R. Amarendran
{{short description|Indian theatre director and actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}
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| occupation = Theatre director, actor
| years_active = 1980s{{endash}}present
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R. Amarendran (also known as Amarendran Ramanan or Amar) is an Indian theatre director and actor who has directed and acted in several plays in English and French staged in Chennai and Pondicherry.{{cite news |title=Villain on screen, hero for children |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/villain-on-screen-hero-for-children/articleshow/57834493.cms |access-date=26 January 2025 |publisher=The Times of India |date=26 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126052208/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/villain-on-screen-hero-for-children/articleshow/57834493.cms |archive-date=26 January 2025}}
Career
R. Amarendran's love for acting started in the 1980s when he was a college student. He took part in the Loyola college production of Girish Karnad's Tughlaq which soon led him to get minor roles in Mithran Devanesan's Gilbert and Sullivan musicals in Chennai, India. He later acted in English plays for several theatre groups in Chennai. In 1989 he was one of four Indians to be selected by the French government to go the L'ecole Nationale d'art Dramatique at the Theatre National de Strasbourg in France to train in acting and to act in a French play that was staged in Delhi, Calcutta and Strasbourg. On his return from France he decided to direct plays himself and in 1992 he founded the Theatre Arlequin.{{cite web |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/05/13/stories/2010051350630100.htm |title=The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai / Events : The games people play |website=www.hindu.com |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520111426/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/05/13/stories/2010051350630100.htm |archive-date=20 May 2010 |url-status=dead}} He staged more than 25 plays in English and French the most notable of which were Tartuffe by Molière, The Lesson by Eugène Ionesco, The Maids by Jean Genet and Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's L'Illusion Comique.
His film career started in 2008 when he landed a role in the movie Bale Pandya (2010) directed by Siddharth Chandrasekhar. Since then he has acted in negative, mad scientist and professor roles. He also played the role of the history teacher in the Hollywood film Life of Pi (2012). He has acted in a major role in the critically acclaimed Vidiyum Munn (2013),{{cite web|author=Baradwaj Rangan |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/vidiyum-munn-in-the-mood-for-thrills/article5408389.ece |title=Vidiyum Munn: In the mood for thrills |work=The Hindu |date=2013-11-30 |accessdate=2014-05-08}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/vidiyum-munn-is-brilliant/20131130.htm |title=Vidiyum Munn is brilliant - Rediff.com Movies |work=Rediff.com |date=2013-11-30 |accessdate=2014-05-08}} which was inspired by the British film London to Brighton. He was a supporting actor yet he played an impactful role. Amarendran is also a story writer and his first children's book in English Siri's Smile, written in 2011, has been translated into several Indian languages.{{cite web |title=Siris Smile |url=http://www.tulikabooks.com/our-books/picture-books/general-picture-books/siris-smile |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017100822/http://www.tulikabooks.com/our-books/picture-books/general-picture-books/siris-smile |archive-date=17 October 2014 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=www.tulikabooks.com}} He is a children's author who through his writing has explored his childhood memories and has created a small, cheerful world for his young readers. One of his other book is Salim The Knife-Sharpener (2015), which is also a children's book.
His other roles are in Jil Jung Juk (2016), Kabali (2016) and Vikram Vedha (2017).
Plays
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ !Title !Playwright !Performed in !Contribution !Remarks |
| Tartuffe
|English |Director | |
| The Lesson
|English |Director | |
| The Maids
|English |Director | |
| L'Illusion Comique
|English |Director |Tony Kushner's adaptation |
| Tughlaq
|English |Actor | |
| [https://www.playscripts.com/play/1399 The doctor in spite of himself]
|French |Director |Performed at [https://madras.afindia.org/ Alliance Francaise of Madras] |
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}} | Denotes films that are to be released soon |
| class="wikitable" | |||
| style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2010 | Bale Pandiya | AKP | |
| 2010 | Va | Gnani | |
| 2012 | Life of Pi | History teacher | |
| 2013 | Vidiyum Munn | Saloon Singaram | |
| 2015 | Yatchan | Jack the travel fixer | |
| rowspan="2"|2016 | Jil Jung Juk | Deivanayagam | |
| Kabali | Velu | ||
| rowspan="3"|2017 | Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae | Singapore Singaaram | |
| Vikram Vedha | Sangu | ||
| Maayavan | Pramodh | ||
| 2018 | Andhra Mess | Janardhanan | |
| 2022 | Ward 126 |
References
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Category:Indian children's writers
Category:Indian theatre directors
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)