Guru Somasundaram Explained

Guru Somasundaram
Birth Place:Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma Mater:Government Polytechnic College, Tamil Nadu
Years Active:2011–present
Occupation:Actor

Guru Somasundaram is an Indian actor who works in the Tamil and Malayalam film industries. He made his debut in Aaranya Kaandam (2011) winning critical acclaim for his role, before also appearing in the Tamil action film Pandiya Naadu (2013), Jigarthanda (2014) and Joker (2016). He rose to fame for playing the role of Shibu, a super villain in the 2021 Netflix Malayalam film, Minnal Murali.

Early life

Guru Somasundaram was born on 3 September 1975. He joined the prominent Tamil theatre group in Koothu-P-Pattarai, where he acted in plays from 2002 till 2011. In 2003, director Thiagarajan Kumararaja saw him, while he was playing the role of Chandrahari in Koothu-P-Pattarai's play. Thiagarajan offered him an opportunity to feature in his future film.

Career

In 2008, Thiagrajan offered Somasundram a role in his neo-noir film Aaranya Kaandam, as the drunkard Kaalaiyan. Somasundaram lost seven kilograms and underwent training for the movie. Upon release in 2011, the film went on to win two National Film Awards, while Somasundaram's performance was well received by critics.[1] Rediff.com's critic praised the ensemble cast but added "the honours undoubtedly go to Guru Somasundaram. His gleeful cackles at the rooster fight, pathetic rumblings to his son and wide-eyed act in the Lodge are wonderful to behold."[2] Similarly Behindwoods.com noted that the actor had delivered a "superior" performance.[3] After seeing his performance, director Mani Ratnam signed him on to play a small role in Kadal (2013).

After leaving Koothu-P-Pattarai, he toured as a freelance theatre actor, before venturing into Malayalam cinema by portraying a photographer in 5 Sundarikal (2013), after being impressed by Shyju Khaled's narration.[4] Later that year, he was seen in a character role in Suseenthiran's critically acclaimed Pandiya Naadu, portraying the slain brother of Vishal's character. In between feature films, he appeared in the short silent film The Lost Paradise, portraying a prisoner heading home after fifteen years. He also won acclaim for his performance as an acting coach in Karthik Subbaraj's gangster film Jigarthanda (2014), where he was seen giving acting training to the character portrayed by Bobby Simha. Somasundaram had previously trained Simha as an actor in real life during the pair's theatre performances.[5] He is also known for his role as a district collector in the 2019 Tamil film Petta which starred Rajinikanth in the lead role.[6]

Filmography

Films

Year Film Role LanguageNotes
2011 Aaranya Kaandam Kaalaiyan Tamil
2013 Kadal Kovil Kutty Tamil
5 Sundarikal Photographer Malayalam
Pandiya Naadu Nagaraj Tamil
2014 Jigarthanda Muthu Tamil
2015 49-O Aarumugam Tamil
Bench Talkies - The First Bench David Tamil
Thoongaa Vanam Duraipandiyan TamilRowspan=2Bilingual movie
Cheekati Rajyam Telugu
Kohinoor Naayakkar Malayalam
2016 Joker Mannar Mannan Tamil
Kuttrame Thandanai Balan Tamil
2017 Yaakkai Sriram Tamil
Paambhu Sattai Rajendran Tamil
2018 Odu Raja Odu Manohar Tamil
Vanjagar Ulagam Sampath Tamil
2019 Petta District collector Tamil
2021 Maara Chokku Tamil
Manja Satta Pacha Satta Tamil
Jai Bhim Public Prosecutor (PP) Chellapandiyan Tamil
Ikk Gnana Prakasam Tamil
Minnal Murali Shibu Malayalam
2022 Maamanithan Vappa Bhai Tamil
Agent Kannayiram Kannayiram's father Tamil
Haya Nandagopan Malayalam [7]
Naalam Mura Jayesh Malayalam
2023 Pakalum Paathiravum Janakiraman Malayalam [8]
Yaathisai Poosari Tamil [9]
Charles Enterprises Gomathi's husband Malayalam [10]
Neeraja Psychologist Malayalam [11]
Chera Malayalam
Bell Brahma Tamil
Dharmajan Malayalam
2024 Bayamariya BrammaiTamil
Indian 2 Common Man (Animated character) [In body suit] [12]
Malayalam Filming[13]
Malayalam Filming[14]
-- Per WP:FILMOGRAPHY: Do not add future projects until -->

Short films

Web series

YearTitleRoleLanguagePlatformNotes
2020ToplessKalki (Politician) TamilZEE5[16]
2022Meme BoysCollege DeenSonyLIV[17]
VictimGuna

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryFilmLanguageResultRef
2017Behindwoods Gold MedalBest Actor Male JokerTamil[18]
2022Best Actor in a Negative Role Minnal MuraliMalayalam
Mazhavil Entertainment AwardsBest Actor in a Villain RoleMalayalam Won
OTT Play AwardsBreakthrough Performance of the YearMinnal MuraliMalayalamWon

