Who Is Rajkumar Periasamy? Biography, Age, Career, Movies, Amaran, Awards & Latest News
Rajkumar Periasamy is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter from Chennai who has built his career in Tamil cinema through stories rooted in action, crime, military life and real-world experiences. He made his feature-film debut with the 2017 action crime drama Rangoon, but it was his second film, Amaran, that brought his work to a much wider audience.
Released in 2024, Amaran starred Sivakarthikeyan as Major Mukund Varadarajan and Sai Pallavi as his wife, Indhu Rebecca Varghese. The film became one of the major Tamil releases of the year and later earned Periasamy the Best Direction award at the 72nd National Film Awards, announced in July 2026.
His career is now entering another phase. Periasamy’s next major film, Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood, stars Dhanush, Mammootty, Sai Pallavi, Sreeleela and others and is scheduled for theatrical release on October 16, 2026.
Who Is Rajkumar Periasamy?
Rajkumar Periasamy is a Tamil film director and screenwriter whose professional career has included television production, assistant direction and feature filmmaking.
Before directing his own films, he worked with filmmaker A.R. Murugadoss, including on Thuppakki. That association eventually led to Murugadoss producing Periasamy’s first feature, Rangoon.
Periasamy has also worked in television. In 2017, he was credited as a director on the first season of Bigg Boss Tamil, which was hosted by Kamal Haasan.
His feature-film career has been relatively selective. Rather than releasing a large number of films, he has spent significant periods developing projects between releases. That approach is particularly visible in the gap between Rangoon in 2017 and Amaran in 2024.
Rajkumar Periasamy Age and Date of Birth
Rajkumar Periasamy was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Public film databases identify Chennai as his birthplace, but a reliably documented date of birth and exact age are not widely available.
Because of the lack of a dependable public birth record, claims giving him a specific age or birth date should be treated cautiously.
What Is Rajkumar Periasamy’s Real Name?
There is no widely documented evidence that Rajkumar Periasamy uses a different professional or birth name.
Rajkumar Periasamy is the name under which he is credited as a director and writer.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s Early Life and Education
Periasamy was raised in Chennai and developed an interest in visual storytelling before moving into professional filmmaking.
Some biographical databases report that he studied Visual Communication at Loyola College in Chennai. The same profiles describe an early career in television before he moved into film direction.
Detailed information about his parents, siblings and childhood is not extensively documented in major entertainment publications. As a result, there is little reliable public material to establish a fuller account of his family background.
His professional history provides a clearer picture of his development as a filmmaker. He gained experience in television before joining A.R. Murugadoss’s filmmaking team, where he worked as an assistant director.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s Television Career
Before becoming known primarily as a feature-film director, Periasamy worked in television.
One of his notable television credits came with Bigg Boss Tamil in 2017. He was credited as a director on the show’s first season, which featured Kamal Haasan as host.
His television experience is significant because it came before the release of Rangoon that same year. It also connected him professionally with people who would later become important to his film career.
Periasamy’s association with Kamal Haasan would become particularly relevant several years later when Haasan produced Amaran through Raaj Kamal Films International.
Working With A.R. Murugadoss
A major step in Periasamy’s early career came through his work with filmmaker A.R. Murugadoss.
He worked as an assistant director and was associated with films including 7aum Arivu and Thuppakki. His time with Murugadoss gave him experience working within the commercial Tamil film system before he moved into directing. Profiles of his early career describe Murugadoss as an important mentor in his transition toward filmmaking.
That relationship eventually became the bridge to Rangoon.
Murugadoss produced Periasamy’s directorial debut, giving the younger filmmaker an opportunity to develop a feature around his own screenplay.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s Directorial Debut: Rangoon
Periasamy made his feature directing debut with Rangoon, which was released in Tamil cinema on June 9, 2017.
The film starred Gautham Karthik and Sana Makbul and was produced by A.R. Murugadoss and Fox Star Studios. Periasamy wrote and directed the movie.
Rangoon is an action crime drama centered on a young man whose life becomes entangled with crime, survival and the world around him. The story also drew from the setting and identity associated with Rangoon, the former name of Yangon in Myanmar.
The film was an important first step because it established Periasamy as a director capable of handling action while keeping the story focused on characters rather than treating the genre purely as spectacle.
In a 2017 interview before the film’s release, Periasamy described Rangoon as a story about the survival of a young man in the world he belongs to.
The film remains an important part of his career because it introduced several elements that would later become more pronounced in Amaran: grounded action, difficult environments and characters facing circumstances larger than themselves.
What Is Rajkumar Periasamy Known For?
Periasamy is best known internationally and across India for Amaran, but his filmmaking career is broader than that single movie.
