1990–1997 Ravikumar assisted various directors such as
Bharathiraja,
Vikraman,
E. Ramdoss,
Nagesh,
Ramarajan and
K. Rangaraj. Ravikumar worked as co-director on
R. B. Choudary's production
Pudhu Vasantham directed by
Vikraman and the success of the film prompted the producer to give Ravikumar a chance to make his directorial debut. Ravikumar thus debuted as a film maker through
Puriyaadha Pudhir (1990), a crime thriller starring
Rahman and
Raghuvaran. A remake of the Kannada film
Tarka, the film won positive reviews upon release and remains as Ravikumar's only film outside the
masala film genre. The success of the film meant that Ravikumar was able to expand his team of assistants and shortly after began work on a film under the same production house titled
Pudhu Kaaviyam with
Vikram in the lead role, though the venture was later shelved. He subsequently switched his genre of films to make a series of village action entertainers and regularly collaborated with actor
Sarath Kumar, scoring successes with
Cheran Pandiyan (1991) and
Nattamai (1994), after which he became a highly sought after film maker in the Tamil film industry. Ravikumar then signed on to make
Muthu (1995), adapting
Priyadarshan's Malayalam film
Thenmavin Kombath, for a film produced by
K. Balachander and starring
Rajinikanth. Despite buying the official remake rights, he worked on his own screenplay, and the film consequently went on to gain "cult classic" status in India and Japan, as well as becoming one of the most profitable Tamil films till date at release. Soon after he worked with
Kamal Haasan for the first time in
Avvai Shanmugi (1996), an Indian adaptation of the American comedy film,
Mrs. Doubtfire. The film, also featuring
Meena and
Gemini Ganesan, won positive reviews and performed well at the box office.
The Hindu praised the film claiming "turns out to be entertainer, mouthful from start to finish". The success of his two films with the two leading Tamil actors prompted further opportunities in big productions in 1997, notably
Vijayakanth's
Dharma Chakkaram and the comedy
Pistha featuring
Karthik.
1998–2010 at
Lingaa shooting In December 1997, Ravikumar announced his next project
Padayappa (1999) would feature Rajinikanth again as the lead actor with
Sivaji Ganesan also in a pivotal role. Though
principal photography for the film was supposed to have started in April 1998, the
FEFSI strike that took place at that time delayed the project. After the strike ended, Ravikumar was able to complete
Arjun's
Kondattam and the successful drama with Sarath Kumar,
Natpukkaga (1998). The film was further delayed when Ravikumar accepted to quickly remake
Natpukkaga in Telugu as
Sneham Kosam (1999) with
Chiranjeevi in the lead. The shoot of
Padayappa began in November 1998 and was subsequently completed in three months, with the film became a blockbuster upon release, as well as earning positive reviews from critics. Following the success of
Padayappa, producer
K. R. Gangadharan signed Ravikumar to direct a film and was insistent that the title should be
Minsara Kanna (1999), after the popular song from Ravikumar's earlier film. His only collaboration with actor
Vijay till date, the film opened to below average reviews collections. He then completed the village action film
Paattali (1999) with Sarath Kumar within a month, as well as directing a portion of the record-breaking comedy drama
Suyamvaram, bringing his release count for the year to five. Ravikumar consequently worked on his first home production through the comedy film
Thenali (2000), starring
Kamal Haasan in the titular role. While his wife Karpagam produced the film under his home studio RK Celluloids, Ravikumar worked on the screenplay and direction for the film also starring
Jayaram,
Jyothika and
Devayani. Completing the film swiftly despite avid publicity,
Thenali won critical and commercial acclaim, prompting grand felicitations of the director at the success meet. In 2001, he had two releases; the Telugu marital comedy
Bava Nachadu and the family drama
Samudhiram, in which he worked with Sarath Kumar again. In 2002, Ravikumar made a third collaboration with
Kamal Haasan through the comedy drama
Panchathanthiram, which was produced by his manager
P. L. Thenappan. Telling the story of five friends and a trip to Bangalore which goes awry, the film opened to rave reviews and made profits at the box office.
