Perumal was born in 1982, Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. She completed her film studies at Multimedia University. She received a doctorate in film production and human communication from the University of Putra Malaysia becoming the first female film director in Malaysia with PhD.[3]
Career
Perumal made her feature film debut with Chalanggai (Dancing Bells) in 2007 as a writer and producer.[4]
The Pasanga Trilogy
She directed her debut feature film, Vilaiyaatu Pasange (Playful Folks), which released on 13 October 2011.[5] This was the first Malaysian Tamil Movie to be played on Astro Box Office.
She released her second feature film, Vetti Pasanga (Useless Folks) on 2 January 2014.[6] This won two Silver Awards in International level, and broke the record for the Highest Box Office Collection[7] during its release, for a Malaysian Tamil Movie under the Wajib Tayang Scheme.[8]
The third sequel in this series, Vedigundu Pasangge (Rowdy Folks),[9] was released on 26 July 2018 in 55 theatres, and became the First Malaysian Tamil film to screen for two weeks in the United Kingdom.[10] It also premiered in Singapore, India, and Sri Lanka. In 2019, it won the Special Jury Award in the 30th Malaysian Film Festival.[11][12] The film received the Malaysia Book of Records as the Highest Collection for Tamil Movies in Malaysia.[13]
Recent work
In conjunction with the Independence Day in 2016, Maxis collaborated with a few Malaysian directors to release their 360 degree camera. Perumal and Kumar produced and directed a 360 degree film for this, “Rojak Cow Cow” on YouTube.[14]
In 2020, Perumal ventured into directing a Tamil drama series, Tamiletchumy. The series was renewed for a second season, which aired in August 2021.[15][16]
Academic
In early 2004, Perumal began teaching visual arts. In 2009, she taught the foundation course for Creative Multimedia, and became a Senior Lecturer at MMU. She later became the Head of the Humanities and Multimedia Department,[17] and developed the curriculum for the Cinematic Arts Programme.[18] As of 2020, she is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Creative Multimedia (IJCM).
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