Atlee (director)

Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer (born 1986)

Atlee

Atlee on the set of  Raja Rani.

Born|

Arun Kumar

(1986-09-21) 21 September 1986 (age 38)

Thiruparankundram, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

Occupation|

* Film director
Screenwriter
Film producer

Years active| 2010–present
Spouse|

Krishna Priya

(m. 2014)​

[1]
Children| 1

Arun Kumar (born 21 September 1986), known professionally as Atlee, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his work in Tamil films. He initially worked as an assistant director under S. Shankar in the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012). He made his directorial debut with the film Raja Rani (2013), produced by Fox Star Studios, for which he was awarded Best Debut Director by the Vijay Award and the Tamil Nadu State Award for best dialogue writer.

Atlee has directed and written films like Theri, Mersal, and Bigil all featuring Vijay. Atlee made his debut in Hindi cinema with Jawan (2023), starring Shah Rukh Khan, which became an all-time blockbuster at the box office. He is currently making his Telugu film debut with AA22xA6, starring Allu Arjun.

## Career

[edit]

Atlee did a degree in visual communications in Sathyabama University, Chennai and made the short film En Mel Vizhundha Mazhaithuli, which won two national level awards. He then appealed to Mani Rathnam, S. Shankar and Gautham Vasudev Menon in search of work and Shankar agreed for him to work under him.[2] He began his career at the age of 25, as an assistant director for the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012), a remake of the Hindi film 3 Idiots. Another one of his short films, Mugaputhagam (2011), received a massive response from the public and across various media platforms.

In 2013, Atlee went on to make his directorial debut with Raja Rani, a rom com produced by A. R. Murugadoss. It starred Arya, Jai, Nayanthara, Nazriya Nazim, and Sathyaraj. It earned over ₹50 crores at the box office and won him the Best Debut Director award at the Vijay Awards.[3][4]

Following the success of Raja Rani, Atlee went on to direct his next film, Theri (2016), an emotional action thriller, produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, starring Vijay, Samantha, and Amy Jackson in the lead roles. It received positive reviews from the critics who praised the performances of the cast, soundtrack, score, cinematography, production design, and action sequences. Grossing over ₹150 crores at the box office, it emerged as a huge commercial success and became the second highest grossing Tamil of 2016.[5]

In 2017, Atlee went on to direct Mersal, an action thriller, produced by Thenandal Studio Limited. Again starring Vijay, it also had Nithya Menen, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, S. J. Suryah, Sathyaraj, Vadivelu, Hareesh Peradi, and Kovai Sarala appear in pivotal supporting roles. It was a commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films in Tamil cinema, grossing more than ₹260 crores worldwide. Best director award for the film Mersal in SIIMA awards in 2018. The film became the recipient of various accolades. The film was released on 6 December 2018 in China by HGC Entertainment. Due to demand, the film was screened at the largest cinema theatre in Europe Grand Rex, France. The film was screened at the Hainan International Film Festival in Hainan, China and at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.[6]

Atlee directed his next film, Bigil (2019), a sports action drama, produced by AGS Entertainment. He reunited for the third and second time with Vijay and Nayanthara, respectively. It also starred Jackie Shroff, Vivek and Kathir in other prominent roles. The music was composed by A. R. Rahman. Upon release, it received fairly positive reviews and emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019, collecting ₹305 crore upon its release. It also became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all-time and one of the highest-grossing film of Vijay's career.[7]

He also ventured into producing films. In 2017, Atlee and his wife, Priya Atlee, started their own production house, A for Apple Productions. They jointly produced their first film with Fox Star Studios, Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae, a horror comedy, written and directed by Ike. It starred Jiiva, Sri Divya, and Soori in the lead roles.[8]

In 2020, Atlee and Priya produced their second film, Andhaghaaram, a supernatural horror thriller film, written and directed by V. Vignarajan. It was produced by Priya Atlee, alongside Sudhan Sundaram, and Jayaram, under their banner, Passion Studio and K. Poornachandra's O2 Pictures. It starred Arjun Das, Vinoth Kishan, and Kumar Natarajan in the lead roles along with Pooja Ramachandran and Meesha Ghoshal in supporting roles. It was released directly on Netflix for streaming, on 24 November 2020.[9]

