Prem Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 26 February 1979), better known as Premgi or Premji, is an Indian singer, composer, songwriter, actor and comedian. The son of composer and director Gangai Amaran, he often composes rap songs in Tamil cinema and is known for his comical performances in his elder brother's films.^[1] His stage name, Premgi, is actually a spelling error, as it is meant to be "Prem G.", the G standing for Gangai.^[2] He is also best known for his catchphrases Enna Koduma Sir Idhu ? (What atrocity is this, sir ?) and Evvalavo pannitom, itha panna mattoma (We've done so much, won't we do this also ?), the former being a modified version of a famous dialogue used by Prabhu in Chandramukhi (2005).^[3]

In 1997, Premgi planned to enter the film industry as a director with a project titled Wanted starring his elder brother and S. P. B. Charan. The film, which had his younger cousin brother as music composer and his father and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as comedians, did not complete shoot.^[4]

Primarily interested in composing music, Premgi then started his career as an assistant to film music composer and his cousin Yuvan Shankar Raja,^[5] turning a playback singer, singing mostly the rap portions in Yuvan Shankar Raja's compositions,^[2] before working with other music composers as well. Working with Yuvan Shankar Raja, he also remixed some of his compositions for the soundtrack albums, the first being "Loosu Penne" from the film Vallavan.^[2]

In 2006, however, he made his acting debut in Silambarasan's Vallavan as the heroine's friend, following which he starred in his brother Venkat Prabhu's directorial debut Chennai 600028 (2007), in which he played Seenu. The movie went on to become the year's biggest summer blockbuster, establishing Premgi as a comedy actor.^[6] He joined with his brother for his next film Saroja, which fetched him accolades for his performance as Ganesh Kumar.

He appeared as a lead character in his elder brother's Goa (2010), before going on to make further appearances in Mankatha (2011) and Settai (2013). In 2013, he made his Malayalam debut in North 24 Kaatham.^[1] In the upcoming Maanga, he plays the lead character and also works as the music composer.^[5] He currently acts in Chennai 600028 II: Second Innings, which is a sequel of the super-hit movie Chennai 600028.^[7]

Premgi is the son of veteran director and musician Gangai Amaran, and the younger brother of film director and actor Venkat Prabhu. Film composer Ilaiyaraaja is his uncle, while Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja and Bhavatharini are his cousins.

International Tamil Film Awards

• Best Supporting Actor – Mankatha