Harikrishnan is an Indian film director and screenwriter best known for his action and masala films in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with Thamizh (2002). He later directed films such as Saamy (2003), Kovil (2004), Ayya (2005), Thaamirabharani (2007), Vel (2007) and the Singam film series (2010-2017). He mostly directed Coimbatore, Dindigul, Tenkasi and Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli district based movies.

Thamizh is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Hari, in his directorial debut and produced by Amudha Durairaj. The film stars Prashanth and Simran, while Vadivelu, Urvashi, Nassar, Ashish Vidyarthi and Livingston portray supporting roles. Featuring music composed by Bharadwaj, Thamizh opened to positive reviews upon release in 14 April 2002 and became a commercial success.