{{Short description|Indian film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Tarun Gopi | image = Tarun_Gopi.jpg | caption = Tarun Gopi | occupation = Film Director, Cine Artist / Actor, Producer | years_active = 2006 - present | birth_date = 10 April | birth_place = [[Gudalur, Theni]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]] }}
'''Tarun Gopi''' (born 10 April) is an Indian film director, scriptwriter and film producer. His first film as director was ''[[Thimiru]]'' (2006), which became one of the year's top-grossing Tamil films. He later ventured into acting roles, but has since prioritised his work as an actor below directorial duties.
==Career== Tarun Gopi was born in Gudalur, in the Theni District of Tamil Nadu and was brought up in Madurai. Tarun Gopi had his schooling at the Government Higher Secondary School and then studied Bachelor of Accounting at Madurai Kamaraj University. Soon after completing his education, he joined as an assistant director and apprenticed under directors [[Sakthi Chidambaram]] and [[Upendra (actor)|Upendra]]. Tarun Gopi made his debut with the [[masala (film genre)|masala]] film, ''[[Thimiru]]'' (2006) featuring [[Vishal (actor)|Vishal]] in the lead role. He was keen on casting actress [[Sriya Reddy]] in a villainous role and was only successful in signing her on after several rounds of negotiation, with the casting subsequently winning acclaim post-release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/shriya-reddy-too-rocks-kannada-news-24488.html|title=Shriya Reddy too rocks - Kannada News |date=14 August 2006|website=IndiaGlitz.com}}</ref> The film opened in August 2006 to positive reviews, with a critic from [[The Hindu]] adding "Gopi's packaging and treatment make ''Thimiru'' engaging".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sify.com/movies/thimiru-review-tamil-pclwbfjcedjai.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211211949/http://www.sify.com/movies/thimiru-review-tamil-pclwbfjcedjai.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2015|title=Thimiru|website=[[Sify]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/action-on-solid-ground-thimiru/article3230277.ece|title=Action on solid ground - Thimiru|newspaper=The Hindu |date=11 August 2006|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref> ''Thimiru'' became a very successful venture at the box office and Tarun Gopi immediately began pre-production work on another script featuring [[R. Madhavan|Madhavan]], but later discontinued work the project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/sep-06-01/02-09-06-madhavan.html|title=Tamil movies : Maddy is the next hero of 'Thimiru' Tarun Gopi|website=www.behindwoods.com}}</ref>
His next venture was ''[[Kaalai]]'' (2008) featuring [[Silambarasan]] and [[Vedhicka]], which fared poorly at the box office and received negative reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sify.com/movies/kaalai-review-tamil-pclw3Jhagdjdf.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211073107/http://www.sify.com/movies/kaalai-review-tamil-pclw3Jhagdjdf.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2015|title=Kaalai|website=[[Sify]]}}</ref> During the making of the film, Tarun fell out with Silambarasan, with the pair reported to have had a brawl on the location of the shoot.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SIMBU TARUN GOPI KAALAI THIMIRU KETTAVAN |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/sep-07-02/18-09-07-simbu.html |website=www.behindwoods.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=tamil movie news simbu kaalai vallavan tarun gopi |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/june-07-02/12-06-07-kaalai.html |website=www.behindwoods.com}}</ref> Also during 2007, he announced that he would act as the antagonist in Silambarasan's directorial venture ''Kettavan'' and would work on a bilingual film, ''Nee Oda Naan Thuratha'', with [[Prabhas]], [[Lekha Washington]], [[Ravi Krishna (actor, born 1983)|Ravi Krishna]] and [[Meera Chopra|Nila]] starring. However, the former venture was shelved after a single schedule and the latter project did not materialise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TARUN GOPI RAVI KRISHNA KEDI A M RATHINAM 7G Rainbow Colony |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/aug-07-03/20-08-07-tarun-gopi.html |website=www.behindwoods.com}}</ref> Tarun Gopi then set up his own production studio and began work on his home production venture, ''Kaatupaiya'', where he would play the lead role himself. He was unsuccessful in bringing in [[Reemma Sen]] to play the heroine and subsequently found it difficult to continue the project, so accepted an offer to act and make his debut through [[Rasu Madhuravan]]'s ''[[Mayandi Kudumbathar]]'' (2009), alongside nine other directors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thirumalai Dhanush Sullaan Thimiru Tarun Gopi Reema Sen |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/apr-08-04/pandhayam-24-04-08.html |website=www.behindwoods.