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A. Venkatesh
A. Venkatesh
	Venkatesh at Sandamarutham Audio Launch
Occupation(s)	actor, director
Years active	1996–present

A. Venkatesh is an Indian film director and actor working in Tamil cinema. Beginning his career as an assistant, he directed his first film, Mahaprabhu, in 1996.

Career

Initially, he worked as an assistant to director K. Rajeshwar on Nyaya Tharasu (1989) and Idhaya Thamarai (1990). He assisted Pavithran on Vasanthakala Paravai (1991) and Suriyan (1992), then he was an associate director to director Shankar on Gentleman (1993) and Kadhalan (1994). During the shooting of the film Kadhalan, producer G. K. Reddy approached him to direct a film. In 1996, he made his directional debut through Mahaprabhu starring R. Sarathkumar, Sukanya and Vineetha. He has directed Vijay's hit movies including action film Selva (1996) and romance film Nilaave Vaa (1998). In 1999, he directed a drama film Pooparika Varugirom starring Sivaji Ganesan, Vikram Krishna and Malavika.^[1]

Following the death of director Thirupathisamy in 2001, Venkatesh was briefly announced as the new director of the film Velan featuring Vijay and Priyanka Chopra, but the project was later shelved.^[2]

He started directing action movies with Prashanth's Chocolate (2001), Vijay's hit film Bhagavathi (2002), and Silambarasan's Dum (2003) and Kuthu (2004). These were followed by Sarathkumar's Aai (2004), Chanakya (2005) and Arjun's Vathiyar (2006).^[3]^[4]^[5]

During 2008, Venkatesh worked simultaneously on six productions, which were at different stages of completion. The Arjun-starrer Durai (2008) and Arun Vijay's Malai Malai (2009) were released first, while Sundar C's Vaadaa (2010) and Bharath's Killadi (2015) had delayed releases. Two further films, Prashanth's Petrol and Sarathkumar's Imaya Malai, were subsequently shelved mid-production.^[6]

He has also acted in various Tamil movies, notably Angadi Theru (2010). Venkatesh returned after a two-and-a-half year break with Nethra (2019). The filmmaker says the delay was because he had to fulfil commitments as an actor before he could get back to the direction. The film is a psycho-thriller based on a true event which he was witness to at an airport in Canada.^[7]

Filmography

As director

Year	Film	Notes	Ref.
1996	Mahaprabhu	Debut Direction	^[8]
1996	Selva		^[9]
1998	Nilaave Vaa		^[10]
1999	Pooparika Varugirom		^[11]
2001	Chocolate		^[12]
2002	Bhagavathi		^[13]
2003	Dum		^[14]
2004	Kuthu		^[15]
2004	Aai		^[16]
2005	Chanakya		^[17]
2006	Vathiyar		^[18]
2008	Singakutty		^[19]
2008	Durai		^[20]
2009	Malai Malai		^[21]
2010	Maanja Velu		^[22]
	Vaadaa		^[23]
	Vallakottai		^[24]
2013	Summa Nachunu Irukku		^[25]
2015	Killadi		^[26]
	Sandamarutham		^[27]
	Rombha Nallavan Da Nee		^[28]
2019	Nethra		^[29]
2024	Operation Laila		^[30]
2024	Dhil Raja

As actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1991	Vasanthakala Paravai
1992	Suriyan	Telegram Office clerk
1994	Kadhalan	Cameo appearance	in "Kadhalikum Pennin" song
1998	Nilaave Vaa	Christian who prays at Hindu temple
2010	Angaadi Theru	Karungali
2011	Sattapadi Kutram	Ekambaram
2011	Mahaan Kanakku	Maths Teacher
2012	Paagan
2013	Azhagan Azhagi	Rathinavel
	Naan Rajavaga Pogiren	Isakkimuthu Annachi
	Summa Nachunu Irukku	Gautham (Dato)
2014	Goli Soda	Vanmathi's father
2015	Touring Talkies	a Doctor
	Rombha Nallavan Da Nee
	Iravum Pagalum Varum
	Pallikoodam Pogamale	Vijay's father
	Sivappu
2016	Pagiri	Madhu's father
	Aandavan Kattalai	Gandhi's brother-in-law
	Thodari	Thangapandian
2017	Nisabdham	a public prosecutor
2017	Kadugu	an Inspector
2018	Onaaigal Jakkiradhai	Chithappu
	Torchlight
	Thodraa
2019	Nethra	an officer
2019	Asuran	Viswanathan
2020	Nungambakkam	Advocate Durai
2020	Alti
2022	Oh My Dog	a moneylender
	Nadhi
	Laththi	Inspector Gnanamuthu
2023	Rudhran	Ethiraj
	Thuritham
	Priyamudan Priya
2024	Singappenney
2024	Dhil Raja

Web series

Year	Program Name	Role	Network	Notes
2020	Triples	Councillor Chelladurai	Hotstar	Debut Web Series
2023	Mr. Manaivi	Vedhanayagam	Sun TV	Debut as an actor
2024	Goli Soda Rising	Vanmathi's father	Disney+Hotstar