Pradeep Ranganathan (born 25 July 1993) is an Indian actor, film director, lyricist, producer, singer and screenwriter who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for directing Comali (2019) and Love Today (2022), debuting as a lead actor in the latter. He is an recipient of two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and one Filmfare Award South.
Early life Pradeep studied at SSN College of Engineering. He began his career by making several short films, including Whatsapp Kadhal (2014) and used to multitask by doing acting, editing and directing.
Career Pradeep received his first feature film directorial debut opportunity from Ravi Mohan and Vels International, who were impressed after watching some of his short films. The film's title, which was revealed to be Comali (2019), also starred Kajal Aggarwal and the film became a commercial success at the box office. Pradeep also eventually made a cameo appearance during the climax portion of Comali. However, Pradeep was the subject of controversy before the theatrical release of Comali as Rajinikanth's fans demanded the film to be boycotted due to the depiction of the flashback of Rajinikanth where he promised to enter politics in 1996 being mentioned in a portion of the film trailer. It was also a major talking point and highlight in the trailer of the film. The scene was subsequently removed from the film following the backlash.
Pradeep's second directorial venture, Love Today (2022), was based on his short film App(a) Lock and was a modest small budgeted theatrical release in Tamil Nadu. However, upon release, it became an instant blockbuster and surpassed expectations. Pradeep rose to prominence and became an overnight sensation with Love Today. He also made his full-fledged acting debut with the film, playing one of the leads. He later revealed that the film reflects and relates to everyone, as everyone would have faced these situations in their life. The film became a major box office success, grossing over as did his next two feature films Dragon and Dude (both 2025). However, his 2026 release Love Insurance Kompany was a box office failure, breaking his success streak. On 6 July, Pradeep launched his own production house, PR Show.
Filmography
As actor +YearTitleRoleNotes2019ComaliJoseph Cameo appearance2022Love TodayUthaman Pradeep 2025DragonD. Ragavan "Dragon"DudeAgan Chidambaram2026Love Insurance KompanyVaibhav "Vibe Vassey" Vasudevan
As director, writer and producer
Year Title Credited asNotes 2019 LKG Dialogue writer Additional dialogues only ComaliDirector and writer Lyricist for "Paisa Note" and "Hi Sonna Pothum"2022Love Today Lyricist for all songs2025 LoveyapaProducerHindi film; Remake of Tamil film Love Today Dragon Story writerTBA Producer and writer
Discography + List of Pradeep Ranganathan playback singer credits Year Film Song LanguageComposer Notes 2022 Love Today "Mamakutty" Tamil Yuvan Shankar Raja 2025 Dude "Singari" Tamil Sai Abhyankkar
Awards and nominations + Award Year Category Work Result Filmfare Awards South2024Best Male DebutLove TodaySouth Indian International Movie Awards2021Best Debut Director – TamilComali2023Best Male Debut – TamilLove TodayTamil Nadu State Film Awards2019Best Film - Third PrizeComali2022Best Writer - StoryLove TodayAnanda Vikatan Cinema Awards2025Best Actor - TamilDudeWon
References
External links