| Alias | Hari Gopalakrishnan Nadar |
|---|---|
| Age | 44 years |
| Height | 5'7" |
| Occupation | Director |
| Language Worked in | Tamil |
| Spouse | Preetha Vijayakumar |
| Birth Place | Nazareth, Tuticorin, India |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Parents | Gopalakrishnan, Kanniammal |
| Favourite Cuisine | South Indian |
| Favourite Color | White |
| City | Chennai |
Hari was born in Katchanavilai near Nazareth in Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu, India. His father, Gopal Nadar, is a vessels merchant. Later his family moved to Chennai, where Hari was schooling and had a graduated in Commerce.
He first joined as an assistant to director Senthilnathan. He gained experience working with directors Natraj in Valli, Nassar in Avatharam and Alex Pandian. Later he assisted K. Balachander in his film Kalki and worked as an associate director with Saran in films Amarkalam and Parthen Rasithen.
His first film, in 2002, was Thamizh with Prashanth and Simran. It was a hit at the box-office and revived actor Prashanth's sagging career. Film critic Balaji commented that it was "one of the few movies in recent times where a lot of importance seems to have been attached to the script. In spite of the flimsy story and routine screenplay where a youth grows to be a 'dada', the dialogs elevate the quality of the movie and make it very enjoyable".[6] His second film Saamy under Kavithaalaya banner starring Vikram was the biggest blockbuster of 2003. His next two films Kovil with Silambarasan and Arul with Vikram again were unsuccessful. In 2005, he made Ayya starring Sarathkumar, which introduced Nayantara to Tamil cinema. Ayya was a superhit. His next film was Aaru with Suriya which was an average grosser. In 2007, he directed two films, Thaamirabharani with Vishal Krishna and Vel with Suriya. Both films were successful at box-office. In 2008, he directed Seval with Bharath, which flopped and received negative reviews. Ayyappa Prasad from Nowrunning.com quoted that Hari "panders to the taste of his rural audience all the way, but the movie is bound to disappoint city-dwellers since neither the story nor its treatment appeal to anyone with an IQ quotient higher than the least educated village wastrel".
After a gap, in 2010 Hari directed his tenth film, Singam with Surya, marking their third collaboration, which despite mixed reviews was highly commercially successful. Behindwoods stated that Hari had "concocted and packaged his masala contents in the right proportion and has served a tasty dish".
Sify noted that it was a "predictable entertainer that follows the age old formula, which might appeal to viewers who finds comfort in mass masala entertainers",[10] while Rediff wrote that it was "an unapologetic, entertainer". His next release was Venghai with Dhanush and Tamannaah Bhatia which was flop at box-office.As of now, He's working with 'Suriya' again in 'Singam-2' which is the sequel of 2010 Blockbuster 'Singam'.
When asked why he always directs masala movies, Hari said, "if my producer makes money then it is my State award. If he/she calls and gives me a movie for the second time, then I would gladly consider it as my National award. If I get to work with them for the 3rd time, than it’s like getting the Oscar Award.