Atlee made his debut in Hindi cinema with Jawan,[10] starring Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra, Riddhi Dogra, along with others. Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Dutt made a special appearance and cameo appearance, respectively, in the film. It was produced by Khan's wife, Gauri Khan, and Gaurav Verma, under Red Chillies Entertainment. The music was composed by Anirudh Ravichander. It released on 7 September 2023 to generally positive reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It set the record for a Hindi film grossing ₹129 crores (US$12.9 million) on its opening day. It grossed ₹520.79 crores worldwide in its opening weekend. It made about ₹1150 crores worldwide in its entire run and become an all-time blockbuster at the box office.[11]

Atlee and Priya produced their third film in Hindi with Baby John starring Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi; its remake of his Tamil film, Theri (2016). The music was composed by Thaman S.[12][13] He will be collaborating with Allu Arjun and Sai Abhyankkar in AA22, which is being produced by Kalanithi Maran, under Sun Pictures.[14][15]

## Personal life

[edit]

Atlee married actress Krishna Priya on 9 November 2014.[16] Their son was born on 13 January 2023.[17]

## Filmography

[edit]

### As director

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Language  | Notes

|
|
|

2011  | Mugaputhagam | Tamil | Short film
2013  | Raja Rani |
2016  | Theri |
2017  | Mersal |
2019  | Bigil | [18]
2023  | Jawan | Hindi |
TBA | AA22xA6 † | Telugu | Pre-production[19]

### As producer

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Language  | Notes

|
|
|

2017  | Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae | Tamil |
2020  | Andhaghaaram | Shot in 2014; Delayed release
2024 | Baby John | Hindi | Remake of Theri
Co-producer

### As actor

[edit]

List of guest appearances by Atlee in film  Year  | Title  | Role  | Languages  | Notes

|
|
|
|

2012 | Nanban | Film Director  | Tamil | In the song "Asku Laska"
2019 | Bigil | Football Player  | Tamil | In the song "Singappenney"
2023 | Jawan | Dancer  | Hindi | In the song "Zinda Banda"

### Recurring collaborations

[edit]

Editor Ruben, art director T. Muthuraj and actor Sai Dheena have worked on five of Atlee's films. Shobi and Yogi Babu has worked on four of his films. This list only concerns Atlee's directorial films.

Films | Ruben | T. Muthuraj | Sai Dheena | Shobi | Yogi Babu | Vijay | Nayanthara | G. K. Vishnu | Vivek (lyricist) | Manobala | Rajendran | Samantha Ruth Prabhu | Amritha Aiyer

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Raja Rani (2013) | Y | Y | Y |  | Y |  | Y | Y |
Theri (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Ydeleted scene | Y |  | Y | Y | Y | Yuncredited
Mersal (2017) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |  | Y | Y |  | Y | Y |
Bigil (2019)  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |  | Y
Jawan (2023)  | Y | Y | Y | Y | YTamil version  |  | Y | Y | Y Tamil version  |

## Plagiarism allegations

[edit]

Atlee's films, though commercially successful, have been criticized for having overly-familiar stories that have been done-to-death, starting from the 1980s of Tamil cinema. Raja Rani was described as an upgraded version of Mouna Ragam (1986), while Theri was described as having been highly inspired by Chatriyan (1990). Chatriyan was produced by veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam, while Mouna Ragam was the latter's own directional film.[20] Mersal was described as an upgraded version of Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989) as well as Moondru Mugam (1982).[21] Bigil was described as "Chak De! India on steroids".[22] Atlee has countered that, despite having been sued for plagiarism numerous times, he has won all the cases filed against him.[23]

## Accolades

[edit]

