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{{short description|Indian film director}}
{{short description|Indian film director and screenwriter}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
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| birth_name        = K. V. Saravanan<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tamilfilmdirectorsassociation.com/profile.php?sno=1640 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302115606/http://tamilfilmdirectorsassociation.com/profile.php?sno=1640 |archive-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| birth_name        = K. V. Saravanan<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tamilfilmdirectorsassociation.com/profile.php?sno=1640 |title=TANTIS |access-date=2 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302115606/http://tamilfilmdirectorsassociation.com/profile.php?sno=1640 |archive-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1966|06|16}}
| birth_place        = [[Coimbatore]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| birth_place        = [[Coimbatore]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| occupation        = Director, producer
| occupation        = [[Film director]], [[screenwriter]]
| yearsactive        = 1998 – present
| yearsactive        = 1998–present
| spouse            =  
| spouse            = Shoba
| children          = 2
}}
}}
'''K. V. Saravanan''', better known as '''Saran''', is an Indian film director active mainly in [[Tamil cinema]]. He was once an assistant to [[K. Balachander]]. He owns production houses called ''Gemini Productions'' and ''Saran movie factory''.
'''K. V. Saravanan''', better known as '''Saran''', is an Indian film director and screenwriter who active mainly in [[Tamil cinema]]. He was once an assistant to [[K. Balachander]]. He owns a production house called Gemini Productions.


==Early life==
==Early life and career==
Saran's father T. Kulandaivelayudam worked with the directorate of examinations and many of his relatives are teachers. He finished diploma in visual communications from the College of Arts And Crafts and became an instructor in textile designing.
{{BLP sources section|date=November 2022}}
Saran's father T. Kulandaivelayudam worked with the directorate of examinations and many of his relatives are teachers. He finished diploma in visual communications from the College of Arts And Crafts and became an instructor in textile designing. Saran worked as instructor for a year and, during this time, he did some work with a lady called Mohana who was art director for [[K. Balachander]]. KB was the director whom Saran admired above all others. Saran hoped this relationship would be the key to get to him. He joined as an assistant director to KB when he was making ''[[Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal (film)|Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal]]'' (1989).