Villain (2002), his first film featuring
Ajith Kumar, was shot swiftly within forty days and also became a blockbuster upon release. He later remade the film in Telugu in 2003 under the same name with
Rajasekhar in the lead role, after finishing
Paarai (2003), another village action film with
Sarath Kumar. In 2004, he began production on a third film starring
Rajinikanth titled
Jaggubhai. Ravikumar spent six months on pre-production works and missed out on the opportunity to direct Kamal Haasan in
Vasool Raja MBBS during the period, but the film was later shelved after a photo shoot.
Rajinikanth had asked for changes to the script and after several months of tinkering, the pair decided to part ways and abandon the project. He moved on to make
Aethiree (2004), a film about an imposter gangster with
Madhavan, before agreeing terms with
NIC Arts to make a follow-up film with
Ajith Kumar in three roles from November 2004, after
Villain's success. Despite beginning production soon after the launch, financial problems meant that it progressed slowly and
Varalaru, only had a theatrical release in late 2006. The film, however, won positive reviews and became the blockbuster hit for Ajith until that date. In between, he worked quickly on another action drama,
Saravana (2006) with
Silambarasan, a remake of the Telugu film
Bhadra (2005). Ravikumar collaborated with
Kamal Haasan again in the high-budget venture
Dasavathaaram (2008), where the actor portrayed ten different roles. Revealing that the film was an action adventure, encompassing mankind's concern for the environment, science and faith,
Dasavathaaram became Ravikumar's most expensive and lengthy shoot till date. The film opened to positive reviews and became the most profitable Tamil film of 2008, with Ravikumar's work garnering a
Filmfare Best Tamil Director Award nomination.
Aadhavan (2009) featuring
Suriya and
Nayantara was his next release, and it saw him return to his standard "commercial packaging" and the film performed well at the box office. His shelved venture, the family-drama
Jaggubhai (2010), re-began shoot with
Sarath Kumar and
Shriya Saran in mid 2008 but delays meant that the film was only released in January 2010, after a leaked copy had found itself online. He made a further collaboration with
Kamal Haasan again in the romantic comedy
Manmadan Ambu (2010), though the film opened to mixed reviews and collections.
2013–present After he completed his work, he began production on his first Hindi film, adapting director
Hari's Tamil film
Saamy (2003) in a venture titled
Policegiri (2013) with
Sanjay Dutt in the lead role. However, despite a high-profile launch, production was troubled as a result of Dutt's impending arrest. Subsequently, the film was rushed with Ravikumar only able to use ten days of Dutt's forty-day schedule for the film, and the director noted he mentally prepared himself for the subsequent box office failure. In January 2014, a felicitation event titled
Endrendrum Ravikumar was held at the Nehru Indoor Stadium marking the director's 25th year in the industry and was attended by several of Ravikumar's contemporaries and colleagues. Following the completion of
Kochadaiiyaan, Ravikumar began work on a new venture titled
Lingaa (2014) with
Rajinikanth, rather than reviving
Rana. Signing on
Anushka Shetty and
Sonakshi Sinha in other lead roles, production began in May 2014 and period scenes were shot around sets in
Karnataka. The film was completed in a period of 120 days, considerably shorter than any other film of equal budget or film starring Rajinikanth in recent times and opened to successful collections commercially. Prior to release, Ravikumar and his scriptwriter Ponkumaran, successfully evaded legal action from claims of plagiarism regarding the script. He later directed two Telugu actions films with
Nandamuri Balakrishna in
Jai Simha (2018) and
Ruler (2019). He has since acted in several films and played the lead in
Mathil (2021). In the science-fiction comedy
Koogle Kuttappa (2022), the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film,
Android Kunjappan Version 5.25, that has helped unearth the fine actor in director K. S. Ravikumar. As the hot-headed Subramani, the director-turned-actor effortlessly eases into the role whose success relies heavily on the chemistry he shares with the humanoid robot. == Style of working ==