Shivaji Sashikanth^[1] is an Indian film producer, architect, film director, and entrepreneur fromChennai,Tamil Nadu. After studying architecture at university, Sashikanth established the Chennai-based design firm Space Scape in 2002, which became involved in major projects such as theBritish Council and other residential and corporate building designs. Sashikanth later shifted to film production through the establishment of aproduction studio,YNOT Studios, and the 2010 release of his first film,Tamizh Padam.

Sashikanth's stated goal has been to see himself as having a creative role;Behindwoods has characterised him as a producer of "gutsynew-wave cinema",^[2] whileThe Hindu acknowledged his filmsTamizh Padam,Va andKadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi as being "three of the most creative films.^[3]

AlongsideUniversity of Sydney graduate Manoj Kumar, Sashikanth helped co-found the website StudentConcepts.com, which offered a suite of services for students, including loyalty programmes and job search tools.^[3][4][5][6] Sashikanth then continued as a student ofarchitecture, but took an extended break from the subject after failing his first thesis. As a result of his interest in filmmaking, he was selected to assist art directorThotta Tharani with his sets on the production ofShankar's political thrillerMudhalvan (1999). After working on the sets for three months, he briefly dabbled in mango farming, before choosing to continue his studies in architecture, which he then passed as the university topper.^[3]

Sashikanth subsequently set up an architectural company, Space Scape, with his wife Rajani in 2002. The couple moved into a 400-square-foot (37 m²) apartment in Chennai and spent ₹80,000 to renovate it into a penthouse studio. Sashikanth set up an office in the basement of the apartment building. Their work was awarded theBest Young Architect of the Year award byIndian Architects and Builders magazine. In a short span of time, Space Scape developed into one of Chennai's leading firms and won national recognition for their work on projects including theBritish Council in Chennai during 2004.^[7][8] Within five years of its establishment, the company grew from five architects to 30 architects working in two cities, and accepted commissions from around India. Sashikanth's clients includedMax Müller Bhavan; corporate projects such as Cognizant; and residential projects such as the homes of actorsSuriya andUdhayanidhi Stalin, VGP House, and Chettinad House.^[3]

After following the production ofDharani'sKuruvi (2008), Sashikanth experienced a renewed interest in filmmaking; he considered starting his own studio, as he was "too old to be an assistant director and never good at taking instructions". Sashikanth expressed interest in the "Hollywood model" of filmmaking, where film producers are seen as those who pitch film projects, as opposed to India, where producers were seen as being the financial backers of projects. He explained that he wanted to be seen as an entrepreneur who can "[create] projects that are able to generate their own money".^[3]C. S. Amudhan, a past client of Sashikanth, submitted three pitches in different genres for his consideration. Out of the three pitches, Sashikanth went ahead withTamizh Padam, a satire of Tamil cinema, and foundedYNOT Studios to produce the film—which was sold to the distributorCloud Nine Movies and premiered in 2010.^[3]

After discoveringBalaji Mohan's short filmKadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi onYouTube, Sashikanth expressed interest in producing afull-length version, which starredSiddharth and was released in 2012 as a multilingual with Tamil and Telugu versions. YNOT Studios handled both production and distribution for the film; Sashikanth argued that there were too many "middlemen" in the film industry, and believed that "the closer the producer is to the audience, the much better the money."^[3][9][10]

In 2014, Sashikanth partnered with several other Tamil film producers to form a distribution company known asDream Factory.^[11][12]

He also revealed plans of taking YNOT Studios intoHindi cinema with the release ofSaala Khadoos (2016) and the remake ofThiagarajan Kumararaja'sAaranya Kaandam (2011), but the latter did not materialise. He later produced the remake ofVikram Vedha starringHrithik Roshan andSaif Ali Khan, withT-Series Films,Neeraj Pandey, andJioCinema.^[13]

Despite the relative failure ofKaaviya Thalaivan (2014), his productions since 2016 have been profitable.^[14][15]

Sashikanth revealed that he was writing a script for a sport-themed thriller entitledTest, and that he was considering becoming a director in the future. Subsequently in 2023, he turned director with the same film starringMadhavan,Nayanthara,Siddharth, andMeera Jasmine.^[16] The film was release in 2025.

• S. Sashikanth atIMDb

• 21st-century Indian architects
• Film producers from Chennai
• Hindi film producers
• Indian Tamil people
• Living people
• Tamil architects
• Tamil film producers
• Telugu film producers

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