A. Karunakaran
Born
Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)Director, writer, screenwriter.
Years active1996–present
Children2

A. Karunakaran (born 25 December 1971) is a Telugu film director known for Tholi Prema (1998), Happy (2006), Ullasamga Utsahamga (2008) and Darling (2010).[1]

Career

Karunakaran began his career as a clap director for Kadhal Desam (1996) after Sasi introduced him to Kathir.[2] He worked as an assistant to Bhagyaraj and Shankar before making his directorial debut with Tholi Prema (1998). He conceived the script while in Madras and cast Pawan Kalyan after seeing him in a magazine.[1] Tholi Prema was a box office success.[1] His second film Yuvakudu was Bhumika Chawla's first film.[1] The film was unsuccessful.[1] His next film Vasu (2002) was not very successful at the box office, but garnered a cult following over the years.[3] Karunakaran collaborated with Pawan Kalyan for Balu ABCDEFG (2005), but the film was a failure unlike Tholi Prema.[4][5] The following year, Happy (2006), based on the Tamil film Azhagiya Theeye (2004) released and was a box office success.[6] Karunakaran garnered acclaim for Ullasamga Utsahamga (2008) starring newcomer Yasho Sagar.[7] Darling (2010) released to positive reviews.[8] He then directed a bilingual titled Endhukante Premanta in Telugu and Yen Endral Kadhal Enben in Tamil.[9] The Telugu version released to negative reviews while the Tamil version was never released.[10] Chinnadana Nee Kosam (2014) and Tej I Love You (2018) released to mixed reviews.[11][12]

Filmography

Year Film Director Writer Notes
1998 Tholi Prema Yes Yes Cameo appearance
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu[2]
2000 Yuvakudu Yes Yes
2002 Vasu Yes Yes Cameo appearance
2005 Balu ABCDEFG Yes Yes
2006 Happy Yes Screenplay
2008 Ullasamga Utsahamga Yes Yes Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer[13]
2010 Darling Yes Yes
2012 Endhukante Premanta Yes Yes Simultaneously shot in Tamil as Yen Endral Kadhal Enben[2]
2014 Chinnadana Nee Kosam Yes Yes
2018 Tej I Love You Yes Yes

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Jeevi (12 July 2001). "Interview with Karunakaran". Idlebrain.
  2. ^ a b c Manigandan, K.R. (28 April 2012). "Tale of triumph". The Hindu.
  3. ^ ""Vaasu" completes 19 Years: Venkatesh's fans reminisce the musical masterpiece". The Times of India. 10 April 2021.
  4. ^ Vijayalaxmi (15 May 2003). "Johnny sinks, but Pawan Kalyan remains afloat". Rediff.
  5. ^ "Baalu ABCDEFG". Sify. 10 January 2005. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Bunny boy is now his own man - Kannada News". IndiaGlitz.com. 28 February 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ Ullasanga Utsahanga is a good watch
  8. ^ "Darling Review". Times of india. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  9. ^ Manigandan, K.R. (16 April 2012). "New kid on the block". The Hindu.
  10. ^ "Endukante Premanta Alternate review". idlebrain.com. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Review : Chinnadana Nee Kosam- Routine but Entertaining". 123Telugu. 26 December 2014.
  12. ^ "Tej I Love You Movie Review {2/5}: Dull and predictable". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Nandi awards 2008 announced - Telugu cinema news". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
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