Chithra Lakshmanan

Lakshmanan began working in a hardware shop in Arani. He later joined the magazine Vidhi Velli as a sub-editor until its closure. He later joined Thayin Manikodi run by Jayakanthan. He later joined a Singaporean Tamil magazine. After its failure, he decided to start his own magazine Thirai Kathir which became successful. His career in entertainment journalism helped him to also become a public relations officer. He became acquainted with director Bharathiraja to enter the film industry, and subsequently served as a co-producer on all his films with Lakshmanan's brother, Ramu. In 1983, he produced Mann Vasanai under Gayathri Films, which won commercial success as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film. He also served as a press relations officer for Tamil films during the 1980s, and later reprised that role as an actor through Uttama Villain (2015). His first directorial venture was Soora Samhaaram (1988) with Kamal Haasan and later he directed Periya Thambi (1997) with Prabhu and Chinna Raja (1999) with Karthik in the lead role. He turned actor in Japanil Kalyanaraman (1985) and began to prioritise acting commitments in the 2000s, winning acclaim for his comedy roles in Boss Engira Bhaskaran (Nene Ambhani) (2010) and Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013). Throughout his career, Lakshmanan has also taken up posts of responsibility. He served as the Secretary of Tamil Film Producers Council for four years and as an executive committee member in South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, Film Federation of India, and Tamil Film Directors Association for several years. In 2011, he published the book 80 Years of Tamil Cinema, an account documenting the history of Tamil cinema.