Film | Award | Category | Result | Ref

|
|
|
|

Raja Rani | Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 2013 | Best Dialogue Writer | Won  | [24]
Edison Awards | Best Debut Director  | Won  |
8th Vijay Awards | Best Debut Director  | Won  | [25]
Best Story, Screenplay Writer | Nominated
Best Dialogue  | Nominated
3rd SIIMA Awards | Best Debut Director  | Nominated  |
Theri | 2nd IIFA Utsavam | Best Director – Tamil  | Won  | [26]
6th SIIMA Awards | Best Director – Tamil  | Won  | [27]
64th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director – Tamil | Nominated  | [28]
Mersal | Edison Awards 2018 | Best Director  | Won  | [29]
65th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director – Tamil | Nominated  | [30]
7th SIIMA Awards | Best Director  | Won  | [31]
10th Vijay Awards | Favourite Director | Won  | [32]
[33]
Best Dialogue  | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Times of India (16 January 2017). "Atlee announces this wedding date!". Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
2. ^ Saraswathi, S (12 April 2016). "'Theri portrays a new side to Vijay'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
3. ^ "Raja Rani crosses 50 crore mark". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
4. ^ "8th Annual Vijay Awards a grand success". The Times of India. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
5. ^ "India's Vijay Scores New Personal Record With Excellent 'Theri' Debut". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
6. ^ Cain, Rob. "Vijay's 'Mersal' Rules Overseas With ₹20 Cr./$3M Start". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
7. ^ "Did Vijay's 'Bigil' incur losses at the box office despite being the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019?". The Times of India. 28 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
8. ^ "Sangili Bungili... star cast gets bigger". Deccan Chronicle. 23 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
9. ^ "Atlee's Andhaghaaram to release on Netflix". The Indian Express. 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
10. ^ "'A dream come true': Atlee, Anirudh Ravichander express excitement about working with Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan". The Indian Express. 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
11. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (7 September 2023). "Jawan Box Office Collection | India | Day Wise | Box Office - Bollywood Hungama". Retrieved 13 May 2025.
12. ^ "Baby John's box office clues: From weak marketing to the Pushpa 2 tsunami, trade analysts reveal why Varun Dhawan's big gamble misfired". Bollywood Hungama. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
13. ^ "Varun Dhawan's 'Baby John' a complete dud at box office, loses 2.5k shows in a week: Report". Business Today. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
14. ^ https://www.filmfare.com/news/south/salman-khan-and-atlees-500-crore-film-put-on-hold-71640.html
15. ^ "Atlee's next is with 'Pushpa' star Allu Arjun, Salman Khan project on hold".
16. ^ "Atlee-Krishna Priya Wedding Reception Photos". International Business Times. 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
17. ^ "Jawan director Atlee Kumar and wife Priya reveal name of baby boy, share family photo". The Economic Times. 7 May 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
18. ^ "Before Thalapathy 63: The films Atlee has been accused of plagiarising". India Today. Chennai. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
19. ^ "Allu Arjun and Atlee team up for massive sci-fi film, announced by Sun Pictures". Cinema Express. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
20. ^ "Before Thalapathy 63: The films Atlee has been accused of plagiarising". India Today. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
21. ^ "Mersal is indebted to Kamal Haasan's Aboorva Sagotharargal, as much as Baahubali to Thevar Magan". The Indian Express. 21 October 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
22. ^ "Shahrukh Khan calls Bigil trailer, Chak De India on steroids". Cinema Express. 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
23. ^ "Assistant director to being Ambani's guest, Atlee's growth is a huge inspiration". India Today. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
24. ^ "TN Govt. announces Tamil Film Awards for six years". The Hindu. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
25. ^ Sangeetha, Seshagiri (6 July 2014). "Vijay Awards: Ajith's 'Arrambam', Kamal Haasan, Sivakarthikeyan Bag Awards [Winners List]". IB Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
26. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (14 March 2017). "IIFA South Utsavam Awards 2017: Here is the complete nomination list for Tamil movies". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
27. ^ "SIIMA 2017 Nomination List – Tamil". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
28. ^ "Tamil Nominations for Filmfare Awards South 2017". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
29. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (26 February 2018). "Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Mersal sweeps Edison Awards [winners' list]". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
30. ^ "Nominations for the 65th Jio Filmfare Awards (South) 2018". Filmfare. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
31. ^ Goyal, Divya (15 August 2018). "SIIMA 2018 Nominations: Vijay's Mersal Beats Madhavan And Vijay Sethupathi's Vikram Vedha". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
32. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (4 June 2018). "Vijay Awards 2018: Here is the complete list of winners [Photos]". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
33. ^ "The Glitzy Night is Here!". Hotstar. 16 June 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
"Stars of the Night". Hotstar. 17 June 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlee (director).

* Atlee Kumar at IMDb
* Atlee Kumar at Rotten Tomatoes
* Atlee on Twitter

* v
* t
* e

Atlee

Directed|

* Mugaputhagam (2011)
* Raja Rani (2013)
* Theri (2016)
* Mersal (2017)
* Bigil (2019)
* Jawan (2023)

Produced|

* Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae (2017)
* Andhaghaaram (2020)
* Baby John (2024)

*[m.]: married
*[TBA]: To be announced
*[†]: Film has not yet been released
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template