Saran worked as instructor for a year and, during this time, he did some work with a lady called Mohana who was art director for [[K. Balachander]]. KB was the director whom Saran admired above all others. Saran hoped this relationship would be the key to get to him.
By then, Saran was also a cartoonist for ''[[Ananda Vikatan]]''. He would do this work at two in the morning, sleep for a bit and get back to work with KB by 7 am. Finally, Sarann gave up working as a cartoonist because assisting KB was too demanding. Then his first film happened.<ref name="rediff2000">{{cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2000/feb/10saran.htm|title=Rediff on the NeT, Movies: Director Saran on matters close to his heart|website=Rediff.com}}</ref> He describes that he "was wondering what would happen if a girl, who is engaged to a particular person, falls in love with someone else" and this formed the basis of his plot for his first film ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'' (1998). The film saw veteran music composer [[M. S. Viswanathan]] make his acting debut in a supporting role, whilst the lead actress [[Maanu]] from [[Assam]] and music composer [[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]] also debuted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Oct/a-z/atoz-3.htm |title=A-Z (III) |access-date=2014-09-15 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927193802/http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Oct/a-z/atoz-3.htm |archive-date=27 September 2013 }}</ref> The film's soundtrack gained rave review prior to release.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Time-to-Rock/articleshow/5407401.cms | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105214513/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-04/news-interviews/28137960_1_audio-release-tamil-films-music | url-status=live | archive-date=5 November 2012 | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=Time to Rock! | date=4 January 2010}}</ref> Viswanathan had initially waded away the approach but actor Vivek later convinced him to partake in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/dec-08-04/m-s-viswanathan-22-12-08.html|title=What Vaali borrowed from Rajini - Behindwoods.com - Vasanth TV Daily Thanthi MS Viswanathan YMCA Royapettah Vivek Kadhal Mannan Viswanathan Rajinikanth Balachander Tamil movie news images picture gallery images|website=Behindwoods.com}}</ref> The film won positive reviews from critics, with a reviewer praising the film for tackling a [[taboo]] subject. The critic claimed that [[Ajith Kumar]] "was back at his best", whilst also crediting success to Maanu's performance and Bharadwaj's soundtrack.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/kmannan.htm |title=Kaadhal Mannan: A Movie Review |access-date=11 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318001228/http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/kmannan.htm |archive-date=18 March 2012 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The film received a good response at the box office. The first copy was worth Rs 22 million, but was only sold for Rs 16 million.<ref name="rediff2000"/> Despite all this, it ran 100 days and re-established Ajith Kumar's market after a string of failures. The producers of the previous collaboration of [[Ajith Kumar]] and Sarann during ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'', Venkateswaralayam had lost a lot of money on that film so Ajith insisted on doing another film for the studio, ''[[Amarkkalam]]'' (1999). Sarann initially approached Shalini, who was studying at the time and she refused but after a three-month pursuit, he finally got her to sign on as well.<ref name="rediff2000"/> The role of Tulasi Das was initially offered to [[Amitabh Bachchan]] who accepted before later pulling out of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/1998/apr/30ss.htm |title=Rediff on the Net, Movies: Where is Karisma? |work=Rediff.com |date=30 April 1998 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref> The film began production in January 1999 and during the production of the film, the lead pair [[Ajith Kumar]] and [[Shalini (actress)|Shalini]] fell in love and eventually got married in April 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/15/stories/2006091517700200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304152603/http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/15/stories/2006091517700200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2009 |title=Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : From a child artiste to badminton player |date=15 September 2006 |access-date=4 January 2012 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2000/04/26/stories/0426223j.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303231759/http://www.hindu.com/2000/04/26/stories/0426223j.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 March 2009 |title=Talk of the Town |date=26 April 2000 |access-date=4 January 2012 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/sep/15ajit.htm |title=Rediff on the NeT, Movies: The Ajit-Shalini romance |work=Rediff.com |date=15 September 1999 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref> The film won predominantly positive reviews upon release with a reviewer describing the film as having an "okay storyline made very good because of its brilliant execution" whilst stating that the "climax is also very well-developed" and praising the performance of Ajith Kumar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thiraipadam.com/cgi-bin/movie_review.pl?id=35&user_name=subashawards&review_lang=english&lang=english |title=Amarkalam – Tamil Movie Review |publisher=Thiraipadam.com |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref> The film went on to become a large commercial success at the box office, extending the lead actor [[Ajith Kumar]]'s success after his previous film ''[[Vaalee (1999 film)|Vaalee]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2000/jun/14spice.htm |title=rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry |work=Rediff.com |date=14 June 2000 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/dec2000/ivw8.html |title=Filmfare – Print Edition |publisher=Downloads.movies.indiatimes.com |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006164915/http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/dec2000/ivw8.html |archive-date=6 October 2013 }}</ref> Ajith went on to purchase Sarann a car as a token of gratitude for the success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2000/aug/11ss.htm |title=rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the Southern film industry |work=Rediff.com |date=11 August 2000 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>


He joined as an assistant director to KB when he was making Puthu Puthu Arthangal.
His next film was ''[[Parthen Rasithen]]'' (2000) with [[Prashanth]] and [[Simran (actress)|Simran]] (their third time pair after successful hits such as ''[[Kannedhirey Thondrinal]]'' and ''[[Jodi (1999 film)|Jodi]]''). which did well at the box office and Simran's performance was well praised by critics (her first Villainous role).