References

Basil Joseph - Guru Somasundaram to star in Namitha Pramod's upcoming film ‘KAPP’ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/basil-joseph-guru-somasundaram-to-star-in-namitha-pramods-upcoming-film-kapp/articleshow/89296131.cms

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bhavanishankar. Jyothsna. GURU SOMASUNDARAM INTERVIEW. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121126081714/https://www.behindwoods.com/new-videos/videos-q1-09/actor-actress-interview/guru-somasundaram.html. 2012-11-26. Behindwoods.com. 11 October 2014.
  2. Web site: Srinivasan. Pavithra. 10 June 2011. Review: Aaranya Kaandam bypasses gangster cliches. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110612231713/http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/south-review-aaranya-kaandam/20110610.htm. 2011-06-12. Rediff. 11 October 2014.
  3. Web site: AARANYA KAANDAM MOVIE REVIEW. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110613091132/http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-reviews/reviews-2/jun-11-02/aaranya-kaandam-review.html. 2011-06-13. Behindwoods. 11 October 2014.
  4. Web site: Krishna. Gayathri. 2013-06-10. In pursuit of recognition. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141015195703/http://archives.deccanchronicle.com/130610/entertainment-mollywood/article/pursuit-recognition. 15 October 2014. 11 October 2014. Deccan Chronicle.
  5. News: Srinivasan. Sudhir. 2014-09-21. Training Day. en-IN. The Hindu. 2022-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20200705212248/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-cinemaplus/training-day/article6430417.ece. 2020-07-05. 0971-751X.
  6. Web site: 'Rajinikanth's enthusiasm and dedication are beyond his age'. 23 January 2019. 19 June 2022. 19 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220619082428/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/petta-cast-and-crew-talk-about-superstar-rajinikanth-5551551/. live.
  7. News: 'Haya' trailer: Guru Somasundaram starrer promises to be a thriller. Times Of India.
  8. Web site: Kunchako Boban, Rajisha Vijayan's Pakalum Paathiravum to hit screens on this date . 2023-03-03 . . en . 26 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230226001710/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/news/2023/feb/13/kunchako-boban-rajisha-vijayan-starrer-pakalum-paathiravum-to-hit-screens-on-this-date-39944.html . live .
  9. News: 2023-04-01 . Guru Somasundaram plays priest in period film . The Times of India . 2023-05-06 . 0971-8257 . 8 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408125554/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/guru-somasundaram-plays-priest-in-period-film/articleshow/99164515.cms . live .
  10. Web site: Charles Enterprises gets a release date . 2023-04-16 . . en . 16 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230416235510/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/news/2023/apr/10/charles-enterprises-gets-a-release-date-42123.html . live .
  11. Web site: New song from Shruti Ramachandran's Neeraja out . 2023-05-11 . . en . 11 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230511205530/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/news/2023/may/10/new-song-from-shruti-ramachandrans-neeraja-out-43271.html . live .
  12. Web site: Features . C. E. . 2023-10-29 . Indian 2 makers to drop glimpse soon . 2024-07-18 . Cinema Express . en.
  13. News: Mohanlal's 'Barroz' planning to release on THIS date! Read more . The Times of India . 2023-03-20 . 0971-8257 . 20 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230320193459/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/mohanlals-barroz-planning-to-release-on-this-date-read-more/articleshow/98424400.cms . live .
  14. Web site: 2022-11-26 . Her first-look poster out: Parvathy, Aishwarya Rajesh, Oorvasi, Remya Nambessan headline Lijin Jose's film . 2023-04-04 . The Indian Express . en . 4 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230404174743/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/her-first-look-poster-parvathy-aishwarya-rajesh-oorvasi-remya-nambessan-lijin-jose-film-8291376/ . live .
  15. News: M. Ramakrishnan. 2017-04-19. 'Joker deserved the National Award'. en-IN. The Hindu. 2022-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20200320035015/http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/joker-deserved-the-national-award/article18138308.ece. 2020-03-20. 0971-751X.
  16. Web site: Krishnakumar. Ranjani. 2020-02-20. Tamil web series Topless takes a story about women, honour and makes it about the absurdities of men. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200220192223/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/tamil-web-series-topless-takes-a-story-about-women-honour-and-makes-it-about-the-absurdities-of-men-8056811.html. 2020-02-20. 2021-07-14. Firstpost.
  17. Web site: கார்த்தி . MEME BOYS விமர்சனம்: ஒரு மீமுக்கு அக்கப்போரா - எப்படியிருக்கிறது காலேஜ் கலாட்டா நிறைந்த வெப்சீரிஸ்? . 2022-07-26 . . 25 July 2022 . ta . 26 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220726124230/https://cinema.vikatan.com/web-series/meme-boys-is-a-fun-filled-tamil-web-series . live .
  18. Web site: 2017-06-13. BEHINDWOODS GOLD MEDALS 2017: FULL WINNERS LIST. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170617021224/https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-16/complete-list-of-award-winners-in-behindwoods-gold-medals-2017.html. 2017-06-17. Behindwoods.