Balaji K. Kumar

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Balaji K. Kumar
NationalityIndian American
OccupationFilm Director
Years active2013–present

Balaji K. Kumar is an Indian film director. His first film as a director in Tamil cinema was Vidiyum Munn (2013), a neo-noir crime thriller. Upon release, it received critical acclaim from both the critics and audience, alike. Then he started his career as story board artist for advertising firms like Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi.

Career[edit]

Balaji K. Kumar studied cinematography at UCLA. He directed various advertisements for European and American companies. He directed the English-language film Twelve Twisted Tricks (2003) and the film's trailer premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[1] The trailer won Best Trailer – No Movie award since the film was not released. His next film was 9 Lives of Mara (2007), which received many awards.[2] He then debuted in Tamil with Vidiyum Munn (2013). The film released to critical acclaim despite being a box office failure. A critic wrote that "Director Balaji undoubtedly is at the top of his game".[3] According to Balaji Kumar, "We have made Vidiyum Munn like a new generation film for a matured audience. The film deals with an universal issue".[4] After working on scripts, he returned after ten years with Kolai (2023), which is a based on a real incident that took place in New York in 1923.[5]

Filmography[edit]

As director[edit]

Year Film Language Notes
2007 9 Lives of Mara English [6]
2013 Vidiyum Munn Tamil Inspired by London to Brighton
2023 Kolai Tamil

Other films[edit]

  • Twelve Twisted Tricks - Golden Trailer Award (2003)

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.oocities.org/etmassey/twelvetwistedtricks.htm
  2. ^ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (24 August 2013). "Audio Beat: Vidiyum Munn - New album, new voice". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Vidiyum Munn is brilliant". Rediff.com. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  4. ^ "PVR picks up 'Vidiyum Munn'". Sify. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Director Balaji Kumar: Kolai is inspired by a real-life incident". The New Indian Express.
  6. ^ "FILM REVIEW - 9 Lives of Mara". films-list.com.