By then, Saran was also a cartoonist for Ananda Viketan. He would do this work at two in the morning, sleep for a bit and get back to work with KB by 7 am. Finally, Saran gave up working as a cartoonist because assisting KB was too demanding. And then, Saran's first film happened.<ref name="rediff2000">{{cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2000/feb/10saran.htm|title=Rediff on the NeT, Movies: Director Saran on matters close to his heart|website=Rediff.com}}</ref>
But his next film ''[[Alli Arjuna]]'' (2002) was a flop in spite of A. R. Rahman's compositions. Then he directed a film for [[Vikram (actor)|Vikram]] in a production under [[AVM Productions]] in ''[[Gemini (2002 Tamil film)|Gemini]]'' (2002), it became a mass success at the time, it made Vikram very popular and one of the hit film, Ajith neglect to act because of his Racing Career Then he directed ''[[Jay Jay (film)|Jay Jay]]'' (2003) with [[R. Madhavan|Madhavan]] which was a hit. After ''Jay Jay'', Saran works for the first time with [[Kamal Haasan]] in ''[[Vasool Raja MBBS]]'' (2004) which was a remake of the Hindi film ''[[Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.]]''. The film received positive reviews and was a commercial success. His next film is again with [[Ajith Kumar|Ajith]] in ''[[Attahasam]]'' (2004) also this film became a commercial success. After this films Saran directed ''[[Idhaya Thirudan]]'' (2006) with [[Jayam Ravi]] and was produced by veteran Director [[K. Balachander]], The film received mixed reviews and was later considered a flop at the Box-office. His next venture is ''[[Vattaram]]'' with [[Arya (actor)|Arya]] the film received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office.


He describes that he "was wondering what would happen if a girl, who is engaged to a particular person, falls in love with someone else" and this formed the basis of his plot for his first film "Kaadhal Mannan".
In early 2007, Saran agreed terms to direct his second film with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, while also taking up the role of producer. Saran later sold the production rights of the move to [[Ayngaran International]], a move which irked Kamal Haasan and his team. As a result, the actor opted out and the film was shelved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/apr-07-03/19-04-07-kamal.html|title = Tamil movie news kamal dasavatharam ksravikumar ayngaran saran vasool raja MBBS muni kamalahassan asink.s.ravikumar Tamil movies kamal hasan gallery}}</ref> Later he directed ''[[Modhi Vilayadu]]'' (2009) starring [[Vinay Rai]] and [[Kajal Aggarwal]], the film was released to mixed reviews and fared poorly at the box office. His next film is ''[[Aasal]]'' in which film Saran works once again with Ajith met with mixed reviews upon release but was an average at the box-office.


The film saw veteran music composer [[M. S. Viswanathan]] make his acting debut in a supporting role, whilst the lead actress [[Maanu]] from [[Assam]] and music composer [[Bharathwaj]] also debuted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Oct/a-z/atoz-3.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-09-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927193802/http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Oct/a-z/atoz-3.htm |archive-date=27 September 2013 }}</ref> The film's soundtrack gained rave review prior to release.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-04/news-interviews/28137960_1_audio-release-tamil-films-music | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105214513/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-04/news-interviews/28137960_1_audio-release-tamil-films-music | url-status=dead | archive-date=5 November 2012 | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=Time to Rock! | date=4 January 2010}}</ref> Viswanathan had initially waded away the approach but actor Vivek later convinced him to partake in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/dec-08-04/m-s-viswanathan-22-12-08.html|title=What Vaali borrowed from Rajini - Behindwoods.com - Vasanth TV Daily Thanthi MS Viswanathan YMCA Royapettah Vivek Kadhal Mannan Viswanathan Rajinikanth Balachander tamil movie news images picture gallery images|website=Behindwoods.com}}</ref>
His next movie ''[[Aayirathil Iruvar]]'' starring [[Vinay Rai]] released in September 2017. His movie  ''[[Market Raja MBBS]]'' with [[Arav]] was released in 2019.


The film won positive reviews from critics, with a reviewer praising the film for tackling a [[taboo]] subject. The critic claimed that [[Ajith Kumar]] "was back at his best", whilst also crediting success to Maanu's performance and Bharathwaj's soundtrack.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/kmannan.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=11 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318001228/http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/kmannan.htm |archive-date=18 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The film received a good response at the box office. The first copy was worth Rs 22 million, but was only sold for Rs 16 million.<ref name="rediff2000"/> Despite all this, it ran 100 days and re-established Ajith Kumar's market after a string of failures.
Saran is known for his collaboration with Tamil film music composer [[Bharadwaj (composer)|Bharadwaj]] in a majority of his films and the director-composer duo was one of the most successful ones in Tamil film music.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-06 |title=Bharadwaj - Saran {{!}} Magical director & composer combo that produced a gem of albums! |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/slideshow/tamil-cinemas-best-director-and-music-director-combo-listed/bharadwajs-combo.html |access-date=2026-02-24 |website=Behindwoods}}</ref>
 
