G.M. Kumar

Biography

G. M. Kumar is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. He won the Nandi Award for Second Best Story Writer film Muvva Gopaludu (1987) it's an official remake of his own film Aruvadai Naal

GM Kumar was born in 1957 in Avadi. As a child, he got the chance to view many films. Soon he moved to the film industry as assistant director to K. Bhagyaraj. He had worked with Livingston and R.P.Vishwam for movies like Kakki Sattai, and Kanni Rasi.

Kumar debuted in films by directing Sivaji Productions' Aruvadai Naal (1986) with Prabhu in the lead role. The film won good reviews and fetched Kumar several offers to make more films, though he noted that he rejected several as the producers were unwilling to have Ilaiyaraaja as composer. 

His next two directorial ventures Pickpocket and Uruvam were disasters. The film Irumbu Pookal's music did well as two songs were composed by M.S. Viswanathan, however, the film failed at the box office. 

Due to his insistence that he would direct only if the music was by Ilaiyaraaja, he lost films. Thus his market value significantly diminished and only went on to make three more films despite his initial success. 

His decision to produce and direct Uruvam became a financial failure and put him into bankruptcy. He ended up making his acting debut as a villain in Bharathiraja's Captain Magal (1992), before disappearing to make documentaries and to study anthropology. 

In the early 2000s, he was once again on the verge of bankruptcy and chose to act in minor roles offered by his protege Raj Kapoor, in films including Ramchandra and the unreleased Sivalingam IPS. 

He expressed his surprise at being given an offer by Shankar's production house and took up the role in Veyil (2006) to make ends meet, winning acclaim for his role.

Bala approached him to star in Avan Ivan as a character called Highness, with his performance winning him a nomination for the Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor. Critics labeled his performance as "riveting", though the film only won average reviews.