A. M. Rathnam
# A. M. Rathnam

A. M. Rathnam is an Indian film producer, lyricist, screenwriter, and director known for his works in Telugu and Tamil cinema. Under the gamut of Sri Surya Movies Entertainment, Hyderabad, a movie production house owned by him, he has produced blockbusters in Telugu such as Karthavyam (1990), Peddarikam (1992), Sneham Kosam (1999), and Kushi (2001). He ventured into Tamil cinema in 1996 with the blockbuster Indian, which was India's Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. He then produced films such as Kushi, Run, Boys, Enakku 20 Unakku 18, Dhool, Ghilli, 7G Rainbow Colony, Arrambam, Yennai Arindhaal and Vedalam.

## Personal life

Rathnam was born in Buchireddypalem of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. Rathnam has two sons, director and actor Jyothi Krishna and actor Ravi Krishna. Jyothi Krishna's directorial debut Enakku 20 Unakku 18 and its Telugu version, as well as Ravi Krishna's first four films, that also include Jyothi Krishna's second directorial venture Kedi, were all produced by Rathnam himself. In 2012, he built a temple for Shirdi Sai Baba at his office in Valasaravakkam.

## Career

Ratnam started his career as a make-up man for superstar actress Vijayashanti. Being the Executive Producer for the actress, he produced his first film Karthavyam, in 1990. Vijayashanti won the National Award for the Best Actress for this film. He made films with Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Chiranjeevi, Vikram and many other actors. He later began producing films in Tamil and Hindi as well, dubbing and releasing several films in other languages. He went on to finance Shankar's Indian, which earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil and was later submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Nayak: The Real Hero and Sneham Kosam starring Chiranjeevi.

Rathnam produced the Tamil romance film Kushi, starring Vijay and its same-titled Telugu remake the following year, starring Pawan Kalyan, both of which were directed by S. J. Surya and became highly successful. Later, he produced two more films, Ghilli and Sivakasi starring Vijay. Both Ghilli and Sivakasi were highly successful at the box office. During the early 1990s, he directed two films Peddarikam and Sankalpam in Telugu. He has also written the screenplay for the film Naaga. Later, he changed the name of his production company from Sri Surya Movies Entertainment to Shri Sai Raam Creations, which is now headed by S. Aishwarya. He had done three films with Ajith Kumar such as Arrambam, Yennai Arindhaal and Vedalam, all of which were huge success.

## Awards

Filmfare Awards South

* Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu – Karthavyam (1990)
* Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil – Indian (1996)
* Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil – Natpukkaga (1998)

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

* Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (First Prize) – Indian (1996)
* Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (First Prize) – Natpukkaga (1998)

Others

* Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil – Indian (1996)

## Filmography

### Producer

| Year | Film | Language | Notes | Production Company |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1990 | Karthavyam | Telugu | Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1992 | Peddarikam | Telugu | Also Screenplay & Direction | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1993 | Aasayam | Telugu | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1994 | Tejasvini | Hindi | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1995 | Sankalpam | Telugu | Also Screenplay & Direction | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1996 | Indian | Tamil | Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil Dubbed into Telugu as Bharateeyudu | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1998 | Natpukkaga | Tamil | Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1998 | Ellame En Pondattithaan | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1999 | Sneham Kosam | Telugu | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 1999 | Kadhalar Dhinam | Tamil | Dubbed into Hindi as Dil Hi Dil Mein and Telugu as Premikula Roju | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2000 | Kushi | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2001 | Khushi | Telugu | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2001 | Nayak: The Real Hero | Hindi | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2002 | Run | Tamil | Dubbed into Telugu as same title | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2003 | Dhool | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2003 | Naaga | Telugu | Also Screenplay | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2003 | Boys | Tamil | Dubbed into Telugu as same title | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2003 | Enakku 20 Unakku 18 | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2003 | Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu | Telugu | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2004 | Kovil | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2004 | Ghilli | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2004 | 7G Rainbow Colony | Tamil | Bilingual in Telugu as 7G Brundavan Colony | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2005 | Sukran | Tamil | Only Distribution | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2005 | Ponniyin Selvan | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2005 | Sivakasi | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2006 | Bangaram | Telugu | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2006 | Kedi | Tamil | 25th Film | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2006 | Dharmapuri | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2008 | Bheemaa | Tamil | | Sri Surya Movies |
| 2013 | Arrambam | Tamil | | Sri Sathya Sai Movies |
| 2015 | Yennai Arindhaal | Tamil | | Sri Sai Raam Creations |
| 2015 | Vedalam | Tamil | | Sri Sai Raam Creations |
| 2017 | Karuppan | Tamil | | Sri Sai Raam Creations |
| 2017 | Oxygen | Telugu | Also screenplay | Sri Sai Raam Creations |
| 2023 | Hari Hara Veera Mallu | Telugu | | Mega Surya Production |

### Distributor

* Vyjayanthi IPS (1990)
* Gentleman (1993, Telugu)
* Premikudu (1994, Telugu Dubbed version of Kadhalan)
* The King (1995) (Tamil dubbed version of Malayalam film The King)
* Unnaiye Kalyanam Pannikiren (1996) (Tamil dubbed version of Telugu film Ninne pelladatha)
* Arunachalam (1997, Telugu)
* Jeans (1998, Telugu)
* Oke Okkadu (1999, Telugu Dubbed Version of Mudhalvan)
* Priyuralu Pilichindi (2000) (Telugu dubbed version of Kandukonden Kandukonden)

### Lyricist

* Jeans (film) - Telugu version
* Oke Okkadu - Telugu version of Mudhalvan
* Boys (2003 film) - Telugu version
* Naaga - Entha Chinna Muddu, Macarina, Oka Konte, Megham Karigenu
