Amaran editor R Kalaivanan made headlines at the 72nd National Film Awards when he won Best Editing. The Sivakarthikeyan – Sai Pallavi starrer also earned GV Prakash Kumar the award for Best Background Score and Rajkumar Periasamy the honor of Best Director. Kalaivanan’s win followed the blockbuster success of his own film Karuppu, starring Suriya.
Kalaivanan admitted the award came as a surprise. “I only found out when the director told me”, he said, reflecting on the moment. Despite the shock, he acknowledged the importance of the recognition, noting that editing rarely gets its due. “Not many awards have a category for editing. There should be more recognition for it, he explained.
Noth Amaran and Karuppu crossed ₹300 crore globally, proving Kalaivanan’s work resonates with audiences. He balanced emotion and action in Amaran, a process that took him two years of dedicated effort. “I kept thinking about this film day and night. Balancing both was my biggest challenge”, he shared.
The editor also recalled actor Suriya gifting him a Batman edition car earlier this year to celebrate Karuppu. His humility stone through when asked about celebrations for Om, his upcoming project with Rajkumar Periasamy, Dhanush, and Mammootty. “I don’t know about that. All of this has come as a big surprise”, he said.
Kalaivanan believes editing can transform a film entirely. With Amaran, based on the life of Major Mukund Varadarajan, he followed a linear narrative anchored by Sai Pallavi’s narration. The film avoided hyper nationalism, focusing instead on emotional storytelling.
His journey highlights how editors shape cinema from behind the scenes, and his award underscores the growing recognition of technical brilliance in Indian filmmaking.
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