Arun Kumar, known professionally as Atlee, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his work in Tamil films. He initially worked as an assistant director under S. Shankar in the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012). He made his directorial debut with the film Raja Rani (2013), produced by Fox Star Studios, for which he was awarded Best Debut Director by the Vijay Award and the Tamil Nadu State award for best dialogue writer. He is one of the highest-paid directors in India.

Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood or K-Town, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, a widely spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a neighbourhood in Chennai, and Hollywood. The first Tamil silent film, Keechaka Vadham, was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918. The first Tamil talking feature film, Kalidas, a multilingual directed by H. M. Reddy was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture Alam Ara.