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tamilwire.net/20234-confident-shine-hero-tarun-gopi.html|title=Confident Shine Hero Tarun Gopi|website=tamilwire.net}}</ref> The film had an average run at the box office, and during a press meet for the film, Tarun Gopi lashed out at actors Vishal and Silambarasan for treating him poorly in his earlier directorial commitments. He accused the pair of tearing promotional posters of ''Mayandi Kudumbathar'' and spoke of their continuous interference in their respective films. Tarun Gopi's outburst was widely criticised by his contemporaries in the film industry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=14893287&cid=2363|title=Tarun Gopi gets it back from his director! - Sify.com|website=[[Sify]] |date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208205405/http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=14893287&cid=2363|archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/tarun-gopi-hits-out-at-vishal-and-simbu-news-tamil-kkfscGdabedsi.html|title=Tarun Gopi hits out at Vishal and Simbu!|website=[[Sify]] |date=11 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211044511/http://www.sify.com/movies/tarun-gopi-hits-out-at-vishal-and-simbu-news-tamil-kkfscGdabedsi.html|archive-date=11 December 2015}}</ref>
Tarun Gopi then planned to direct the Tamil remake of the successful Telugu film, ''[[Ullasamga Utsahamga]]'' in 2009, but the venture failed to take off.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bharatstudent.com/cafebharat/view_news-Tamil-News_and_Gossips-3,47384.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907080052/http://www.bharatstudent.com/cafebharat/view_news-Tamil-News_and_Gossips-3,47384.php|archive-date=2017-09-07|website=bharatstudent.com|title=Tarun Gopi to direct a remake...}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2021}} He also appeared in the films ''Jeeva Poonga'' directed by Azhagappan and ''Ennai Etho Seithu Vittai'' opposite [[Saranya Mohan]] during the period, but neither film had a theatrical release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ayngaran.com/frame.php?iframepath=newsdetails.php?newsid=1947|title=Ayngaran International|website=www.ayngaran.com}}</ref> Likewise in 2010, he worked on a multi-starrer film titled ''Gnani'' and ''Saravana Kudil'' opposite [[Saranya Nag]], but again neither film was completed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/vijayalakshmis-sister-becomes-actress-tamil-news-55981.html|title=Vijayalakshmis' sister becomes actress - Tamil News|date=8 April 2010|website=www.indiaglitz.com}}</ref> Throughout the following years, he featured in further unreleased films such as Balamurugan's ''Pechiyakka Marumagan'' and Vadivudaiyaan's ''Kanniyum Kaalaiyum Sema Kadhal'' alongside [[Karan (actor)|Karan]], and also issued a public apology to the actors he had upset previously.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supergoodmovies.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731204340/http://www.supergoodmovies.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=31 July 2009|title=Super Good Movies.com - Best Movies Review, News, Offer, Lifestyle - Online Gaming Using Hollywood Movies To Create Slots UI & UX|website=Super Good Movies.com - Best Movies Review, News, Offer, Lifestyle}}</ref> In 2015, he completed making ''Veri'', a sequel to his previous film ''Thimiru'', albeit with a smaller budget, which would feature a different cast led by himself, [[Sandhya (actress, born 1988)|Sandhya]] and [[Ramana (actor)|Ramana]]. At the audio launch event of the film, he expressed his frustration at the unreleased state of several of his films and remarked that he would no longer prioritise work as an actor and would return to directing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 December 2015 |title=I won't act again, Tarun Gopi |url=http://www.tamilstar.com/news-id-i-wont-act-again-tarun-gopi-tarun-gopi-tamil-cinema-news-02-06-1511573.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208152852/http://www.tamilstar.com/news-id-i-wont-act-again-tarun-gopi-tarun-gopi-tamil-cinema-news-02-06-1511573.htm |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=11 October 2021 |website=Tamilstar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150603/entertainment-kollywood/article/i-was-impressed-sandhya%e2%80%99s-performance-tarun-gopi|title=I was impressed by Sandhya's performance: Tarun Gopi|first=anupama|last=subramanian|date=4 June 2015|website=Deccan Chronicle}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===As film director=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%;" ! Year !! Film !! Notes |- | 2006 || ''[[Thimiru]]'' || |- | 2008 || ''[[Kaalai]]'' || |- |}
===As actor=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%;" ! Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes |- | 2009 || ''[[Mayandi Kudumbathar]]'' || Paraman || Nominated, [[Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor]] |- | 2012 || ''Pechiyakka Marumagan'' || || |- | 2022 || ''[[Peya Kaanom]]'' || || |- | rowspan="2" | 2023 || ''[[Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam]]'' || || |- | ''Moothakudi'' || || |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=3546445}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopi, Tarun}} [[Category:Film directors from Chennai]] [[Category:Male actors in Tamil cinema]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Male actors from Chennai]]