Ashwath Marimuthu – Successful director from Tamil cinema of ‘Dragon’ fame

Ashwath Marimuthu is a budding film director associated with Kollywood. He owns two back-to-back Tamil hits – Oh My Kadavule (2020) and Dragon (2025). After the success of his debut flick, Oh My Kadavule he remade the same into Telugu – Ori Devuda in 2022. This film was also a commercial hit. He also made a cameo appearance in Dragon, which collected over 145 crores at box office.

He was born and brought up in Chennai

Ashwath was born and raised in Chennai. He completed his schooling at Montfort Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and later pursued engineering at SSN College of Engineering in Kalavakkam. To further his passion for filmmaking, Ashwath attended the New York Film Academy. He started off making short films as his stepping stone towards direction.

He made his directorial debut with Oh My Kadavule (2020), a romantic fantasy comedy that became a significant success. The film made on a small budget of 3 crores starred Ashok Selvan, Ritika Singh, and Vani Bhojan in lead roles, with Vijay Sethupathi appearing in a pivotal cameo. The film was praised for its fresh theme and was a box office hit.

Just before the release of his second Tamil film, Dragon in 2024 he announced a film with Silambarasan. Dragon with a good social message connecting education system connected a chord with the audience and became a blockbuster collecting 145 crores. The film was made on a moderate budget of 37 crore, which was manifold comparing his debut film. The movie starred Pradeep Ranganathan, Anupama Parameswaran and Kayadu Lohar in lead roles and a strong supporting cast – Mysskin, Gautham Vasudev Menon and George Maryan.

Ashwath Marimuthu was a brilliant student in studies who secured 97% marks in 12^th grade. He secured a medical seat but chose engineering instead. Some incidents happened during his studies shaped the character in the film Dragon, though it remains fictional. Oh My Kadavule was also inspired by his personal experiences and youthful friendships.

Ashwath Marimuthu – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. He and the lead star of Dragon, Pradeep Ranganathan are friends in real life too. They share a decade long friendship. While he was doing his college days, Pradeep, a junior at college, had worked as his assistant for a college video shooting. Their friendship began there.

2. He made a cameo role as Gowtham, a person who gives advice to Ragavan to make fake certificate in Dragon.