Told not to write stories, now telling them on the big screen: Pradeep Ranganathan’s full circle moment

Tamil actor Pradeep Ranganathan is one of the rising stars in the industry.  With his latest release 'Dragon' soaring at the box office, the actor recently shared a throwback moment from his engineering days. He posted a snapshot of his old exam paper, where he had scored just 11 out of 50 marks. Instead of answering the questions, Pradeep had scribbled unrelated content, prompting his professor to comment, "Dear Pradeep, please don’t write stories."

Looking back at the remark, Pradeep reflected on how life had come full circle. While his teacher had advised him not to write stories in exams, he had gone on to turn storytelling into his career. The professor who left that comment was Dr Arun Luiz, a Malayali who taught chemistry at SSN Engineering College in Chennai. Today, Dr Arun speaks about his former student with pride.

"I have been teaching at SSN Engineering College in Chennai for 25 years now. I am originally from Wayanad and joined the college in 2012. Pradeep was pursuing a BTech in Information Technology at the time, as part of the 2011-2015 batch. When I joined, he was in his second semester, and he happened to be the first student I graded in my very first batch."

Dr Arun recalls having a great rapport with his students, as he not only taught them in the lab but also accompanied them on trips. "Pradeep was just like any other student. In college, he was known as ‘PR.’ He was an average student, scoring around 70-80% marks, not a weak student, but not a topper either. At that time, he was not particularly known for his writing skills. Our college had strict admission criteria based on high marks, so Pradeep had performed well in academics to secure admission. He was well-behaved, and there was no history of indiscipline, our students were known for being dedicated to their studies."

It was only much later that Dr Arun discovered Pradeep had entered the film industry. "One day, I came across a photo of him as the director of 'Comali'. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was the same Pradeep I had taught. But as more films followed, I realised it was indeed him. Though we hadn’t been in touch for a while, we reconnected on Instagram and WhatsApp. Even today, despite being a big star, he remains humble and responds to messages without any airs."

Dr Arun now sees the irony in his past comment on Pradeep’s exam paper. "Back then, I told him not to write stories. Today, I would tell him to write as many stories as possible. I have a deep love for cinema myself, I’ve written books and blogs on films. The next time I meet Pradeep, I plan to give him my book and encourage him to keep creating more stories."

Interestingly, 'Dragon' director Ashwath Marimuthu is also an alumnus of SSN Engineering College, and several scenes in the film were shot there. "Seeing Pradeep post his old answer sheet along with my comment made me happy. I once told him not to write stories in an exam, but he has written his own success story in life, and that brings me immense joy," says Dr Arun Luiz.