The producers of the previous collaboration of [[Ajith Kumar]] and Saran during ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'', Venkateswaralayam had lost a lot of money on that film so Ajith insisted on doing another film for the studio, ''[[Amarkalam]]''. Saran initially approached Shalini, who was studying at the time and she refused but after a three-month pursuit, he finally got her to sign on as well.<ref name="rediff2000"/> The role of Tulasi Das was initially offered to [[Amitabh Bachchan]] who accepted before later pulling out of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/1998/apr/30ss.htm |title=Rediff on the Net, Movies: Where is Karisma? |publisher=Rediff.com |date=30 April 1998 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>
 
The film began production in January 1999 and during the production of the film, the lead pair [[Ajith Kumar]] and [[Shalini]] fell in love and eventually got married in April 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/15/stories/2006091517700200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304152603/http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/15/stories/2006091517700200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2009 |title=Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : From a child artiste to badminton player |date=15 September 2006 |access-date=4 January 2012 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2000/04/26/stories/0426223j.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303231759/http://www.hindu.com/2000/04/26/stories/0426223j.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 March 2009 |title=Talk of the Town |date=26 April 2000 |access-date=4 January 2012 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/sep/15ajit.htm |title=Rediff on the NeT, Movies: The Ajit-Shalini romance |publisher=Rediff.com |date=15 September 1999 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>
 
The film won predominantly positive reviews upon release with a reviewer describing the film as having an "okay storyline made very good because of its brilliant execution" whilst stating that the "climax is also very well-developed" and praising the performance of Ajith Kumar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thiraipadam.com/cgi-bin/movie_review.pl?id=35&user_name=subashawards&review_lang=english&lang=english |title=Amarkalam – Tamil Movie Review |publisher=Thiraipadam.com |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>
 
The film went on to become a large commercial success at the box office, extending the lead actor [[Ajith Kumar]]'s success after his previous film ''[[Vaalee (1999 film)|Vaali]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2000/jun/14spice.htm |title=rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry |publisher=Rediff.com |date=14 June 2000 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/dec2000/ivw8.html |title=Filmfare – Print Edition |publisher=Downloads.movies.indiatimes.com |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006164915/http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/dec2000/ivw8.html |archive-date=6 October 2013 }}</ref> Ajith went on to purchase Saran a car as a token of gratitude for the success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2000/aug/11ss.htm |title=rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the Southern film industry |publisher=Rediff.com |date=11 August 2000 |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>
 
His next film was ''[[Parthen Rasithen]]'' with [[Simran (actress)|Simran]] and [[Prashanth (actor)|Prashanth]] (their third time pair after successful hits such as ''[[Kannedhirey Thondrinal]]'' and ''[[Jodi (1999 film)|Jodi]]''). which did well at the box office And [[Simran (actress)|Simran]]'s performance was well praised by critics(Her first Villainous role).
 
But his next film ''[[Alli Arjuna]]'' was a flop in spite of a r rahman's compositions. Then he directed a film for [[Vikram (actor)|Vikram]] in a production under [[AVM Productions]] in ''[[Gemini (2002 Tamil film)|Gemini]]'', it became a mass success at the time, it made Vikram very popular and Gemini, one of the hit film, Ajith neglect to act because of his Racing Career Then he directed ''[[Jay Jay (film)|Jay Jay]]'' with [[R. Madhavan|Madhavan]] which was an average grosser. After ''Jay Jay'', Saran works for the first time with [[Kamal Haasan]] in ''[[Vasool Raja MBBS]]'' which was a remake of the Hindi film ''[[Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.]]''. The film received positive reviews and was a commercial success. His next film is again with [[Ajith Kumar|Ajith]] in ''[[Attahasam]]''  also this film became a commercial success. After this films Saran directed [[Idhaya Thirudan]] with [[Jayam Ravi]] and [[Kamna Jethmalani]], was produced by veteran Director [[K. Balachander]], The film received negative reviews and was later considered a flop at the Box-office. His next venture is ''[[Vattaram]]'' with [[Arya (actor)|Arya]] the film received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office.
 
