Mari Selvaraj is a director and screenwriter working in Tamil cinema. He entered the Tamil film industry in 2006, initially planning to become an actor, but later joined film director Ram and worked as an assistant director in three films: Kattradhu Thamizh (2007), Thanga Meenkal (2013), and Taramani (2017). In 2018, he directed his first film, Pariyerum Perumal, which garnered critical acclaim and was one of the successful films of the year. He went on to direct the Dhanush-starrer Karnan (2021) which received widespread praise and was a box office success. Selvaraj is known for films that provide hard hitting commentaries on the realities surrounding the caste system in modern Tamil Nadu.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 7, 1984 (42)
- Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India
- Writer and director
- 6 on MovieCove · 14 credits in all
What are Mari Selvaraj's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4
Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 4
Steady 0 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 4
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Mari Selvaraj's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Mari Selvaraj's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
14 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Bison: Kaalamaadan(2025)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Dhadak 2(2025)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Karki Nanu BA, LLB (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Vaazhai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Maamannan(2023)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Karnan(2021)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Pariyerum Perumal(2018)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Taramani(2017)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Thanga Meenkal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Kattradhu Thamizh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Maakaali (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Manjanathi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Dhanush - Mari Selvaraj Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Vaazhai 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles, 10 of them dated from 2007 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Maamannan (2023)
Highest rated
Pariyerum Perumal (2018)
Most popular right now
Bison: Kaalamaadan (2025)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Mari Selvaraj's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 93rd percentile, the median of all 6; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 93rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 6 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 65/100 and the plot and story 57/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Mari Selvaraj's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Mari Selvaraj work with?
People who share at least 2 of Mari Selvaraj's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Azhagam Perumal shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Azhagam PerumalShared titles: Bison: Kaalamaadan (2025), Maamannan (2023), Karnan (2021)See all 3 shared titles with Azhagam Perumal
- LalShared titles: Bison: Kaalamaadan (2025), Maamannan (2023), Karnan (2021)See all 3 shared titles with Lal
- Madhan Kumar DhakshinamoorthyShared titles: Bison: Kaalamaadan (2025), Karnan (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Madhan Kumar Dhakshinamoorthy
- ShanmugarajanShared titles: Karnan (2021), Pariyerum Perumal (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Shanmugarajan
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Selva RkShared titles: Maamannan (2023), Karnan (2021), Pariyerum Perumal (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Selva Rk
- Theni EswarShared titles: Maamannan (2023), Karnan (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Theni Eswar
- Santhosh NarayananShared titles: Karnan (2021), Pariyerum Perumal (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Santhosh Narayanan
Producers
- Pa. RanjithShared titles: Bison: Kaalamaadan (2025), Pariyerum Perumal (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Pa. Ranjith
