Macherla Niyojakavargam	MLA Rajappa	Telugu
	Dongalunnaru Jaagratha	Chakravarthi	Telugu
	Godfather	Raghuram IPS	Telugu
	Vaathi	TBA	Tamil Telugu	Simultaneously shot in Telugu as Sir
	Andhagan	TBA	Tamil	Post-production
TBA	Indian 2	TBA	Tamil	Filming
	RC15	TBA	Telugu	Filming
	Panchathantram	TBA	Telugu	Post-production[18]
	Are You Okay Baby?	TBA	Tamil

Television

Dubbing artist[edit]

As director[edit]

Films

Television

Singer[edit]

Narrator[edit]

• Sundara Pandian (2012)
• Serndhu Polama (2015)
• Anandham Vilayadum Veedu (2021)

  Early life[edit]

  Samuthirakani was born on 26 April 1973 in Seithur, Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu. He did his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the Rajapalayam Rajus College and he also earned a Bachelor of Law from Ambedkar Law College. However, he aimed to become an actor. He has said that people used to tell him that he did not have the physical appearanace or talent necessary to be an actor.^[6]

  Career[edit]

  In 1997, he joined as an assistant director under Sundar K. Vijayan. He was then noticed by K. Balachander and was recruited as assistant director for Balachander's 100th film Paarthale Paravasam. He also assisted Balachander in the mega-serial Anni telecasted by Jaya TV. Samuthirakani recalled that the work experience he gained under Balachander helped him in many ways while shooting Arasi and Selvi, the mega-serial telecasted in Sun TV, which were massive hits among housewives.^[7] As an actor he worked as a junior artist, in Jannal serial, telecasted in 1998, directed by K.Balachander.^{[citation needed]}

  In the early 2000s, Samuthirakani began his career as a director. He notably launched a shelved film titled Uyir Nanbanukku starring Cheran, before making Unnai Charanadaindhen (2003) for S. P. B. Charan.^[8][9]

  However, it was the success of Naadodigal (2009) that established Samuthirakani as a director. Since then he has directed films such as Poraali (2011), Nimirndhu Nil (2014) and Appa (2016). All these films have been remade in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.^[10]

  He directed two Telugu films Shambo Shiva Shambo (2010) and Janda Pai Kapiraju (2015), at the 63rd National Film Awards.^[11]

  Samuthirakani, who directed and starred in the original Appa (2016), has directed the Malayalam version Aakashamittayee (2017) along with M. Padmakumar.^[12] He also played an important role in Rajinikanth's film Kaala (2018).^[13]

  Samuthirakani's returned to directing with Naadodigal 2 (2020), a film that takes up the topic of equality.^[14] In 2020, he played an antagonist in the Trivikram directorial Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. In 2021, he played the main role in the Telugu film, Aakashavaani.^[15] He also directed and acted in the fantasy comedy drama Vinodhaya Sitham.^[16] In 2022, he played Sivakarthikeyan's father in the movie Don. He was also seen playing Rajendranath, the antagonist and Keerthy Suresh's father in the Parasuram directorial Sarkaru Vaari Paata.

  Filmography[edit]

  Acting roles[edit]

  Key

  Denotes films that have not yet been released

  Films

  Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
  2001	Parthale Paravasam	A back-pain patient	Tamil
  2004	Neranja Manasu	Villager	Tamil	Cameo appearance
  2006	Poi		Tamil	Uncredited role
  2007	Paruthiveeran		Tamil	Uncredited role
  2008	Subramaniapuram	Kanagu	Tamil	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
  2010	Shambo Shiva Shambo	Car driver	Telugu	Cameo appearance
  	Shikkar	Abdullah	Malayalam
  	Easan	ACP Sangayya	Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Male)
  2012	Masters		Malayalam	Cameo appearance
  	Thiruvambadi Thamban	Ramu	Malayalam
  	Saattai	Dayalan	Tamil
  	Neerparavai	Uduman Gani	Tamil
  	The Hitlist	SP Anapazhakan	Malayalam	Cameo appearance
  2013	D Company	Chaukidar	Malayalam
  2014	Ninaithathu Yaaro	Himself	Tamil	Guest appearance
  	Nimirndhu Nil	A car driver	Tamil	Guest appearance Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Third Prize)
  	Velaiyilla Pattathari	Raghuvaran's father	Tamil	Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
  	Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil	P. Krishna Pillai	Malayalam
  	Poovarasam Peepee		Tamil	Guest appearance
  	Kaadu	Nandha	Tamil
  2015	Sandamarutham	Inspector Thirumalai	Tamil
  	The Reporter	Parthasarathy	Malayalam
  	Massu Engira Masilamani	Radha Krishnan (RK)	Tamil
  	Buddhanin Sirippu	Vettri	Tamil
  	Kaaval	Inspector Chandrasekar	Tamil
  	Kamaraj		Tamil
  	Adhibar	Raja	Tamil
  	Paayum Puli	Selvaraj (Selvam)	Tamil
  	Strawberry	Aathi	Tamil
  	Pasanga 2	Father	Tamil	Guest appearance
  2016	Tharkappu	Iraianbu	Tamil
  	Rajini Murugan	"Ezhrai" Mookan	Tamil
  	Visaranai	Inspector Muthuvel	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  	Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum	Kumar	Tamil
  	Vetrivel		Tamil	Cameo appearance
  	Amma Kanakku	Principal Ranganathan	Tamil
  	Appa	Dhayalan	Tamil
  	Karinkunnam 6'S	Saravanan	Malayalam	Cameo appearance
  	Oppam	Vasudevan	Malayalam	Nominated, 19th Asianet film awards for Best actor in a negative role IIFA Utsavam for performance in a negative role Malayalam
  	Achamindri	Inspector Sa