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Top Tamil directors who turned actors

ETimes.in | Last updated on - Jan 4, 2022, 21:38 IST
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1/10

Top Tamil directors who turned actors

The Tamil film industry has never limited itself to one particular profession. Many actors, producers, directors, cinematographers have tried different roles and even done dual roles in a single movie. Here is a list of a few directors who turned actors in Tamil cinema.

2/10

​Ram

Ram started his career as an assistant director for Balu Mahendra and Rajkumar Santoshi. He made his directorial debut with the movie ‘Kattradhu Thamizh’ which featured Jiiva. He also directed and played the lead role in the movie ‘Thanga Meengal’ which got three National Awards and two State Awards.

Case filed against Atharvaa's 'Kuruthi Aattam'

(Image: Facebook)

3/10

​Samuthirakani

Samuthirakani is an actor and director. He was an associate of K Balachander. He started his career as a director with the daily soap opera ‘Anni’ and later directed the feature film ‘Unnai Charanadaindhen’ which got many awards. In 2009, he directed the movie ‘Naadodigal’ which became a blockbuster hit. He then acted in the film ‘Subramaniapuram’ in 2008 and from then has been acting constantly.

Sasikumar to play a sound engineer in upcoming suspense thriller 'Common Man'

(Image: Twitter)

4/10

​Sasikumar

Sasikumar is a director, actor and producer. He started his career as an assistant director for Bala in ‘Sethu’ and then worked with director Ameer for ‘Raam’ and ‘Mounam Pesiyadhe’. He made his debut as an actor and director in the movie ‘Subramaniapuram’ which was a mega hit.

Confirmed! Ajith's 'Valimai' releasing in 3 languages on January 13th

(Image: Instagram)

5/10

​Cheran

Cheran is a director and actor. He is a national award-winning director and has directed movies like ‘Autograph’, ‘Pandavar Bhoomi’, ‘Thavamai Thavamirundhu’. He was an associate of KS Ravikumar and made his directorial debut through ‘Bharathi Kannamma’. He was noted for his acting in ‘Solla Marandha Kadhai’ which was released in 2002.

‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa...’: The trailer of the gripping anthology grabs eyeballs

(Image: Twitter)

6/10

​KS Ravikumar

KS Ravikumar is an actor and director. He made his debut as director in 1990 with the film ‘Puriyadha Pudhir’. He has directed some well-known movies like ‘Muthu’, ‘Avvai Shanmugi’, ‘Padayappa’, ‘Tenali’, ‘Panchathanthiram’ which were blockbuster hits. He has always appeared in minor roles in his films and later started acting in character roles.

Karthi to resume Sardar shooting on January 6

(Image: Twitter)

7/10

​Sundar C

Sundar C is an actor and director. He directed movies ‘Anbe Sivam’, ‘Arunachalam’ which were blockbuster hits of Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. He made his acting debut through the movie ‘Thalainagaram’ in 2006. He was an associate of Manivannan. Sundar C also made his directorial debut in Telugu film industry with the movie ‘Something Something’.

Udhayanidhi starts dubbing for Nenjukku Needhi

(Image: Facebook)

8/10

​SJ Suryah

SJ Suryah is a director, writer, actor, singer, lyricist and producer. His first film as a director was Ajith’s ‘Vaali’ which was a huge success. Followed by Vijay’s ‘Kushi’, SJ Suryah made a name for himself as a director in Tamil cinema. Later he debuted as an actor with the film ‘New’ which he also directed.

Kajal Aggarwal flaunts her baby bump again

(Image: Facebook)

9/10

​Bhagyaraj

Bhagyaraj is a director, actor, script writer and producer. He was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s. He started his career as an assistant director of Bharathiraja. Bhagyaraj was recognized for his scriptwriting talent and his script for the film ‘Kizhake Pogum Rayil’ and ‘Tik Tik Tik’ was a super hit. Bhagyaraj made his directorial debut with the film ‘Suvarillatha Chittirangal’ later he started acting in the lead roles of the films he directed.

Has Tamil actor Dhanush’s costume costs shocked his Telugu producers?

(Image: Twitter)

10/10

​Parthiban

Parthiban is a director and actor. Parthiban was Bhagyraj’s assistant director and the duo has worked in over 40 films between 1984 and 1991. Parthiban made his directing debut in 1989 with ‘Pudhiya Paadhai’ and won the Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Film and Best Story Writer and National Filmfare Award for Best Feature Film Tamil for ‘Pudhiya Paadhai’.

Parthiban and Gautham Karthik's 'Yutha Satham' to release on January 26

(Image: Twitter)

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