With the announcement of Arun Matheswaran's DC, Lokesh Kanagaraj has become the latest in the line of directors to turn to acting. Popular examples in the current era, include Pradeep Ranganathan (who directed Comali and Love Today, and starred in Dragon and Dude) and Abhishan Jeevinth (who directed Tourist Family and is set to star in a film alongside Anaswara Rajan).
The notion is not new as Tamil cinema has seen the likes of K Balachandar, and Bharathirajaa turn to acting after years of working as a director. But in the current era, the idea of a director turning into an actor has become a norm as we see directors like Gautam Vasudev Menon continuously take to acting in various character roles across genres. While the reason for each director turning to acting is unknown, their creative style takes a new form of expression.
While the current era can boast of directors turning into actors, there has also been a rise in actors turning into directors. While AP Nagarajan and K Bhagyaraj can be quoted as legacy examples, actors like Ken Karunaas and Ravi Mohan are riding the tide of actors turning into directors.
Ravi Mohan alongside Vijay Anthony can even be credited with juggling multiple hats. Ravi Mohan is writing, directing and producing An Ordinary Man. While Vijay Anthony has produced, starred in, and composed music for Shakthi Thirumagan.
With each creator in Tamil finding new ways to express their own voice, one can only wonder the new stories they bring to the silver screen, and who will the next multifaceted creator be.