In early 2007, Saran agreed terms to direct his second film with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, while also taking up the role of producer. Saran later sold the production rights of the move to [[Ayngaran International]], a move which irked Kamal Haasan and his team. As a result, the actor opted out and the film was shelved.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20070622204309/http://nowrunning.com/news/news.asp?it=10046</ref><ref>http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/apr-07-03/19-04-07-kamal.html</ref>
 
Later he directed [[Modhi Vilayadu]] starring [[Vinay Rai]] and [[Kajal Aggarwal]], the film was released on 24 July 2009 to mixed reviews and fared poorly at the box office. His next film is [[Aasal|Asal]] in which film Saran works once again with Ajith met with mixed reviews upon release but was a flop at the box-office. His new movie Ayirathil Iruvar starring [[Vinay Rai]] released in September 2017 to negative reviews.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Saran and his wife Subha have two kids Sanjanaa and Sanjith.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20020106004545/http://www.chennaionline.com/reeltalk/dec104.asp</ref> His younger brother [[K. V. Guhan]] works as cinematographer in Tamil film industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/saran-gets-arav-and-keeps-his-title-market-raja-mbbs/articleshow/67365262.cms|title=Saran gets Arav and keeps his title 'Market Raja MBBS' - Times of India|website=The Times of India}}</ref>
Saran and his wife Subha have two kids Sanjanaa and Sanjith.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chennaionline.com/reeltalk/dec104.asp |title=Yet to see daylight! |website=Chennai Online |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020106004545/http://www.chennaionline.com/reeltalk/dec104.asp |archive-date=6 January 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His younger brother [[K. V. Guhan]] works as cinematographer in Tamil film industry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/saran-gets-arav-and-keeps-his-title-market-raja-mbbs/articleshow/67365262.cms|title=Saran gets Arav and keeps his title 'Market Raja MBBS'|website=The Times of India |last1=Suganth |first1=M. }}</ref>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date= November 2022}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Film
! rowspan="2" | Film
! colspan="3" | Credited as
! rowspan="2" | Notes
! rowspan="2" | Notes
|-
|-
! Director
! Writer
! Producer
|-
|-
| 1998 || ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||Director Debut
| 1998 || ''[[Kadhal Mannan]]'' ||Director debut; credited as Sharan
|-
|-
| 1999 || ''[[Amarkalam]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| 1999 || ''[[Amarkkalam]]'' ||
|-
|-
| 2000 || ''[[Parthen Rasithen]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| 2000 || ''[[Parthen Rasithen]]'' ||
|-
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Alli Arjuna]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| rowspan="3|2002 || ''[[Alli Arjuna]]'' ||
|-
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Gemini (2002 Tamil film)|Gemini]]''  || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| ''[[Gemini (2002 film)|Gemini]]''  ||
|-
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Gemeni (2002 Telugu film)|Gemeni]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||Telugu film
| ''[[Gemeni (2002 Telugu film)|Gemeni]]'' ||Telugu film; remake of ''[[Gemini (2002 film)|Gemini]]''
|-
|-
| 2003 || ''[[Jay Jay]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| 2003 || ''[[Jay Jay]]'' ||
|-
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2004 || ''[[Vasool Raja MBBS]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
|rowspan="2"| 2004 || ''[[Vasool Raja MBBS]]'' ||
|-
|-
| ''[[Attagasam]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| ''[[Attagasam]]'' ||
|-
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Aaru (film)|Aaru]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} ||
|rowspan="2"| 2006 || ''[[Idhaya Thirudan]]'' ||
|-
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2006 || ''[[Idhaya Thirudan]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| ''[[Vattaram]]'' ||
|-
|-
| ''[[Vattaram]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} ||
| 2009 || ''[[Modhi Vilayadu]]'' ||
|-
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Muni (film)|Muni]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} ||
| 2010 || ''[[Aasal]]'' ||
|-
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Modhi Vilayadu]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
|2017 || ''[[Aayirathil Iruvar]]'' || Also producer
|-
|2019 || ''[[Market Raja MBBS]]'' ||
|-
 