His work has developed around stories that combine personal relationships with high-stakes circumstances. Rangoon explored crime and survival, while Amaran examined military life through the experiences of Major Mukund Varadarajan and his family.
His upcoming film Om moves into crime and action again, this time with Dhanush and Mammootty at the center of the story.
This progression shows a director moving between commercial genres while maintaining an interest in characters operating in dangerous or demanding environments.
Rajkumar Periasamy and Amaran
The film that transformed Periasamy’s career was Amaran, released on October 31, 2024.
The movie stars Sivakarthikeyan as Major Mukund Varadarajan and Sai Pallavi as Indhu Rebecca Varghese. It is based on the life of Major Mukund, an Indian Army officer who was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra. The film drew material from the book India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh.
Rather than making the movie solely about military operations, Periasamy said he wanted to explore Mukund’s life, his family, his friendships and his relationship with Indhu.
That distinction was important to his approach. In interviews before the film’s release, he repeatedly described Amaran as a story about a soldier’s life rather than simply a conventional war movie.
How Rajkumar Periasamy Developed Amaran
The idea behind Amaran developed years before the film reached theaters.
Periasamy has explained that his interest in Major Mukund began after he came across a video involving the army officer and his young daughter. The filmmaker became interested not just in Mukund’s military service but also in the human story surrounding him.
That led him toward a larger adaptation of material from India’s Most Fearless. The relevant chapter in the book was relatively short, so the screenplay expanded beyond the military operation itself and explored Mukund’s relationships and family life.
Periasamy also spent considerable effort on authenticity.
For the Kashmir portions, the production worked with the Ministry of Defence and obtained permission to shoot in locations connected to the story. Periasamy explained that he wanted the physical environment to reflect the conditions in which military personnel actually operate.
Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi in Amaran
Sivakarthikeyan’s casting was central to the project.
Periasamy had known him from his earlier television days and eventually narrated the complete story to him. The director has recalled that the narration lasted around two hours and that he did not initially tell the actor that Kamal Haasan was involved as producer.
Sai Pallavi was chosen to play Indhu Rebecca Varghese.
Periasamy has explained that he considered Indhu’s role equally important to Mukund’s because the story was not intended to portray only the soldier. He wanted the film to explore the emotional consequences of Mukund’s life and death through the perspective of his wife as well.
The filmmaker had also known Sai Pallavi from her earlier television and reality-show appearances, which influenced his decision to cast her.
Amaran’s Success and National Film Award
Amaran became the defining film of Periasamy’s career.
Its recognition continued well beyond its theatrical release. In July 2026, the Government of India announced the winners of the 72nd National Film Awards, covering films certified during 2024.
Rajkumar Periasamy won the Best Direction award for Amaran. The official Press Information Bureau announcement lists Periasamy as the recipient and identifies the film as the Tamil winner in the Best Direction category.
The film also received National Film Award recognition for its technical work. G.V. Prakash Kumar won for Best Music Direction in the Background Music category, while editor R. Kalaivanan was also among the award recipients associated with the film.
The Best Direction win represented a major milestone in Periasamy’s career because it came after only two feature films.
In a July 2026 interview following the announcement, Periasamy discussed the National Award and recalled that Major Mukund’s mother had previously told him she believed he would receive the honor.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s Awards and Achievements
The most significant confirmed award in Periasamy’s career is his National Film Award for Best Direction for Amaran.
His major career milestones include:
- Working as an assistant director under A.R. Murugadoss
- Directing television projects including Bigg Boss Tamil
- Making his feature directorial debut with Rangoon in 2017
- Writing and directing Amaran in 2024
- Receiving the Best Direction honor at the 72nd National Film Awards in 2026
- Directing Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood, starring Dhanush and Mammootty
The National Film Award is currently the clearest major individual recognition attached to his feature-film directing career.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s Personal Life and Wife
Rajkumar Periasamy is married to Jaswini, who has also been associated with his professional work as an associate director.
The couple married in May 2018 in Chennai in a ceremony attended by friends, family and several figures from the Tamil film and television industry. Contemporary coverage reported that A.R. Murugadoss, Sivakarthikeyan, Atlee and other industry personalities attended the wedding.
Periasamy generally keeps his private life away from the level of public attention given to actors and other screen personalities. Consequently, there is limited reliable public information about his wider family life or children.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s New Movie: Om
Periasamy’s next major release is Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood.
The film was previously known by the working title D55, reflecting its connection to Dhanush’s 55th film as an actor. The title Om was officially announced in June 2026, along with a theatrical release date of October 16, 2026.
The film is written and directed by Periasamy and stars Dhanush in the lead role. The cast also includes Mammootty, Sai Pallavi, Sreeleela, Indrans and Naseeruddin Shah.
