Born in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India, R. Kannan is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Tamil movie industry. He made his directorial debut with the drama film Jayamkondaan. Starring Vinay Rai, Bhavana Balachandran and Lekha Washington, the movie was a huge box-office hit. He subsequently directed Kanden Kadhalai (2009), Vanthaan Vendraan (2011), Settai (2013), and Oru Oorla Rendu Raja (2014). His 2017 project includes the Tamil language film Ivan Thanthiran, which stars Gautham Karthik, Shraddha Srinath, and RJ Balaji in important roles.