There are television actors who have gone on to become biggest movie stars. How often do you hear a story about a talented storyteller, who became famous on TV before he or she went on to make it big in Indian movies? The Tamil film industry relies heavily on Naalaya Iyakunar, a popular talent show on Kalaignar TV. The stage celebrated new talents that explained the last decade of Tamil cinema.
Filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj, who is celebrating his 38th birthday today, was found on the show. His transition from a software engineer to a leading Tamil filmmaker is a storytelling material. He retired with high pay and was able to come and live in France to build his passion for cinema. It was a huge leap of faith, which paid off beautifully.
Karthik resigned after being selected as Naalaya Iyakunar’s partner. And he never failed to impress the judges and the audience week after week with his short films. He later emerged as the winner of the first season. Two years later, he made his first famous film called Pizza. And today ‘A Karthik Subbaraj Film’ is a brand in its own right that draws the audience to the box office, no matter which star plays the lead role. If the star at the head of his film is Rajinikanth or Vikram, it is an advantage.
On his birthday here are all the movies with him, rated. Karthik has made five major films so far, with the exception of the short pieces he has contributed to the anthologies of Bench Talkies and Putham Pudhu Kaalai. And his latest film Jagame Thandhiram is yet to be released, so it goes unnoticed.
5. Mercury
Mercury is a silent slave led by Karthik Subbaraj
With no conversations and heavy subject matter, Mercury clarifies the situation of the lesser-known ones who have to pay the price for development. Set in a beautiful backdrop, the horror film revolves around environmental destruction with physical greed and the lifelong impact that innocents suffer.
You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime Video.
4. Iraivi
On the surface, it’s a story about a group of men digging their own grave because of the momentary weakening of the judgments. But, take a closer look, it is largely a statement of masculinity and has now come to define every aspect of our lives. In this film, Karthik also shows how society has embraced the institutional violence of women for over many generations. And how families normalize inequalities between men and women. Stereotyping gender roles, urging women to show high-minded tolerance for all male dissatisfaction, rescue syndrome, and old age regret, Karthik explores into every tenure of male-centric society in this film. And the film has been further enhanced by the performances of a high-profile star.
3. Petta
Rajinikanth in Petta.
This film was a real atmosphere in the collection of Rajinikanth films that we have found in the last ten years. Karthik made great strides in bringing ‘vintage Rajini’ back on screen. And redefined how today’s Rajinikanth films are made. Filmmaker Petta was taking a nostalgic journey down a memorable series full of old Rajinikanth films. The actor’s nostalgia is now a thing in itself. In this film, Rajinikanth played a character who was calm, villainous, funny and very pragmatic. His character was larger than life, but still human.
You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime Video.
2. Pizza
This is the film that put Karthik on the map. It came at a time when small budget movies were making huge profits at the box office in Tamil Nadu. It was also the time, the industry was waking up because a good script is the main requirement for making a good film. And this film reaffirmed that belief. He benefits from Karthik as an aa writer and as a filmmaker. This film became a calling card for Vijay Sethupathi.
You can watch this movie on Sun NXT.
1. Jigarthanda:
Bobby Simhaa in Jigarthanda.
This is the film that announced the arrival of Karthik Subbaraj to the Tamil film industry. It showed that it was not a one-time surprise and that he was here to stay. The film follows the efforts of progressive filmmaker Karthik Subramani, who exploits Sethu’s dangerous criminal “attack” as part of the search for his film mob. What happens when Karthik is caught betrayed while Sethu commits a double murder? Drama. This film is a powerful example of the power of art in transforming people.
You can watch this movie on Disney plus Hotstar.