Arun Kumar, affectionately known as Atlee, has established himself as a bankable name in the Tamil cinema business despite having directed only a handful of films so far. He began his career as S. Shankar’s assistant director on the Rajnikanth-starring Enthiran (2010), which was dubbed as Robot in Hindi, and the Aamir Khan-starring 3 Idiots remake Nanban (2012).
With the critically acclaimed movie Raja Rani, Arun made his directorial debut, set records, and won numerous awards, including the Vijay Award for Best Debut Director. He will soon make his Bollywood debut opposite none other than Shah Rukh Khan.
Quick look at Atlee’s filmography
Rani Raja (2013)
Raja Rani, Atlee’s romantic drama debut film, stars Arya, Jai, Nayanthara, and Nazriya Nazim. It won Atlee the 2013 Edison Awards, 3rd SIIMA Awards, and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Theri (2016)
Vijay co-starred in this action thriller with Samantha Prabhu and Amy Jackson, which was written and directed by Atlee. The movie became the second-highest-grossing Tamil and South Indian film of 2016. It then went on to win 2 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, 3 SIIMA Awards, and 3 IIFA Utsavam Awards. One of the best films of Vijay’s career, the movie got up to 9 nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards South.
Mersal (2017)
Another Atlee and Vijay collaboration. The soundtrack was composed by A.R. Rahman, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kajal Aggarwal, and Nithya Menen also starred. The movie received screenings in France, China, and South Korea and was well-received both in India and abroad. One of the highest-grossing Tamil movies to date is the one in question. 11 nominations at the 65th Filmfare Awards South, including Best Director, and won 2, including big wins at International awards among others.
Bigil (2019)
The sports-drama movie, which once again had Vijay in a dual role, repeatedly set records. It also broke the Rs 300 crore club when it was released, making it one of the highest-grossing Tamil movies of 2019. As well as Vijay’s career, it quickly became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time!
Upcoming films
Jawan
Atlee will debut in Bollywood as a director with Jawan. Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sanya Malhotra, Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, Priyamani, and Sunil Grover are just a few of the film’s impressive cast members. It is produced by Gauri Khan. The music for the next movie will be handled by Why this Kolaveri Di famed and award-winning music producer Anirudh Ravichander.
