Velu Prabhakaran

Biography:

Actor, cinematographer, and filmmaker Velu Prabakaran hails from India. His films are renowned for their themes of atheism and revolutionary issues.

Velu Prabakaran started out as a cinematographer before directing his first horror movie, Nalaya Manithan (1989), and its follow-up, Adhisaya Manithan (1990). After that, he produced two more action movies under R. K. Selvamani’s banner, Rajali and Asuran, both of which were box office busts. He then worked on action films with lead characters, who often featured as a revolutionary, making Kadavul (1997), Sivan (1999) and Puratchikkaaran (2000). In 2000, he began pre-production on a film titled Deepavali and approached Kamal Haasan to play the lead role. However, the actor’s rejection meant that the project was later shelved.

Velu Prabakaran wrote the story, screenplay, and language for the movie Kadhal Arangam before starting production on it in 2004. Although he later handed his brother Velu Raja the director’s credits, he stated that the film, which starred Shirley Das and Preethi Rangayani in key parts, would unveil the lies of Kama in society. The movie also examines sexuality and challenges the dominant caste structure. Because of the offensive sequences, the censors refused to grant it a certificate, and in December 2004, a dispute with the censor board arose.

During a press conference in December 2006, Velu Prabakaran made an emotional plea, noting that the film addressed social issues and emphasized the value of sex education for children. The team ultimately decided in 2009 to mute certain dialogue and tone down several scenes.

They also altered the title from Kadhal Arangam to Kadhal Kathai in order to make a concession to the film’s censors. Velu Prabakaran, who also serves as the film’s director, included a lengthy scene in the title credits that details his thoughts and challenges regarding the film’s distribution, pointing out that some of the material was autobiographical.

Critics gave the picture extremely bad reviews when it first came out, with one critic writing, “the movie has apparently no script or whatever and is a string of events interspersed with sex scenes. It’s too boring to even qualify as a sex flick,” said another critic, calling the movie “unwatchable.”

He agreed to direct a movie called Devadasi, which was produced by JSK Film Corporation in 2009 and told the story of a romance from the 16th century. However, due to delays, he started two other projects: Kalainganin Kadhal, in which he would play the lead part, and Mugamoodi Koothu.