P. Samuthirakani (pronounced Samudrakhani, born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and director who works predominantly in Tamil films besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K. Balachander, in Paarthale Paravasam. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for Visaranai.

Early life

Samuthirakani was born on 26 April 1973 in Seithur, Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu. He did his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the Rajapalayam Rajus College and he also earned a Bachelor of Law from Ambedkar Law College. However, he aimed to become an actor. He has said that people used to tell him that he did not have the physical appearance or talent necessary to be an actor.

Career

In 1997, he joined as an assistant director under Sundar K. Vijayan. He was then noticed by K. Balachander and was recruited as assistant director for Balachander's 100th film ''Paarthale Paravasam''. He also assisted Balachander in the mega-serial ''Anni'' telecasted by Jaya TV. Samuthirakani recalled that the work experience he gained under Balachander helped him in many ways while shooting ''Arasi'' and ''Selvi'', the mega-serial telecasted in Sun TV, which were massive hits among housewives.In the early 2000s, Samuthirakani began his career as a director. He notably launched a shelved film titled ''Uyir Nanbanukku'' starring Cheran, before making ''Unnai Charanadaindhen'' (2003) for S. P. B. Charan.However, it was the success of ''Naadodigal'' (2009) that established Samuthirakani as a director. Since then he has directed films such as ''Poraali'' (2011), ''Nimirndhu Nil'' (2014) and ''Appa'' (2016). All these films have been remade in Telugu and Kannada. He gained appreciation for his acting in ''Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (2014) as Dhanush's father and in ''Visaranai'' (2016) as a police inspector. He worked as an assistant director for K. Balachander in ''Parthale Paravasam'' (2001) and ''Poi'' (2006) and for Ameer in ''Paruthiveeran'' (2007).He also played important role in Rajinikanth's film ''Kaala'' (2018).In 2020, he acted in Telugu film, ''Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo''. Samuthirakani's returned to directing with ''Naadodigal 2'', a film that takes up the topic of equality. In 2021, he played the main role in the Telugu film, ''Aakashavaani''. He also directed and acted in the fantasy comedy drama ''Vinodhaya Sitham''.