Nelson Dilipkumar

However, it was shelved due to various reasons. He later directed Kolamaavu Kokila (2018), making his debut in the industry. He directed Doctor (2021), which emerged a commercial success during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by Beast (2022), which emerged as one of the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2022. He then worked on Jailer (2023), which became his most successful film; it became one of the highest-grossing Indian film, earning over worldwide.

• Name — Nelson Dilipkumar • Born — 21 June 1984 • Birthplace — Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India • Spouse — Monisha • Children — 1 • Education — The New College, Chennai • Occupation — * Film director • Screenwriter • Years Active — 2010present

Nelson holds a degree in visual communication from New College, Chennai. He started his career as an assistant scriptwriter in Star Vijay. Nelson's father died in November 2018. He is married to Monisha and they have one child.

Nelson started his work on what was originally intended to have been his directorial debut, Vettai Mannan, in 2010. The film would have starred Silambarasan, Jai, Hansika Motwani and Deeksha Seth; would have been produced by NIC Arts's S. S. Chakravarthy; and would have featured music by Yuvan Shankar Raja. However, the film was shelved for unknown reasons halfway through production. There was an attempt to revive the project in 2017 with a new crew, such as Anirudh Ravichander replacing Yuvan Shankar Raja as the composer. However, the project failed to take off again. Anirudh helped Nelson make his actual debut feature film as writer-director, the dark comedy Kolamaavu Kokila, starring Nayanthara in the lead role. The film, produced by Lyca Productions, released on 17 August 2018 and became a commercial success. His next film was Doctor, starring Sivakarthikeyan in the lead role opposite Priyanka Arul Mohan. The film became one of the biggest Tamil-language blockbusters among films that released theatrically after the pandemic-induced lockdowns. In November 2020, Anirudh introduced Nelson to actor Vijay, who was impressed with Nelson's script for Beast. The film, an action comedy and Vijay's 65th film, also starring Pooja Hegde, was released on 13 April 2022 as a pan-Indian film dubbed in the Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Despite getting negative reviews from critics, the film became a box office success. Nelson's next film was Rajinikanth's 169 film, which was tentatively titled as Thalaivar 169. On 17 June 2022, the title was announced to be Jailer. Rajinikanth played the role of a jailer in the film. It was released on 10 August 2023 to generally positive reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. The performances of the cast (especially Rajinikanth's), direction, music, cinematography, editing, and action sequences were highly praised. Nelson was also praised by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin for his direction. It was deemed as a huge commercial comeback for both Rajinikanth and Nelson, and had a huge opening weekend, becoming the second-highest grossing Tamil film of all-time after 2.0 (2018). Owing to his films success, he confirmed Kolamaavu Kokila, Doctor, Beast and Jailer would have sequels.

• Note: He is credited as Nelson in all films. • Note: All films are in Tamil unless stated otherwise. • Years — Film — Language — Release Date — Notes — Ref. • 2018 — Kolamaavu Kokila — Tamil — 17 August 2018 • 2021 — Doctor — 9 October 2021 • 2022 — Beast — 13 April 2022 — Cameo appearance in the song "Jolly O Gymkhana" • 2023 — Jailer — 10 August 2023 • 2026 — Jailer 2 — 15 October 2026 • TBA — TBA

• Year — Film — Language — Notes — Ref. • 2024 — Bloody Beggar — Tamil — Production debut

• Year — Film — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2022 — Beast — Himself — Cameo appearance in the song "Jolly O Gymkhana" • 2026 — Jana Nayagan — Reporter — Cameo appearance

• Year — Film — Role • 2025 — Mask — Narrator