Biography
P. Samuthirakani is an Indian actor and film director who works primarily in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema. Born on 26 April 1973 in Seithur, Tamil Nadu, he studied mathematics at Rajapalayam Rajus College and law at Dr Ambedkar Government Law College before entering the film industry.
He began as an assistant director to K. Balachander on Paarthale Paravasam (2001) and later directed Naadodigal (2009), a commercial success that was remade in multiple languages. As an actor he is known for roles including Appala Naidu in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), Guna in Vada Chennai (2018), Muthuvel in Visaranai (2016) — for which he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor — and Alluri Venkateswarulu in RRR (2022). He has also appeared in Velaiyilla Pattathari (2014) and Kaala (2018).
