Velu Prabhakaran

Velu Prabakaran (1956 or 1957 – 18 July 2025) was an Indian filmmaker, cinematographer, and actor, who worked in Tamil-language films. He was known for his themes highlighting atheism and revolutionary subjects in his films.

Career Prabakaran began as a cinematographer before making his directorial debut with the 1989 horror film Nalaya Manithan, before also directing its sequel Adhisaya Manithan (1990). He then made two more consecutive action films under R. K. Selvamani's production in Asuran and Rajali, both box office failures. He then worked on action films with lead characters often depicted as revolutionaries, making Kadavul (1997), Sivan (1999), and Puratchikkaaran (2000). In 2000, he began pre-production on a film titled Deepavali, and approached Kamal Haasan to play the lead role. However, the actor's rejection meant that the project was later shelved.

Prabakaran began work on the production of a film titled Kadhal Arangam in 2004, writing the story, screenplay, and dialogue for the project. Starring newcomers Preethi Rangayani and Shirley Das, he revealed that the film would expose the falsehood of kama in society, though he later gave directorial credits of the film to his brother Velu Raja. The film also takes on the prevailing caste system and explores sexuality. Film censors were not willing to give it a certificate due to objectionable scenes and an ongoing battle with the censor board emerged in December 2004. In December 2006, Prabakaran held an emotional appeal at a press conference stating that the film touched upon issues of social concern and stressed the importance of sex education amongst youngsters. In 2009, he finally agreed to tone down the scenes and mute certain dialogues and to compromise with the censors on the film, and changed the title from Kadhal Arangam to Kadhal Kathai. In the title credits of the film, Prabakaran included an extended scene which narrates his opinions and difficulties of the film's release. He noted that parts were autobiographical. The film opened to very negative reviews from critics, with one reviewer noting "the movie has apparently no script or whatever and is a string of events interspersed with sex scenes." Another critic noted "it's too boring to even qualify as a sex flick", describing the film as "unwatchable".

In 2009, he signed on to direct a film titled Deva Dasi telling the tale of a 16th-century romance. During delays, he began another project titled Mugamoodi Koothu and then another titled Kalainganin Kadhal, in which he would play the lead roles. The projects failed to take off and Prabakaran kept away from the film industry for a number of years before releasing a teaser trailer to Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary in January 2017.

Personal life and death Prabhakaran was once married to actress and director P. Jayadevi. In June 2017, Prabakaran announced his marriage to Shirley Das, who had acted in his film Kadhal Kadhai (2009).

Prabhakaran died after a long illness on 18 July 2025, at the age of 68.

Filmography Year Title Credited as Notes Director Writer Cinematographer 1980 Ivargal Vithyasamanavargal 1980 Matravai Neril 1989 Nalaya Manithan Sariyana Jodi 1989 Pick Pocket 1990 Adhisaya Manithan 1991 Uruvam 1993 Uthama Raasa 1995 Puthiya Aatchi Asuran 1996 Rajali 1997 Kadavul Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer 1999 Sivan 2000 Puratchikkaaran 2003 Vikadan 2009 Kadhal Kadhai 2017 Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary

As an actor Year TitleRole Notes 1989 Sariyana Jodi 1995 Puthiya Aatchi Tamizhmani 1997 Kadavul Rajapandi 2000 Puratchikkaaran Tamizhmani 2007 Naalaiya Pozhuthum Unnodu 2009 Kadhal Kadhai Himself 2011 Pathinaaru 2017 Oru Iyakkunarin Kadhal Diary 2019 Gangs of Madras 2021 Jango Anti Indian Hajiyar 2022 Cadaver 2023 Pizza 3: The Mummy Raid 2024 Weapon Omkar Appu VI STD 2025 Gajaana