View source for G. N. R. Kumaravelan

{{short description|Tamil film director (born 1978)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = G. N. R. Kumaravelan
| image        = Director G. N. R. Kumaravelan.jpg
| imagesize    = 
| caption      = 
| birth_name   = G. N. Rangaraja Kumaravelan
| birth_date   = {{b-da|22 November 1978}}<ref>http://www.iflicks.in/StarPage/Director/GNR-Kumaravelan</ref>
| birth_place  = [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| othername    = 
| yearsactive  = 2009 – present
| spouse       = R. Uma Vanishri
| website      = 
| notable role = 
| occupation   = Film director
}}

'''G. N. R. Kumaravelan''' is an Indian film director, who works in Tamil cinema. After assisting directors [[Balu Mahendra]] and [[Kamal Haasan]] in their films, Kumaravelan's directorial debut was the 2009 film ''[[Ninaithale Inikkum (2009 film)|Ninaithale Inikkum]]'', and his second was the 2011 film ''[[Yuvan Yuvathi]]''. His third film ''[[Haridas (2013 film)|Haridas]]'' (2013), led to him being nominated for the [[Filmfare Award for Best Director&nbsp;– Tamil|Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director]].

==Career==

===1980s-1990s: Early life, work===
Kumaravelan is the son of former director [[G. N. Rangarajan]], who had extensively collaborated with actor [[Kamal Haasan]] in his career, directing films including ''[[Kalyanaraman (1979 film)|Kalyanaraman]]'' (1979), ''[[Meendum Kokila]]'' (1981) and ''[[Maharasan]]'' (1993).<ref>http://www.nowrunning.com/news/news.aspx?it=18880</ref> Kumaravelan worked as an assistant director under [[Balu Mahendra]] in ''[[Sathi Leelavathi (1995 film)|Sathi Leelavathi]]'' (1995) and then in [[Kamal Haasan]]'s unreleased ventures ''[[Ladies Only]]'' and ''[[Marudhanayagam]]''.<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/fun-unlimited/article2376204.ece</ref>

===2009-12: Early directing===
{{Main|Ninaithale Inikkum (2009 film)|Yuvan Yuvathi}}
Kumaravelan's first feature film was the 2009 mystery drama film ''[[Ninaithale Inikkum (2009 film)|Ninaithale Inikkum]]'', a remake of the 2006 Malayalam film ''[[Classmates (2006 film)|Classmates]]''. Featuring an ensemble cast including [[Prithviraj Sukumaran|Prithviraj]], [[Shakthi Vasudevan|Shakthi]], [[Karthik Kumar]], [[Priyamani]] and [[Anuja Iyer]]; the film was marketed by [[Sun Pictures]] and was super hit run at the box office. He then began pre-production on a film featuring [[R. Madhavan]] in the lead role, but the venture eventually did not materialise.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150924101720/http://www.sify.com/carnaticmusic/season2003/fullstory.php?id=14918378 sify.com]</ref><ref>http://www.indiaglitz.com/madhavan-turns-script-writer-tamil-news-51118</ref>

His second film was the romantic comedy, ''[[Yuvan Yuvathi]]'' featuring [[Bharath (actor)|Bharath]], [[Rima Kallingal]] and [[N. Santhanam|Santhanam]]. The film received mixed reviews after release in August 2011, with a critic noting that "Yuvan Yuvathi feels like being stuffed with stale food. You're likely to regurgitate".,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/8294/tamil/yuvan-yuvathi/3289/review.htm |title=Yuvan Yuvathi Review&nbsp;— Tamil Movie Review by Rohit Ramachandran |publisher=Nowrunning.com |date=2011-08-26|accessdate=2011-08-26}}</ref> though Malathi Rangarajan from [[The Hindu]] stated, "A predictable yet enjoyable finish to a love story that sparkles with the energy of youth!".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2403063.ece | title=It's a carnival out there | publisher=The Hindu | date=27 August 2011 | accessdate=14 February 2012 | author=Malathi Rangarajan}}</ref>

===2013: ''Haridas''===
{{Main|Haridas (2013 film)}}
Kumaravelan then moved on to make ''[[Haridas (2013 film)|Haridas]]'' (2013), a drama film starring [[Kishore (actor, born 1974)|Kishore]] and [[Sneha (actress)|Sneha]] revolving around the issues of caring for an autistic child, played by Prithviraj Das. The film opened to largely positive reviews from critics, with Sify.com noting that the film"rugs at your heartstrings, and urges you to introspect and makes you look at children with disability differently."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/haridas-not-to-be-missed-review-tamil-15020600.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313095522/http://www.sify.com/movies/haridas-not-to-be-missed-review-tamil-15020600.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-03-13 |title=Haridas review by Sify|publisher=Sify|date=2013-02-21|accessdate=2013-02-21}}</ref> Other reviews from ''[[The Hindu]]'' rated the movie "deserves to be supported.",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/film-review-haridas-story-of-action-and-emotions/article4446268.ece |title=Haridas review by Hindu|publisher=The Hindu|date=2013-02-23|accessdate=2013-02-23}}</ref> while Behindwoods.com wrote that the movie was an "honourable tribute to parental love and sacrifice."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/haridas/haridas-movie-review.html |title=Haridas review by Behindwoods|publisher= Behindwoods|date=2013-02-23|accessdate=2013-02-23}}</ref>

The film was recognized at award ceremonies and film festivals, being nominated for a Filmfare Award and receiving second place at the [[Chennai International Film Festival|11th Chennai International Film Festival]].<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news-interviews/GNR-Kumaravelan-moved/articleshow/27965560.cms</ref>

===2016: Wagah===
In 2014, he was working on the pre-production of a film starring [[Vikram Prabhu]] and approached [[Alia Bhatt]] to play the leading female role. However, in June 2014, the producers shelved the venture citing financial restraints.<ref>[http://www.sify.com/movies/vikram-prabhu-to-team-up-with-g-n-r-kumaravelan-news-tamil-nlesX3hgabasi.html sify.com]</ref><ref>http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-14/alia-bhatt-to-romance-vikram-prabhu-in-gnr-kumaravelans-flick.html</ref> The producers again started the venture. The project was called [[Wagah]] which would be a cross border romance between an Indian soldier and a Pakistani girl and instead of Alia Bhatt newcomer [[Ranya Rao]] was selected to play Vikram Prabhu's love interest. The film released on 12 August 2016 to highly negative reviews from critics as well as audiences.

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-  style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year !! Film !! Language !! Notes
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Ninaithale Inikkum (2009 film)|Ninaithale Inikkum]]'' || [[Tamil language|Tamil]] || 
|-
| 2011 || ''[[Yuvan Yuvathi]]'' || Tamil || 
|-
| 2013 || ''[[Haridas (2013 film)|Haridas]]'' || Tamil || Nominated - [[Filmfare Award for Best Director&nbsp;– Tamil|Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director]]
|-
|2016 || ''[[Wagah (film)|Wagah]]'' || Tamil ||
|-
|TBA||''[[Sinam (2020 film)|Sinam]]'' || Tamil ||
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=5936406|name=Kumaravelan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumaravelan, G. N. R.}}
[[Category:Tamil film directors]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Film directors from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian film directors]]