Panchanathan Arunachalam (22 March 1941 – 9 August 2016)[3] was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in the Tamil cinema.

He also worked as a lyricist in the Tamil cinema industry.

He started producing films under his production banner named P. A.

[4] His son Subbu Panchu Arunachalam is an actor and dubbing artist in the Tamil film industry.

[5] In 2004, Panchu Arunachalam chose to return to work as a director and planned a film titled Ganesha with Cheran in the lead role.