S. U. Arun Kumar – Popular Tamil Film Director of Pannaiyarum Padminiyum and Chithha

A hitmaker of Tamil cinema, S. U. Arun Kumar is a successful director associated with Tamil commercial cinema. Though he present his stories in a cinematic way, they are rooted to realism. He has delivered a series of hit films like Pannaiyarum Padminiyum (2014), Sethupathi (2016), Chithha (2023) and Veera Dheera Sooran (2025). He is known for making films which establish the right chord with family audiences through emotions. Most of his films tell stories of family values, and blend emotional depth with compelling narratives. ​

Arun Kumar began his career by creating short films

The extremely talented young director S. U. Arun Kumar was born on 26 February 1987. He belongs to Paravai near Madurai. He began his career by creating short films. He contested in the second season of a TV competition Naalaya Iyakunar, where he was chosen as the runner-up. He married costume designer Deepika in November 2016, but got separated. In February 2025 he tied knot with Ashwini. Their wedding took place in Madurai, attended by prominent figures from Tamil entertainment industry.

He directed Vijay Sethupathy, three films in a row

Arun Kumar marked his directorial debut with highly acclaimed Pannaiyarum Padminiyum (2014), where he worked with his friend Vijay Sethupathy. The movie with a heart-warming story, played a major role in establishing Sethupathy’s career, while his career graph was swiftly moving up those days. The movie which told the story of a family bonded to a Premier Padmini car, won 6 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and was featured in several international film festivals. Though the film was not commercially a big success, it definitely helped S. U. Arun Kumar to cement his position as a director.

Later the duo teamed up together for director’s next two ventures – Sethupathy (2016) and Sindhubaadh (2019). While Sethupathy was a commercial hit, the later underperformed at box office. Having collaborated on multiple films the duo shares a strong professional and personal bond. Sethupathy also attended Arun’s marriage in 2025.

Arun Kumar’s collaboration with actors

Arun Kumar’s first three collaborations were with Vijay Sethupathy. After the failure of Sindhubaadh, they haven’t worked together. Arun took a hiatus of 4 years and returned in a bang with highly acclaimed and commercial hit, Chithha (2023), which won him Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil. The movie which told the emotional story of child abuse gave the career best to actor Siddharth, who was going through a bad phase in his career. Siddharth himself produced this film. The movie received high praises and was a box office hit. The movie also bagged numerous awards at Filmfare including Best Actor (critics), Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Music Director and Best Female playback singer.

In 2025, he delivered his next hit through Veera Dheera Sooran: Part – 2, starring Vikram in lead role. The movie marked the comeback of the actor after a series of flops.

Arun Kumar – Some interesting and less-known facts

Onakkaaga Poranthaenae Song from Pannaiyarum Padminiyum

1. Arun’s first film Pannaiyarum Padminiyum was a celluloid presentation of his first short film with the same name. He made this short film in 2012. 5 Rupees and Nadodi Mannan are other short films.

2. Malayalam actors – Nimisha Sajayan and Suraj Venjaramoodu marked their Tamil debuts with his films, Chithha and Veera Dheera Sooran: Part – 2 respectively. Though actively associated with Mollywood, it took nearly 2 decades for Suraj to mark his Tamil debut.

3. Vijay Sethupathi’s son, Surya appeared in Sindhubaadh in a brief role, although Sethupathi was insistent to cast someone else. 13-year old Surya appeared as a thief, a role specially written for him. The young actor was earlier seen in Vijay Sethupathy’s Naanum Rowdy Thaan in a cameo role.

4. His debut film won 6 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.