How Atlee Kumar has become one of India’s greatest filmmakers
It takes a special talent to be recognised as one of their nation’s finest modern filmmakers less than a decade after their feature-length directorial debut and only five movies into their career, never mind before turning 40 years old. And yet, it’s a status Atlee Kumar has earned through nothing but determination and success.
He got his start in the industry while he was still a teenager by serving as an assistant director on several productions before his 2011 short Mugaputhagam outlined that he was more than ready to strike out on his own. When he did, the romantic comedy Raja Rani became one of the biggest local hits of 2013 and won him the ‘Best Debut Director’ prize at the Vijay Awards.
Having piqued the interest of superstar Vijay with his debut feature, they partnered up for the first time on Atlee’s sophomore film, 2016’s action thriller Theri, which fared even better than his opener as the second highest-grossing Tamil-language release of the year, winning further awards for its director. Striking up a fruitful dynamic, the two re-teamed for Mersal the following year, which was yet another runaway smash.
The top-earning entry in Vijay’s entire body of work up to that point, and in what was fast becoming a recurring theme of Atlee’s filmography, rave reviews and awards season glory inevitably came. For their third collaboration, sports drama Bigil once again became the star’s biggest-ever hit, was the highest-grossing Tamil-language movie of 2019, and won even more awards.
All of that paled in comparison to Jawan, though, which was a full-blown international sensation. Even if Vijay wasn’t around, Atlee’s maiden Hindi-language effort and first flick with Shah Rukh Khan wound up as the top-grossing Indian production of 2023, the second highest-earning Hindi film of all time, and one of the nation’s most lucrative features ever. It’s clear that Atlee has already made it to the very top of Indian cinema, but it’s the way he got there that makes him stand out.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing, in fairness, with Atlee facing repeated accusations of plagiarism for the majority of his works, although he’s written it off as sour grapes. “There’s not a single story that hasn’t been done before. I sit and genuinely work on my scripts,” he said. “When someone just passes a comment in two seconds comparing mine to other films, I will never think my effort, honesty, and labour are all replicas. It’s their thoughts. Of course, I have made films which have shared storylines with other films. Copying is easy. If that’s the case, everyone can do it.”
He makes intentionally populist movies that are designed to reach the widest possible audience and thus make the most money. Still, he’s also developed several recurring themes and motifs to help him stand out from a crowded pack of directors, all seeking to capture the attention and imagination of viewers.
In Theri, Mersal, and Jawan, his protagonists have played dual roles – or three in the case of Vijay and Mersal – but there’s a reason for it beyond his obvious love of having his lead pull double duty. Across his filmography, that sense of duality has been used to explore justice, a sense of family, and the fallout from certain actions. Having the same actor play a pair of major parts underlines how they can be two sides of the same coin who are drastically affected by the decisions made by the other.
More than just a gimmick, it adds depth to both the storytelling and the performances, which creates a deeper sense of investment on the part of the viewer, who connects to both characters on a deeper level. The audience knows that figuratively, literally, and thematically, they’re not that different from each other despite driving the narrative from different directions.
Atlee also has a keen eye for incorporating socially conscious and societally relevant themes into his work, whether it’s varying degrees of corruption, the inequality that separates many through wealth, class, and status, or rebelling in the face of injustice. It sounds like a simple formula, but combining high concepts with big stars in crowd-pleasing movies that carry a resonant undercurrent has turned out to be a goldmine few in Indian cinema have managed to mine to the same level.
