V. Jayaprakash

V. Jayaprakash is an Indian film director and producer, who has directed Tamil language films. He rose to fame through the romantic drama Sathi Sanam (1997), and has gone on to make feature films including the dramas Kadhal FM (2005) and Ulagammai (2023).

Jayaprakash completed his degree in Tamil literature at Loyola College, Chennai, before taking on a masters degree in Presidency College and a further masters degree in philosophy at Annamalai University. He later completed a doctorate in Bharathidasan University. Jayaprakash started his career as a journalist in 1987 and entered the film industry by 1990, first working as an assistant to director Bharathiraja. He made his first film, Sathi Sanam in 1997, with the film earning tax free status from the government.^[1]

Jayaprakash's second film Kadhal FM (2005) starred Manikandan, Shivani Singh and Aravind Akash in the lead roles. Prior to release, Jayaprakash described the film as an "out and out film of the youth, by the youth and for the youth".^[2] Upon release, Malini Mannath of Chennai Online opined that "But otherwise, there's not much going for the film with its hotch-potch situations and lacklustre narration. A couple of suggestive lines have been surreptitiously pushed in, and the sound picturisations too border more on the 'sizzling' than the aesthetic".^[3][4]

In 2019, Jayaprakash worked on a film titled Kuchi Ice, a tale of how globalisation has affected lives and the society, with Bharani appearing in the lead role. Despite completing shoot, the film did not have a theatrical release.^[5] He later worked on a period socio-drama, Ulagammai, based on Oru Kottukku Veliye, a popular novel by Tamil writer Su. Samuthiram. The project garnered attention after the background score of the film, composed by Ilaiyaraaja, was released in March 2022, prior to its theatrical release. The film, starring Gouri Kishan in the lead role, later had a low-profile release in September 2023.^[6][7][8]