Filmmaker who made an entire movie alone, played 500 characters

Imagine making an entire movie without a film crew, acting in multiple roles, handling the camera, editing scenes and creating visual effects yourself. Sounds unbelievable, right? But Tamil filmmaker Sankagiri Rajkumar spent six years bringing this ambitious idea to life through his film One Man.

His journey is a fascinating example of what happens when creativity meets determination. The most surprising part? He took on more than 70 departments of filmmaking, work that would normally require a large team of professionals and played 500 characters in one movie.

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One Man, More Than 70 Departments

Making a movie usually involves actors, directors, cinematographers, editors, sound designers and visual effects artists. Rajkumar challenged this norm by handling almost every aspect of his film himself.

From writing and directing to cinematography, editing, dubbing, music and visual effects, he took responsibility for bringing his vision to the screen.

One Man follows the story of a man who gains control over the world with the help of a device. Its ambitious storyline includes scenes that would traditionally require a huge cast and crew.

Imagine planning a scene that normally needs more than 100 people and then finding a way to create it yourself. What makes this even more unbelievable is that Rajkumar reportedly portrayed around 500 characters in the film, taking on the roles of both the main and supporting characters himself. That is what makes this filmmaking experiment so extraordinary. 

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Do you know his artistic background?

Rajkumar comes from a fifth-generation artistic family and has experience in Therukoothu, a traditional Tamil folk theatre form.

This background helped him become familiar with different aspects of performance and production, including costumes, makeup and props. He was also inspired by experimental films from around the world, including movies shot entirely inside a car or a room.

These ideas led him to ask a bigger question: what if he made an entire film on his own?

His earlier independent film, Vengayam, made with non-actors, was another step in his journey towards experimenting with cinema.

Six years of hard work and unexpected challenges

Rajkumar began working on One Man before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The project took six years, with production interrupted several times because of technical challenges and the enormous workload.

However, completing the film was only half the battle. Promoting it and finding an audience proved difficult, as independent filmmaking also requires money and distribution support.

After securing screenings in a few theatres, Rajkumar considered releasing the film for free on YouTube to make it accessible to a wider audience.

What can Hyderabad’s creators learn?

For aspiring filmmakers and content creators in Hyderabad, this story offers an inspiring lesson. You do not always need a huge team to begin pursuing a creative idea.

Technology and AI tools can make editing and visual effects easier, but imagination, problem-solving and persistence remain essential.

One person, six years and more than 70 departments! Rajkumar’s journey shows that sometimes extraordinary projects begin with one simple question: What if I tried doing it myself?

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