Atlee did a degree in visual communications in Sathyabama University, Chennai and made the short film
En Mel Vizhundha Mazhaithuli. He then appealed to
Mani Rathnam,
S. Shankar and
Gautham Vasudev Menon in search of work and Shankar agreed for him to work under him. He worked as assistant director for the films
Enthiran (2010) and
Nanban (2012), a remake of the Hindi film
3 Idiots. He made short films including
Mugaputhagam (2011). In 2013, Atlee went on to make his directorial debut with
Raja Rani, a
rom com produced by
A. R. Murugadoss. It starred
Arya,
Jai,
Nayanthara,
Nazriya Nazim, and
Sathyaraj. It earned over ₹50 crores at the box office and won him the Best Debut Director award at the
Vijay Awards. Atlee directed his next film,
Theri (2016), action thriller, produced by
Kalaipuli S. Thanu, starring
Vijay,
Samantha, and
Amy Jackson in the lead roles. It received positive reviews from the critics who praised the performances of the cast, soundtrack, score, cinematography, production design, and action sequences. Grossing over ₹150 crores at the box office, it emerged a commercial success and became the
second highest grossing Tamil of 2016. In 2017, Atlee directed
Mersal, an action thriller, produced by
Thenandal Studio Limited. Again starring Vijay, it also had
Nithya Menen,
Kajal Aggarwal,
Samantha Ruth Prabhu,
S. J. Suryah and
Sathyaraj. It became one of the highest-grossing films in
Tamil cinema, grossing more than ₹260 crores worldwide. The film became the
recipient of various accolades. Due to demand, the film was screened at the largest cinema theatre in Europe
Grand Rex,
France. The film was screened at the
Hainan International Film Festival in
Hainan, China and at the
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in
South Korea. Atlee directed his next film,
Bigil (2019), a sports action drama, produced by
AGS Entertainment. He reunited for the third and second time with Vijay and
Nayanthara, respectively. It also starred
Jackie Shroff,
Vivek and
Kathir in other prominent roles. The music was composed by
A. R. Rahman. Upon release, it received mix to positive reviews and emerged as the
highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019 and one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all-time. In 2017, Atlee and his wife Priya started their own production house, A for Apple Productions. They jointly produced their first film with
Fox Star Studios,
Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae, a
horror comedy, written and directed by Ike. It starred
Jiiva,
Sri Divya, and
Soori in the lead roles. In 2020, He produced
Andhaghaaram, a
supernatural horror thriller film, written and directed by V. Vignarajan. It was released directly on
Netflix for streaming, on 24 November 2020. Atlee made his debut in
Hindi cinema with
Jawan, starring
Shah Rukh Khan,
Nayanthara,
Vijay Sethupathi,
Priyamani,
Sanya Malhotra,
Riddhi Dogra, along with others. It was produced by
Red Chillies Entertainment. It released on 7 September 2023 to generally positive reviews. It made ₹1150 crores worldwide in its entire run and becoming one of the highest grossing Indian films. Atlee and Priya produced their third film in Hindi named
Baby John starring
Varun Dhawan,
Keerthy Suresh, and
Wamiqa Gabbi; its a remake of his Tamil film,
Theri (2016). The music was composed by
Thaman S. He will be collaborating with
Allu Arjun in
Raaka, which is being produced by
Kalanithi Maran, under
Sun Pictures. ==Personal life==