Atharvaa is a contemporary Indian actor working in the Tamil Cinema. Son of the late Tamil actor Murali, he made his cinematic debut in the year 2010 with the Tamil romantic film "Baana Kaathadi", where he was recognised for his performance with the Edison Award for Best Debut Actor. He later garnered critical acclaim for his performance of a youngster suffering from delusion in the 2012 romantic thriller "Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal", before signing up to feature in director Bala`s 2013 period drama "Paradesi". His role as a rural villager held as a slave in a tea plantation became his breakthrough performance, earning him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil at the Filmfare Awards South.

Early Life and Education of Atharvaa
Atharvaa, born as Atharvaa Murali on May 7, 1989 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is the second child of the film actor Murali and his wife Shobha. After completing his education in engineering from Sathyabama University, Atharvaa opted to pursue an acting career in films and started taking classes under stunt choreographers to prepare himself physically as an actor.

Personal Life of Atharvaa
Atharvaa is a good dancer, basketball and football player. He has aspired to become a pilot. His grandfather S. Siddalingaiah was a noted writer and director in the Kannada film industry, who directed about 23 Kannada films. He passed away in March 2015. Atharvaa has an elder sister Kavya, who is a doctor and a younger brother Aakash.

Career of Atharvaa
In 2009, Atharvaa"s father Murali found him an offer to play the lead role in a Tamil film to be produced by Sathya Jyothi Films and directed by Badri Venkatesh. Titled "Baana Kaathadi", the production launched in March 2009 and Atharvaa played the lead alongside fellow debutante Samantha and actors Prasanna and Karunas, with Murali himself in a cameo appearance. Portraying a youngster from the Royapuram slum area, Atharvaa stayed in the locality for 45 days to learn about their lifestyle, while also learning to fly a kite for the film, to shoot scenes at the Gujarat Kite Festival. The film opened in August 2010 to positive reviews and became an above average grosser at the box office. Atharvaa"s performance was highly praised. Critics drew comparison of his romantic role with his father`s romantic performances. His work was subsequently recognised with the Edison Award for Best Debut Actor, while also receiving a nomination at the Vijay Awards in the same category. The success of the film prompted Murali to begin pre-production on a Tamil and Kannada bilingual project which would star Atharvaa, but a month after the release of "Baana Kaathadi", he passed away suffering cardiac arrest. Atharvaa consequently took a break to spend time with his family, before resuming work on a different venture.

Filmmaker Gautham Menon had previously shown interest in directing Atharvaa for a film. Atharvaa made a special appearance in the song "Aga Naga" in the 2011 Tamil film "Ko". A year later in 2012, Atharvaa"s next release "Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal" featured him as a youngster suffering from hallucinations. The film performed moderate though his performance was well received. His subsequent movie "Paradesi" under the direction of Bala released in 2013. A period drama film, "Paradesi" had Atharvaa portraying the character Raasa and his performance is considered a breakthrough work of his career. The film opened to mostly positive reviews and Atharvaa"s role was honoured with multiple awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil and a nomination under the Vijay Award for Best Actor. He was next seen playing the lead in the 2014 film "Irumbu Kuthirai". In 2015, he played the lead in director Sargunam`s "Chandi Veeran", alongside actress Anandhi, which did well at the box office. He was next seen in "Eetti", a successful sports drama where his work was recognised. In 2016, he acted in the action thriller "Kanithan" alongside Catherine Tresa.

Atharvaa has signed on for production house Kleem Entertainment`s debut project "Rukkumani Vandi Varudhu", a comedy opposite debutante Pooja Jhaveri. In January 2016, he announced that he had set up a production studio called Kickass Entertainment, the first venture of which would be directed by Badri Venkatesh, who directed Atharvaa"s debut film. In 2017, he has worked in a film named "Gemini Ganesanum Surali Rajanum". Currently he is working on some untitled directorial projects of Bala and Ajay Gnanamuthu, both are currently at pre-production stage.

Awards Received by Atharvaa
Atharvaa has been honoured with the following awards for his film career performances by far:

Edison Award for Best Male Debut for "Baana Kaathadi" (2010)
Filmfare Award for Best Actor“ Tamil for "Paradesi" (2013)
Norway Tamil Film Festival Award for Best Actor for "Paradesi" (2013)
Edison Award for Extreme Performance for "Paradesi" (2013)
11th Chennai International Film Festival- Special Jury Award for "Paradesi" (2013)

Filmography of Atharvaa
Atharvaa has acted on the below mentioned Tamil films, which are highlighted along with their respective years of release and his roles: