Vishnuvardhan (director)

Vishnuvardhan Kulasekaran, often credited simply as Vishnuvardhan, (Tamil: விஷ்ணுவர்தன் குலசேகரன்) is an Indian film director. A one-time associate of Santosh Sivan he made his directorial debut in 2003 with Kurumbu, which did not fare well at the box office. However, his subsequent films, Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005), Pattiyal (2006) and Billa (2007), went on to become highly successful ventures, turning him into a household name in Tamil Nadu.

Early life

Vishnuvardhan was born in Kumbakonam as the eldest son to Kulasekaran. His younger brother is actor Krishna Sekhar. Vishnuvardhan graduated from Chennai and was a visual communication student who studied at the Loyola College at Chennai. As a child, Vishnu had also done small roles in Mani Ratnam's Anjali and later on during his teenage years, continued to do brief roles in films like The Terrorist, Fiza, Malli and Asoka.

Career

Influenced by the directing styles of Mani Ratnam and Santosh Sivan, with whom he had associated, he expressed his wishes of directing to Santosh Sivan on the sets of Asoka. Realizing his dream, Santosh agreed to accept him as his apprentice. During this period of time, Vishnu observed everything that went on behind and around the camera, from the positioning of the lights and directing the artistes and arranging the frames and sets, to the finer points of correcting the artistes and even stayed back even to clean the sets. Santosh Sivan later also took...
Read More