'Power Paandi' : Well known actors who turned directors

The latest trend in Kollywood these days is directors, producers and music composers stepping in front of the camera to enjoy their time under the spotlight as actors. Good examples are GV Prakash, Vijay Antony among many others. But then again, there are a few names in the film industry who have gone the other way, the latest one being Dhanush, whose maiden directorial venture 'Power Paandi' is releasing soon. So let us take a look at few names who started out as actors, but later dabbled in filmmaking.

Prabhudheva

Prabhudheva has now become one of the most prominent directors in the Indian film industry. However, the king of the dancefloor started out his film career in Tamil as an actor in 1994 with the film ‘Indhu’. He did a variety of films in Tamil and Telugu till 2004 when he finally put on the director’s hat for the Tollywood rom-com ‘Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana’. His debut venture as a filmmaker turned out to be highly successful and the film even went on to win eight Filmfare Awards. Three years later, he made his entry in Bollywood with the Salman Khan starrer ‘Wanted’ and hasn’t looked back since.

Dhanush

Dhanush is perhaps the latest addition to this small list of actors turned directors. A few months back, the ‘Kodi’ actor announced that he is going to direct his first ever film with Rajkiran in the lead. The result was 'Power Paandi', which is about to release and which has all his fans really excited. With this move, he officially joined the family business of direction since both his father Kasthuri Raja and his elder brother Selvaraghavan are established directors.

Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan has tried his hands at pretty much everything that the field of cinema has to offer. From story writing, direction, production, distribution, choreography apart from other things, he has done it all. He is also one of the few actors who actually enjoyed moderate success as a director. Ulaganayagan's 'Chachi 420’, was a blockbuster in every sense of the word. He later went on to make 'Hey Ram’, ‘Virumandi’ and ‘Vishwaroopam’, which although weren’t big hits, but managed to attract niche audiences. Even now, he is helming ‘Sabash Naidu’ in which he also plays the leading role.

Prakash Raj

One of the most versatile actors that Indian cinema has ever seen, Prakash Raj is also interested in direction. He turned director for a Kannada film in 2010, titled ‘Naanu Nanna Kanasu’. His next venture was ‘Dhoni’ in Tamil, which failed to impress fans and critics alike. Since then he has made two films ‘Un Samayal Arayil’ and ‘Manavoori Ramayanam’. Not just that, Prakash Raj is also all set to make his debut in Bollywood as a director with a film titled as ‘Tadka’ starring Shriya Saran, Taapsee Pannu and Nana Patekar. After winning everyone’s hearts with his acting performances, he is now keen on conquering the film industry as a filmmaker.

Pandiarajan

Pandiarajan is a veteran actor who is well known for his acting career, as well as his foray into filmmaking in the 1980s. The most notable film of Pandiarajan as a filmmaker is believed to be ‘Aan Paavam’, in which he also played a lead role. This film was such a big hit that it turned out to be the best comedy film of his career. Even today, Pandiarajan is a respected actor in the comedy genre and also a director who many budding filmmakers admire.

Raghava Lawrence

Raghava Lawrence is mainly known for his fancy footwork on the dance floor. He also had a long acting career that went unappreciated. But, the tides turned when he ventured into direction. To this day, he has made seven films, all of which have fared pretty well at the box office. Out of these seven, two films ‘Mass’ and ‘Don’ became massive hits for Nagarjuna, while his film ‘Rebel’ made Prabhas a household name, long before he became known as 'Baahubali’. Raghava gained prominence as an actor only after he made films like ‘Muni’, ‘Kanchana’ and ‘Kanchana 2’, in which he played the leading roles.