The project is being presented as an action crime thriller, and the “Chapter 1” subtitle suggests that the filmmakers may be building a larger story world, although the extent of any future installments should not be treated as confirmed beyond the announced title.
Mammootty’s Role in Om
One of the biggest talking points surrounding Om is Mammootty’s role.
Periasamy revealed that Mammootty plays Burma Karthikeyan, also known as Siya or “The Elder One.” The character is portrayed as a smuggler with a complicated relationship with the people around him.
In August 2026, Periasamy revealed that Mammootty had been his first choice for the role.
The director said he had a specific casting wishlist before production began and that Mammootty was his preferred actor for Karthikeyan.
A September character-reveal video further introduced Karthikeyan as a figure with a morally complicated identity, giving audiences a glimpse of the character without revealing the full story.
Dhanush and Sai Pallavi in Om
Dhanush leads Om, marking his first collaboration with Periasamy.
Sai Pallavi, who previously worked with Periasamy in Amaran, is also part of the cast. Sreeleela, Indrans and Naseeruddin Shah are among the other announced performers.
The combination of Dhanush and Mammootty gives the film two major performers from different sections of South Indian cinema, while Periasamy’s involvement places the project firmly within the filmmaker’s growing body of action-driven work.
Rajkumar Periasamy’s Filmography
Periasamy’s directing filmography remains relatively short but significant.
Rangoon (2017)
His feature debut, Rangoon, was a Tamil action crime drama starring Gautham Karthik and Sana Makbul. Periasamy wrote and directed the film, which was produced by A.R. Murugadoss and Fox Star Studios.
Amaran (2024)
Amaran was his second feature as director. Starring Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi, it dramatized the life of Major Mukund Varadarajan and his relationship with Indhu Rebecca Varghese. The film earned Periasamy the National Film Award for Best Direction.
Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood (2026)
His third feature is Om, starring Dhanush, Mammootty and Sai Pallavi. The film is scheduled for release on October 16, 2026.
What Is Rajkumar Periasamy Doing Now?
As of September 22, 2026, Periasamy is preparing for the theatrical release of Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood.
The film has already entered the promotional stage, with character reveals including Mammootty’s Burma Karthikeyan. The announced release date is October 16, 2026.
At the same time, Periasamy is coming off the biggest individual award of his career. His Best Director win for Amaran was announced in July, putting his next film under considerably greater attention than his earlier projects.
His immediate career therefore revolves around Om, while his longer-term position as a filmmaker will likely be shaped by how the new film develops the action and crime storytelling already visible in Rangoon and Amaran.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rajkumar Periasamy
Who is Rajkumar Periasamy?
Rajkumar Periasamy is an Indian Tamil filmmaker and screenwriter known for directing Rangoon, Amaran and the upcoming Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood.
How old is Rajkumar Periasamy?
His exact date of birth and age have not been reliably established in widely available authoritative sources. He was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
What is Rajkumar Periasamy’s real name?
Rajkumar Periasamy is the name under which he is publicly credited as a filmmaker. There is no reliable evidence of a different professional name.
Where is Rajkumar Periasamy from?
He is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
What was Rajkumar Periasamy’s first movie?
His first feature film as a director was Rangoon, released in 2017. He wrote and directed the film, which starred Gautham Karthik and Sana Makbul.
What is Rajkumar Periasamy known for?
He is best known for directing Amaran, the 2024 Tamil film about Major Mukund Varadarajan and Indhu Rebecca Varghese. The film earned him the 2026 National Film Award for Best Direction.
Did Rajkumar Periasamy win a National Film Award?
Yes. He won the Best Direction award at the 72nd National Film Awards for Amaran.
Who is Rajkumar Periasamy’s wife?
His wife is Jaswini. They married in Chennai in May 2018. Contemporary reports also identified Jaswini as an associate director.
What is Rajkumar Periasamy’s next movie?
His next major film is Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood, starring Dhanush, Mammootty, Sai Pallavi, Sreeleela, Indrans and Naseeruddin Shah. It is scheduled to release on October 16, 2026.
Who plays Mammootty’s character in Om?
Mammootty plays Burma Karthikeyan, also known as Siya or “The Elder One.” Periasamy has said Mammootty was his first choice for the role.
Did Rajkumar Periasamy direct Bigg Boss Tamil?
Yes. He was credited as a director on the first season of Bigg Boss Tamil, which premiered in 2017 with Kamal Haasan as host.
How many movies has Rajkumar Periasamy directed?
As of September 2026, he has directed two released feature films, Rangoon and Amaran. His third feature, Om: Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood, is scheduled for release in October 2026.