|2026 || ''[[AK 64]]'' ||
Cowriter confirmed
|-
|}
 
=== As producer ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Aasal]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
! Year
! Film
! Notes
|-
|-
|2017 || ''[[Aayirathil Iruvar]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} ||
| 2005 || ''[[varu(film)|Aaru]]'' ||
|-
|-
|2019 || ''[[Market Raja MBBS]]'' || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{y}} || style="text-align:center;"| {{n}} ||
| 2007 || ''[[caru (film)|Muni]]'' ||  
|-
|-
|}
|}
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[[Category:21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian film directors]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian film directors]]
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:1966 births]]

Latest revision as of 11:53, 7 March 2026


Saran
Born
K. V. Saravanan[1]

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter
Years active1998–present
Spouse(s)Shoba
Children2

K. V. Saravanan, better known as Saran, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who active mainly in Tamil cinema. He was once an assistant to K. Balachander. He owns a production house called Gemini Productions.

Early life and career[edit | edit source]

Saran's father T. Kulandaivelayudam worked with the directorate of examinations and many of his relatives are teachers. He finished diploma in visual communications from the College of Arts And Crafts and became an instructor in textile designing. Saran worked as instructor for a year and, during this time, he did some work with a lady called Mohana who was art director for K. Balachander. KB was the director whom Saran admired above all others. Saran hoped this relationship would be the key to get to him. He joined as an assistant director to KB when he was making Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal (1989).

By then, Saran was also a cartoonist for Ananda Vikatan. He would do this work at two in the morning, sleep for a bit and get back to work with KB by 7 am. Finally, Sarann gave up working as a cartoonist because assisting KB was too demanding. Then his first film happened.[2] He describes that he "was wondering what would happen if a girl, who is engaged to a particular person, falls in love with someone else" and this formed the basis of his plot for his first film Kadhal Mannan (1998). The film saw veteran music composer M. S. Viswanathan make his acting debut in a supporting role, whilst the lead actress Maanu from Assam and music composer Bharadwaj also debuted.[3] The film's soundtrack gained rave review prior to release.[4] Viswanathan had initially waded away the approach but actor Vivek later convinced him to partake in the film.[5] The film won positive reviews from critics, with a reviewer praising the film for tackling a taboo subject. The critic claimed that Ajith Kumar "was back at his best", whilst also crediting success to Maanu's performance and Bharadwaj's soundtrack.[6] The film received a good response at the box office. The first copy was worth Rs 22 million, but was only sold for Rs 16 million.[2] Despite all this, it ran 100 days and re-established Ajith Kumar's market after a string of failures. The producers of the previous collaboration of Ajith Kumar and Sarann during Kadhal Mannan, Venkateswaralayam had lost a lot of money on that film so Ajith insisted on doing another film for the studio, Amarkkalam (1999). Sarann initially approached Shalini, who was studying at the time and she refused but after a three-month pursuit, he finally got her to sign on as well.[2] The role of Tulasi Das was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan who accepted before later pulling out of the film.[7] The film began production in January 1999 and during the production of the film, the lead pair Ajith Kumar and Shalini fell in love and eventually got married in April 2000.[8][9][10] The film won predominantly positive reviews upon release with a reviewer describing the film as having an "okay storyline made very good because of its brilliant execution" whilst stating that the "climax is also very well-developed" and praising the performance of Ajith Kumar.[11] The film went on to become a large commercial success at the box office, extending the lead actor Ajith Kumar's success after his previous film Vaalee.[12][13] Ajith went on to purchase Sarann a car as a token of gratitude for the success.[14]

His next film was Parthen Rasithen (2000) with Prashanth and Simran (their third time pair after successful hits such as Kannedhirey Thondrinal and Jodi). which did well at the box office and Simran's performance was well praised by critics (her first Villainous role).

