Pradeep Ranganathan Wiki, Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Pradeep Ranganathan is an Indian actor and director, who mainly works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known for directing the films Comali (2019) and Love Today (2022).

Wiki/Biography

Pradeep Ranganathan was born on Sunday, 25 July 1993 (age 30; as of 2023) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. His zodiac sign is Leo. He did his schooling at DAV and SDAV schools, in Chennai. After that, he did his graduation from Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar (SSN) College of Engineering, Chennai.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Weight (approx.): 70 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Body Measurements (approx.): Chest: 40 inches; Waist: 30 inches; Biceps: 12 inches

Family

Parents & Siblings

Pradeep has two siblings, an elder brother and an elder sister.

Wife & Children

He is unmarried.

Career

Direction

Pradeep Ranganathan began his career by directing several short films. Sometimes, he also used to do the editing and acting part of these short films. Some of his short films in which he worked as a director, writer, and actor are Whatsapp Kadhal, College Diaries, Highway Kaadhali, and many more. He did his first feature film directorial debut after getting the opportunity from Jayam Ravi and Vels International. Pradeep also played the lead role in the film. They were impressed by the work of Pradeep after watching some of his short films. As a director, he debuted with the film Comali (2019) which became a commercial hit at the box office. Not only this but Pradeep also made a cameo appearance during the climax of the film Comali.

In 2022, he directed the film Love Today which became a box-office hit. The success of the film helped Pradeep Ranganathan to become an overnight sensation. He has also appeared in the lead of the film Love Today (2022) where he played the role of Uthaman Pradeep.

Acting

In 2019, he made a cameo appearance in the film Comali where he played the role of Auto Driver Joseph. In the film Love Today (2022), he made a debut as a lead actor by playing the role of Uthaman Pradeep. Not only his directing skills for the film was appreciated but he grabbed all the limelight for his amazing acting skills.

Writing

Pradeep is a writer for the film Comali (2019) and Love Today (2022).

Controversies

Mocking Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth

Debutante filmmaker Pradeep Ranganathan came into the limelight in 2019 when a scene from the trailer of his film Comali went viral where the actor Jayam Ravi was seen taking a dig at superstar Rajinikanth‘s political entry announcement. It became a topic of controversy on social media. The fans of Rajinikanth started trending #BoycottComali on Twitter and asked the filmmaker to apologise for the same. The scene includes Jayam Ravi who woke up after 16 years of being in a vegetative state. He was not convinced that it was 2016 when Ravi’s friend (played by Yogi Babu) showed him a clip of Rajinikanth announcing his political entry. This scene didn’t go well with the fans of Rajinikanth who asked the director to chop it off from the film. In reality, Rajinikanth had given a hint of his entry into politics in 1996 but actually made the entry in December 2017. The director said that he has no intention of hurting the sentiments of anyone. He said,

Rajini sir made a hint about getting into politics in 1996. We have a character who wakes up after being in a coma and realises that Rajini sir had finally taken the political plunge. That is what we tried to convey through that scene.”

After all the detailed discussions, the decision was taken to finally chop off the scene from the trailer and the film.

Awards, Honours, Achievements

• Best Director, Star Icon Studio One Award (2020)

• Best Debut Director, Edison Awards (2020)

• Best Debutant Director – SIIMA Awards 2021

• Best Debut Actor Award (2023)

Favourites

• Bollywood Director: Rajkumar Hirani

• Bollywood Film(s): Munna Bhai MBBS, 3 Idiots

• Music Composer: Yuvan Shakar Raja

• Film(s): Back To The Future (1985), Home Alone 2 Lost in New York (1992), Titanic (1997), Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989), Padayappa (1999), Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), 3 Idiots (2009)

Facts/Trivia

• Pradeep Ranganathan runs a YouTube channel “Pradeep Ranganathan” with more than 500K subscribers.

• In an interview, Pradeep shared an incident regarding his childhood days. He said that he took the inspiration from the American film Back To The Future (1985), a science fiction film which was telecasted on television in the dubbed version. Pradeep was so impressed by the film that he decided to enter the world of the film industry. Not only this but even today, he refers to the film Back To The Future whenever he begins the work on his films. In an interview, he said,

I discovered the film through a dubbed version on TV as a kid and found it quite exciting. Looking back, Back to the Future is the base for the story and screenplay structure I follow. Before beginning work on my movies, I revisit this film. The set-up, mid-point, pay-off, and climax are beautifully defined. Even the set-up is crafted intelligently, and all the important aspects are introduced to us within the first 20 minutes before getting to the primary plot. This is what I take away from this fun film. In fact, when I started Comali, I wanted to do a time-travel film like Back to the Future, and coma, as an element, helped me bridge the timelines practically.”

• Pradeep also takes inspiration from the Bollywood director Rajkumar Hirani for his amazing films Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) and 3 Idiots (2009).

• In an interview, Pradeep revealed that the film Love Today (2022) includes some of the past memories of his ex-girlfriend. He said,

The film is not a revengeful story of a boy who goes after his ex-girlfriend. The dedication in the tagline is meant to be something similar to how you dedicate an award you receive to someone close to you. About 10 percent of the film is actually based on my own life and it is a sweet dedication to my ex. The film will end with a beautiful. positive message.”

• Pradeep calls himself a dog lover.