Arun Kumar better known as Atlee, started life in Tamil films as an assistant to S. Shankar in the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012). He made his directorial debut with the film Raja Rani (2013), after that, he has directed mass hits like Theri (2016), Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019), all featuring Vijay, all of which became commercially successful at the box office and won several accolades. His latest venture, Jawan (2023), starring Shah Rukh Khan in a double role, broke all sorts of box-office records when it was released on September 7. At the time of writing this, it has grossed over 1000 crores worldwide. It has been talked about its antiestablishment stance as well. Atlee says he has always made films which have high emotional content with a social message thrown in. He’s super happy about the kind of crazy success that Jawan has been generating. There are rumours that he’s already working on the sequel. The director talks about his philosophy and more in a candid interview.
It is a massive year to be a part of Shah Rukh Khan’s filmography…
It is a gift for a director when your lead star is having the best year and of course your pressure comes down and you know if you have merit in your film, you are going to fly. So, I was happy for Khan sir. I was happy for everyone who was a part of this film and I was personally also happy about that.
You have dealt with many sensitive topics in Jawan in a nuanced manner; was there ever a fear of backlash?
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