Hari | |
|---|---|
 Hari at the62nd Filmfare South Awards | |
| Born | Hari Krishnan[1] (1973-12-26)26 December 1973 (age 51) Katchanavilai Village,Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation | Film directorScreenwriter |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Spouse | Preetha Hari |
| Children | 3 |
Harikrishnan is an Indian film director and screenwriter best known for hisaction andmasala films inTamil cinema. He made his directorial debut withThamizh (2002).[2] He later directed films such asSaamy (2003),Kovil (2004),Ayya (2005),Thaamirabharani (2007),Vel (2007) and theSingam film series (2010-2017). He mostly directedCoimbatore,Dindigul,Tenkasi andThoothukudi-Tirunelveli district based movies.
Hari was born on 26 December 1973 in theThoothukudi district inTamil Nadu, India. His father, Gopalakrishnan, runs a grocery store.[3] Later, his family moved to Chennai, where Hari graduated with a degree in Commerce.[4]
Hari first joined as an assistant, gaining experience by working with various directors;Senthilnathan, Jeevabalan,Ameerjan,K. Natraj inValli,Alex Pandian,Nassar inAvatharam.[4] Later, he assistedK. Balachander in his filmKalki and worked as an associate director withSaran in the filmsAmarkalam,Parthen Rasithen andAlli Arjuna.[5][6][7]
His first film, in 2002, wasThamizh, withPrashanth andSimran. Film critic Balaji commented that it was "one of the few movies in recent times where a lot of importance seems to have been attached to the script. In spite of the flimsy story and routine screenplay where a youth grows to be a "dada", the dialogs elevate the quality of the movie and make it very enjoyable".[8] His second filmSaamy, under the Kavithaalaya banner, starredVikram. It was named the year's biggest hit,[9] grossing₹160 million.[10] Its success led to remakes; in Telugu (Lakshmi Narasimha),[11] Kannada (Ayya)[12] and Hindi languages (Policegiri).[13] His next two filmsKovil, withSilambarasan andArul also starred Vikram. In 2005, he madeAyya, starringSarathkumar, which introducedNayantara to Tamil cinema. His next film wasAaru, withSuriya in 2005. In 2007, he directed two films,Thaamirabharani withVishal andVel, with Suriya. In 2008, he directedSeval, withBharath. Ayyappa Prasad from Nowrunning.com stated that Hari "panders to the taste of his rural audience all the way, but the movie is bound to disappoint city-dwellers, since neither the story nor its treatment appeal to anyone with high IQ."[14]
In 2010 Hari directed his tenth filmSingam, with Suriya, marking their third collaboration. The film was one of the top box office films of the year,[15] although reviewers identified it as a standard masala entertainer.[16][17] Following its success, the film was remade in Hindi (asSingham), in Kannada (asKempe Gowda) and Bengali (Shotru).[18][19] After directingVenghai, a film withDhanush andTamannaah Bhatia in the lead, he madea sequel toSingam, with Suriya reprising his role as Duraisingam. It was named one of the biggest box office hits of 2013,[20][21] with Sify stating that it was "the biggest theatrical earner" of the year.[22] He worked for the second time withVishal, in a film titledPoojai,[23] which hadShruti Haasan as the female lead.[24] Hari joined with Suriya for the fifth time for (Singam 3). He is shootingSaamy Square, the sequel ofSaamy starringVikram in the lead role. This film marks the third collaboration between Hari and Vikram. The film has met with mixed response.[25] AfterSaamy Square, Hari will most likely team up with Suriya yet again. Earlier, director Hari revealed that his next project with Suriya would not beSingam 4, but a fresh script. In an interview with an entertainment portal, Hari has disclosed details about this untitled film. In February 2020,Studio Green officially announced that Hari's next movie with Surya would be titled "Aruvaa", and would be released in Diwali 2020, but now Suriya has proceeded with his other projects and it is uncertain whether Aruvaa will happen or not.[26] He started working with actor and also his brother-in-law,Arun Vijay, in their first collaboration, titledYaanai who was released in 2022.[27] The next wasRathnam (2024) marks the third collaboration withVishal. it was received good reviews from movie critics.[28]
Hari is married to former actressPreetha Vijayakumar, the daughter ofVijayakumar andManjula, half-sister of actorArun Vijay, and has three sons.[29]
Hari's films are usually fast-paced and are primarily in theaction andmasala genres. Due to his penchant for such films, Hari has been nicknamed as the "aruva director" as thearuva (sickle) is present in most of his films. Hari has recurring elements in his films which include "ferocious" protagonists, humorous subplots anditem numbers.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Thamizh | Directorial Debut |
| 2003 | Saamy | |
| 2004 | Kovil | |
| Arul | ||
| 2005 | Ayya | |
| Aaru | ||
| 2007 | Thaamirabharani | |
| Vel | ||
| 2008 | Seval | |
| 2010 | Singam | |
| 2011 | Venghai | |
| 2013 | Singam II | |
| 2014 | Poojai | |
| 2017 | Singam 3 | |
| 2018 | Saamy Square | |
| 2022 | Yaanai | |
| 2024 | Rathnam | |
| TBA | Prashanth 55 |
| Year | Film | Song | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Thaamirabharani | Thaaliye Thevaiyillai | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
| 2007 | Vel | Thoppul Kodi and Otraikannale | |
| 2008 | Seval | "Thayaramma" and "Thulasi Chediya" | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
| 2011 | Venghai | Yenna Solla Pore and Pudikkudhu. | Devi Sri Prasad |
| 2017 | Singam 3 | Vettai Theme and Wi Wi Wi Wi Wifi | Harris Jayaraj |
| 2022 | Yaanai | Ganapathy Saranam, Deiva Magale and Edhanaala Varutham | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
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| Artists | |
| People | |
