Pa. Ranjith is an Indian film maker who has made Tamil language films. He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi, before earning unanimously positive reviews for his second film, the political drama Madras (2014). In 2016, he wrote and directed the gangster-drama Kabali, starring Rajinikanth, His upcoming movie Kaala Tamil-language gangster film is in filming stage. Ranjith was born in Karalapakkam, a village near Avadi, north-west of Chennai. He graduated from Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, and has described that his travels to and from his college often helped create inspiration for film ideas. During his time in education, he joined the film chamber and began watching world cinema, regularly attending annual film festivals. He gained inspiration from films including The Battle of Algiers (1966) and City of God (2002), stating they changed his thinking of cinema and revealed that they had a deep impact on him. Ranjith has been known to use symbolism in his movies to exhibit ongoing social problems which otherwise have trouble reaching the masses due to restrictions by Central_Board_of_Film_Certification in using actual references of caste based exploitation in movies. Notably, in his movie Madras_(film), Ranjith portrayed a wall as the symbol for Dalit oppression that goes on for generations by the politically influential upper caste, with no use of the word Dalit throughout the movie. Similarly, in his blockbuster movie Kabali_(film), portrayal of Dalit oppression in Tamil society by equating them to the similar problems faced by Tamils in Malaysia from people of other races, created quite a stir during the time of its release.