But his next film Alli Arjuna (2002) was a flop in spite of A. R. Rahman's compositions. Then he directed a film for Vikram in a production under AVM Productions in Gemini (2002), it became a mass success at the time, it made Vikram very popular and one of the hit film, Ajith neglect to act because of his Racing Career Then he directed Jay Jay (2003) with Madhavan which was a hit. After Jay Jay, Saran works for the first time with Kamal Haasan in Vasool Raja MBBS (2004) which was a remake of the Hindi film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.. The film received positive reviews and was a commercial success. His next film is again with Ajith in Attahasam (2004) also this film became a commercial success. After this films Saran directed Idhaya Thirudan (2006) with Jayam Ravi and was produced by veteran Director K. Balachander, The film received mixed reviews and was later considered a flop at the Box-office. His next venture is Vattaram with Arya the film received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office.

In early 2007, Saran agreed terms to direct his second film with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, while also taking up the role of producer. Saran later sold the production rights of the move to Ayngaran International, a move which irked Kamal Haasan and his team. As a result, the actor opted out and the film was shelved.[15] Later he directed Modhi Vilayadu (2009) starring Vinay Rai and Kajal Aggarwal, the film was released to mixed reviews and fared poorly at the box office. His next film is Aasal in which film Saran works once again with Ajith met with mixed reviews upon release but was an average at the box-office.

His next movie Aayirathil Iruvar starring Vinay Rai released in September 2017. His movie Market Raja MBBS with Arav was released in 2019.

Saran is known for his collaboration with Tamil film music composer Bharadwaj in a majority of his films and the director-composer duo was one of the most successful ones in Tamil film music.[16]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Saran and his wife Subha have two kids Sanjanaa and Sanjith.[17] His younger brother K. V. Guhan works as cinematographer in Tamil film industry.[18]

Filmography[edit | edit source]

Template:BLP unreferenced section

Year Film Notes
1998 Kadhal Mannan Director debut; credited as Sharan
1999 Amarkkalam
2000 Parthen Rasithen
2002 Alli Arjuna
Gemini
Gemeni Telugu film; remake of Gemini
2003 Jay Jay
2004 Vasool Raja MBBS
Attagasam
2006 Idhaya Thirudan
Vattaram
2009 Modhi Vilayadu
2010 Aasal
2017 Aayirathil Iruvar Also producer
2019 Market Raja MBBS
2026 AK 64

Cowriter confirmed

As producer[edit | edit source]

Year Film Notes
2005 Aaru
2007 Muni

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "TANTIS". Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Rediff on the NeT, Movies: Director Saran on matters close to his heart". Rediff.com.
  3. ↑ "A-Z (III)". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Time to Rock!". The Times of India. 4 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "What Vaali borrowed from Rajini - Behindwoods.com - Vasanth TV Daily Thanthi MS Viswanathan YMCA Royapettah Vivek Kadhal Mannan Viswanathan Rajinikanth Balachander Tamil movie news images picture gallery images". Behindwoods.com.
  6. ↑ "Kaadhal Mannan: A Movie Review". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rediff on the Net, Movies: Where is Karisma?". Rediff.com. 30 April 1998. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : From a child artiste to badminton player". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 September 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Talk of the Town". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 April 2000. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Rediff on the NeT, Movies: The Ajit-Shalini romance". Rediff.com. 15 September 1999. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Amarkalam – Tamil Movie Review". Thiraipadam.com. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry". Rediff.com. 14 June 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Filmfare – Print Edition". Downloads.movies.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the Southern film industry". Rediff.com. 11 August 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Tamil movie news kamal dasavatharam ksravikumar ayngaran saran vasool raja MBBS muni kamalahassan asink.s.ravikumar Tamil movies kamal hasan gallery".
  16. ↑ "Bharadwaj - Saran | Magical director & composer combo that produced a gem of albums!". Behindwoods. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  17. ↑ "Yet to see daylight!". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 6 January 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  18. ↑ Suganth, M. "Saran gets Arav and keeps his title 'Market Raja MBBS'". The Times of India.

External links[edit | edit source]

  • Saran at the Society Promoting Indian Cinematic Entertainment
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