Mysskin

Mysskin
Born	Shanmugha Raja 20 September 1971
Occupation	Film director, actor
Years active	2006–present

Mysskin (Tamil: மிஷ்கின்; born Shanmugha Raja on 20 September 1971) is a South Indian film Director, screenwriter, actor, Singer and Producer. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with Chithiram Pesuthadi. His other directorials Anjathe, Nandalala and Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum received high critical acclaim. He has also proved his acting skills by starring as a mentally challenged person in Nandalala and as a killer seeking redemption in "Onaiyum Aatukuttiyum".

Career

He chose Mysskin as his name inspired by Prince Myshkin, the protagonist in Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot. His schooling was in Tamil and he is an avid book reader^[1] He was working in a book store when director Kathir first asked him to join him. He was with him for nearly 8 months but did not work in any movie. It was under director Vincent Selva that he did his first movie Youth, followed by Jithan, again under Vincent Selva.^[1] Mysskin made his directorial debut with the low -budget film Chithiram Pesuthadi which went to become one of the biggest hits of the year. A simple love story, it became a hit owing to the unique style the film was written in. Narain and Bhavana debuted as leads in the film became popular faces. He then moved on to Anjathe which became one of the biggest blockbusters in Tamil Cinema. The film received critical acclaim for all departments of film making. The film was also noted for its narrative style and mise en scene which marked an example of Tamil new wave cinema.^[2] It starred Narain, Prasanna, Vijayalakshmi Ahathian and yesteryears actor Pandiarajan in a never before seen role. Interestingly both the Mysskin films had item songs which became big hits and has captured the hearts of the young and old alike.

Anjathe catapulted Mysskin into the big league. He is touted to be one of the best young directors in Tamil cinema. Two years after this, he came back with Nandalala a film loosely based on Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro was completely different from his first two ventures. A film which dealt with a young boy and a mentally challenged person going in search of their respective mothers. He chose to play the mentally challenged character after the script was turned down by many established actors. The film went on to become his most critically acclaimed film with some critics calling it one of the best Tamil films ever made. Nandalala won the people's choice award at the Norway Film Festival. His next film, Yuddham Sei, a dark thriller was a huge hit at the box office as well. His visual style and directing prowess was appreciated and talked about by everybody. His next film, Mugamoodi has received negative responses from the public and media. His next film Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (The Wolf and the lamb)" was a fast-paced thriller released on 27 September 2013. It received superlative reviews from all corners. Audience and critics praised the film as a trendsetter and the changing face of Tamil cinema. Once again Mysskin proved that he is a director of high standards. In Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum Mysskin acted as one among the two lead characters.

Pisasu, Mysskin's latest movie released on November 19, 2014 turned out to be a super hit. It also got high critical acclaim. It was one of the biggest commercial hits of 2014 in Tamil Cinema and proved to be the most profitable Tamil film of 2014.

Filmography

As director, writer & actor

Year	Title	Language	Credited as			Role	Notes
			Director	Writer	Actor
2006	Chithiram Pesuthadi	Tamil
2008	Anjathe	Tamil					Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Director
2010	Nandalala	Tamil				Bhaskar Mani	Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor
2011	Yuddham Sei	Tamil
2012	Mugamoodi	Tamil
2013	Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum	Tamil				Wolf / Edward
2014	Pisasu	Tamil
2016	Savarakkaththi	Tamil
2016	Thupparivaalan	Tamil

As singer

Year	Song(s)	Film	Composer	Notes
2006	"Aaahayam Aaahayam", "Mazhai Mazhai" & "Idhu Enna Pudhu Kanavo (M)"	Chithiram Pesuthadi	Sundar C Babu
2008	"Kannadhasan Karaikudi" & "Acham Thavir"	Anjathe
2011	"Aararo" & "Vedham Pudhumai"	Yuddham Sei	K
2012	"Bar Anthem"	Mugamoodi
2013	"Ammadi Aathadi"	Thulli Vilayadu	Srikanth Deva
2015	"Vellakaara Rani"	Kallappadam	K

References

1. "Director Mysskin". Behindwoods. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
2. Kalorth, Nithin (September 2013). "Identification and Analysis of Images in Anjathey" 4 (3). Media Watch. ISSN 0976-0911.