When Ken Karunas first showed up on the set of Asuran, Dhanush wasn’t sold. “I was not confident about him and even suggested not taking him,” Dhanush admitted at the pre-release event for Youth, Ken’s directorial debut. “But in the very first shot, he performed with great confidence and surprised me.” The credit for spotting Ken’s potential, Dhanush added, goes entirely to Vetrimaaran.
That was a few years ago. Ken Karunas, the 23-year-old son of actor-comedian Karunas, has since appeared in Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai 2 and quietly shaped himself into someone who works on both sides of the camera. Youth, a school-life film he wrote and directed, releases on March 19.
The film’s pre-release event brought together an unusual lineup. Dhanush and Vetrimaaran sat in the audience together, a measure of how seriously they take Ken’s potential. G.V. Prakash Kumar, who composed the film’s music, revealed that he did so without charging a fee. “When I acted in my first film, Karunas gave me a lot of confidence,” Prakash said. “That’s why I wanted to work on his son’s film.” Dhanush compared Prakash’s contribution to what Yuvan Shankar Raja did for Thulluvadho Ilamai, calling it a potential identity-defining score.
Three of the film’s singles have already found traction. Mutta Kalakki was the breakout track, Paranthane Penne was sung by Ken himself, and Aasa Pulla, voiced by G.V. Prakash, has gone viral.
Youth centres on school life and teenage friendships, a space Tamil cinema hasn’t explored much in recent years. The cast mixes newcomers with veterans. Anishma, Meenakshi Dinesh, and Priyanshi Yadav play the female leads, while Devadarshini and Malayalam star Suraj Venjaramoodu take supporting roles. Veteran actress Nalini, who had decided to stop acting, was persuaded back by Karunas and Ken. “I thought it would be a small role,” Nalini said. “But the experience was refreshing. For the first time in my career, I went to a dubbing studio and dubbed for my own character.”
Suraj Venjaramoodu, who flew in from Kerala, said Ken won him over during the story narration itself. “He acted out the emotions of each character while explaining the story. He even showed the entire film in advance on his phone. At that moment, I felt like I had already watched it.”
Vetrimaaran, who first gave Ken his acting break in Asuran, praised the young filmmaker’s narrative command. “Ken narrated the story scene by scene, explaining the music and emotions for each,” he said. “The confidence to do that comes from a director who knows exactly what he wants.” He attributed Ken’s self-assurance to the support system around him, with both Dhanush and Karunas shaping his sensibilities in different ways.
Dhanush, for his part, was characteristically direct. “It takes great courage to trust a story narrated by a 23-year-old and produce a film,” he said, giving first credit to producer Karuppaiah C. Ram. “Even if this film becomes a big success tomorrow, the first credit should go to Karuppaiah.” He also noted Anishma’s strong work in Sirai, congratulating her before Youth even opens.
Ken kept his own speech brief. He thanked the late director Thamira, who gave him his first acting opportunity, and acknowledged that Dhanush had taught him things “whether knowingly or unknowingly.” His father Karunas recalled that G.V. Prakash composed the entire score without asking for payment, a gesture that moved the family.
His mother Grace Karunas called Dhanush a “university of acting” and said the journey from Ken’s small role in Asuran to directing his own film felt unreal. “It’s not enough to say an actor acted well,” she said. “When people feel that no one else could have played that character, that’s when you know.”
Youth releases worldwide in theaters on March 19.