One of Tamil cinema's most unique and influential directors, Pa. Ranjith turns 40 today! He is one of the very few Indian directors in the film industry whose works revolve around politics, caste, and many more social issues occurring today. Check out these facts about the well-known filmmaker below.
One of Tamil cinema's most unique and influential directors has turned 40 today! Pa. Ranjith is one of the few filmmakers in the industry whose works revolve around politics, caste, and many more social issues that occur to date. (File photo)
Ranjith was born at Karalapakkam, Avadi, Chennai. Although there's not much information about where he did his schooling, we do know that he graduated from the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. (Photo | Government College of Fine Arts website)
Ranjith was initially not much interested in films until college, when he joined the film chamber and began watching world cinema, regularly attending annual film festivals. (Photo | Representational image only)
He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi. (Photo | YouTube)
However, he gained recognition only after his second film, Madras (2014) which happens to be a political drama. (Photo | YouTube)
Ranjith joined the film industry as an assistant director and first worked on Shiva Shanmugam's Thagapansamy (2006), before moving on to apprentice under filmmaker Venkat Prabhu. (Venkat Prabhu photo | Cinema Express)
Ranjith always had a keen interest in politics; in fact, he is very vocal and open about his political views, opinions on caste, and other social issues. (Representational image of the 2022 romantic musical drama which revolved around love and casteism)
He once did a play in college called 'How To Kill God' for which he decided to be an atheist for a day just to see what happens. Since nothing did, he remained an atheist. (Image used for representational purpose only)
Ranjith met his wife, Anitha during undergrad. They fell in love and got married in a private ceremony. They have two kids, a daughter, Maghizini, and a son, Miliran. (Photo | Pa. Ranjith Twitter)
He has bagged many awards such as the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA), Edison Awards, Filmfare Awards South, as well as the 'Filmmaker of the Decade' award by OTTPlay Awards. (Photo | YouTube screengrab)
In two of his films, Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018) Superstar Rajinikanth played the lead role. (File photo | PTI)
Ranjith extended his social work in another form through 'Neelam Panpattu Maiyam' (Neelam Cultural Centre). As part of this initiative, in honour of the 100 years of Dalit struggle, life-sized sculptures were established and the efforts of the Dalit activists were documented. (Photo | Neelam Panpattu Maiyam Facebook)
Neelam Cultural Centre collaborated with the label Madras Records to form a 19-piece band called 'The Casteless Collective' that includes four rappers, seven instrumentalists, and eight gaana musicians, a popular folk music style in Tamil Nadu. The band's name was inspired by a phrase – 'jaathi bedha matra Tamilargal' – used by Tamil anti-caste activist and writer C Iyothee Thass. (Photo | The Casteless Collective Facebook)
As a director, Pa. Ranjith still admits that he feels better directing low-budget films. (Photo | Pa. Ranjith Instagram)
A Washington Post profile described him as: 'the first commercially successful Dalit filmmaker in India, featuring Dalit characters as heroes and highlighting caste oppression, which remains entrenched in the country despite decades of affirmative action and anti-discrimination laws.' (Photo | Pa. Ranjith Instagram)
