G. Marimuthu (12 July 1966 – 8 September 2023) was an Indian actor and film director who worked in theTamil film and TV industries. He made his debut as a director withKannum Kannum (2008), followed byPulivaal (2014). As an actor, he was best known for the TV seriesEthirneechal.^[1] Known for his humour and improvisation, Marimuthu's Tamil film career spanned nearly three decades.

In 1988^[2] or 1990,^[3] G. Marimuthu left his home at the village Pasumalaitheri in Theni and headed toChennai to become a film director. He hailed from a family whose livelihood was primarily linked to agriculture.^[4] He was interested in entering the film industry after watchingBharathiraja's directorialMuthal Mariyathai which had its theatrical release in 1985. He was inspired to enter the film industry also due to the fact that the crew members ofMuthal Mariyathai including director Bharathiraja, music composerIlaiyaraaja and lyricist Vairamuthu also hailed fromTheni district, Marimuthu's birthplace. Prior to his ambition of joining the film industry, he pursued his higher studies at an engineering college inSivakasi.^[5]

After initially working as a waiter at hotels, he became acquainted with the lyricistVairamuthu through their common interest in literature, before becoming an assistant director withRajkiran for his filmsAranmanai Kili (1993) andEllame En Rasathan (1995).^[3]

In an interview withSun TV, he revealed that he wanted to work as an assistant director withBharathiraja, but insisted that since he was being an outsider he was often ignored and highlighted that those who enter into industry with nepotism and some sort of connection could get a chance to work as assistant director to Bharathiraja.^[6]

Marimuthu then continued to work as an assistant director with filmmakers such asMani Ratnam,Vasanth,Seeman,Rajiv Menon andS. J. Surya, before co-directingSilambarasan's filmManmadhan (2004).^[7] He notably worked as an assistant director forAasai (1995),Nerrukku Ner (1997),Vaalee (1999),Poovellam Kettuppar (1999),Kushi (2000),Rhythm (2000),Udhaya (2004),New (2004), andAnbe Aaruyire (2005).^[8]

Marimuthu made his directorial debut withKannum Kannum (2008), a romantic film starringPrasanna andUdhayathara. The film did not perform well at the box office but won critical acclaim. The Behindwoods Movie Review Board wrote "G. Marimuthu, debuting with story, screenplay, dialogue and direction has provided us with one of the cleanest, most honest and endearing love stories of recent times".^[9] Moviebuzz noted "Marimuthu is a welcome addition to the brave new directors in Tamil cinema, who are trying their best within the commercial format to give a different type of love story".^[10] Marimuthu then directedPulivaal (2014), developing the film's story from the Malayalam filmChaappa Kurishu (2011).^[11]

In the 2010s after the failure of his directorial films, he focused on acting and featured in supporting roles in Tamil films.Mysskin introduced him as an actor inYuddham Sei (2011), in which he played a corrupt police officer. The success of the film prompted him to star in films includingAarohanam (2012),Nimirndhu Nil (2014), andKomban (2015), often featuring as police officer. His performance inMarudhu (2016) promptedVishal to sign him on to feature inKaththi Sandai (2016).^[12] He also rose to prominence for his acting inMari Selvaraj's directorialPariyerum Perumal (2018) which became a cult classic.^[13] He also played a minor role inLokesh Kanagaraj's directorialVikram (2022). He played negative role inNelson Dilipkumar's directorialJailer (2023), which eventually marked his last feature film prior to his untimely death.^[14] His last notable film wasKamal Hassan'sIndian 2 where he played Siddharth's uncle.

He debuted in television serials in 2022 as the main antagonist inEthirneechal. He was praised for his screen presence, dialogue delivery, punch dialogues and for his natural way of acting in theEthirneechal serial as Aadhimuthu Gunasekaran.^[15]

Marimuthu died on 8 September 2023 due to cardiac arrest^[16][17] andpulmonary edema. The actor was dubbing forEthirneechal when the heart attack occurred.^[18][19]

• G. Marimuthu atIMDb

• 1967 births
• 2023 deaths
• Tamil film directors
• Indian male film actors
• Film directors from Tamil Nadu
• Male actors in Tamil cinema
• People from Theni district
• Male actors from Tamil Nadu
• 21st-century Indian male actors

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• CS1 Tamil-language sources (ta)
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