Sivakarthikeyan
Sivakarthikeyan in 2021
Born	(1985-02-17)February 17, 1985 (age 40) Singampunari,Tamil Nadu, India
Occupations	Actor playback singer lyricist film producer television presenter
Years active	2006–present
Spouse	Aarthi ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	3
Honours	Kalaimamani (2020)

Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also known by his initials asSK, is an Indian actor,playback singer,lyricist, andfilm producer primarily active inTamil cinema. He served as atelevision presenter before his entry into films.

Sivakarthikeyan gained attention after winning thestand-up comedy showKalakka Povathu Yaaru? in 2006 and began hosting various shows onStar Vijay. His Tamil film breakthrough came with the 2012 comedy dramaMarina. Later, he went on to star in commercially and critically successful movies such asEthir Neechal (2013),Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013),Namma Veettu Pillai (2019) andAmaran (2024), the latter becoming one of the top‑grossing Tamil films of that year. He launched his own production company, Sivakarthikeyan Productions, and produced various films includingKanaa (2018).

He received theKalaimamani award from theGovernment of Tamil Nadu in 2020.

Sivakarthikeyan was born on 17 February 1985 inSingampunari,Sivaganga district in aTamil family.^[1][2] His father G. Doss was a jail superintendent.^[3] He has an elder sister, who is a doctor.^[4] He completed schooling atCampion Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School inTiruchirappalli^[5] and earned aBachelor’s degree from JJ College of Engineering.^[6][7] He married Aarthi on 27 August 2010.^[8] The couple have three children, one daughter and two sons.^[9][10][11] His cousin isArun Prabu, for which he collaborated with forVaazhl (2021).^[12]

Sivakarthikeyan took part in various cultural events and performedmimicry andstandup comedy during his college years.^[13] He took a three month-break in between studies, to take part in the auditions ofKalakka Povathu Yaaru?, a comedy reality TV show airing onStar Vijay, and won the second season of the competition in 2006.^[14] The makers ofAegan (2008) noticed his performance and offered him a supporting role in the film, but his portions did not make the final cut.^[15] He appeared in short films such asMugaputhagam.^[16]

DirectorPandiraj approached Sivakarthikeyan to play the lead role in his filmMarina (2012), and he signed the project. He prepared for the role by visitingMarina Beach extensively to study the surroundings, while revealing that he hoped that his natural talent of humor would come through onscreen.^[17] Featuring alongsideOviya as a young couple in the film, Sivakarthikeyan's performance was well-received, with a critic noting "the romance adds colour to a monochrome film", while the reviewer also noted that the "role of Senthilnathan requires Siva to be just himself, it is just a cake walk in terms of performance for this actor."^[18]

Aishwarya Rajinikanth signed up Sivakarthikeyan to play a supporting role asDhanush's friend in3, after being impressed with his work onstage as a host.^[19] Though the film opened to mixed reviews, critics appreciatied Sivakarthikeyan's work as providing comic relief in a serious film.^[20] He was next seen inEzhil's romantic comedyManam Kothi Paravai that released later that year. It opened to mixed reviews with a critic noting that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor."^[21]

In 2013, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in three films. In his first release of the year,Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, a dual hero coming-of-age comedy film, Sivakarthikeyan partnered once again with Pandiraj and acted alongsideVimal.^[22] The film opened to positive reviews from critics,^[23][24] and became a success at the box office.^[25] His next film was Dhanush's debut production ventureEthir Neechal, written and directed byR. S. Durai Senthilkumar, a former assistant of directorVetrimaaran. It is a story about a young man having talent as a long-distance runner, who strives to make an identity for himself.^{[citation needed]} His third release of the year was directorPonram's comedyVaruthapadatha Valibar Sangam, which saw Sivakarthikeyan portray a carefree rural youth and he was paired with newcomerSri Divya, andSoori. Sivakarthikeyan sang a song in a film, the first of his career.^{[citation needed]} He won positive reviews for his performance from critics, withSify noting "Sivakarthikeyan is terrific as Bosepandi because he makes it look so believable on screen with his body language, eyes and dialogue delivery". Another reviewer called him a delight to watch and claimed that he carried the script.^[26] The film completed 100 days during its theatrical run and was Sivakarthikeyan's biggest commercial box office success at that time.^[27] His performances in 2013 led him to win the year'sVijay Award for Entertainer of the Year, an onstage moment which Sivakarthikeyan described as "memorable".^[28]

Sivakarthikeyan started the year 2014 with a comedy filmMaan Karate produced byA. R. Murugadoss. The film featured him as a carefree urban youth who fakes himself as a boxer to impress a girl.^{[citation needed]} In 2015, he paired up once again with Durai Senthilkumar for a police action film,Kaaki Sattai. The film released on 27 February 2015. It was a story about a sincere constable who takes risks to stop black market organ donation and having the aim to become an Inspector.^[29] He again joined hands with Ponram in the filmRajini Murugan, starring another newcomerKeerthy Suresh. The film's producer,N. Linguswamy, ultimately failed to provide Sivakarthikeyan with his salary due to losses incurred by the film's delayed release.^[30] His filmRemo, directed by debutantBakkiyaraj Kannan and produced byR. D. Raja, featured Sivakarthikeyan playing a lovestruck youth disguising himself as a female nurse to befriend his love interest.^[31] Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was directorMohan Raja's action-thriller,Velaikkaran, pairing withNayanthara and featuringFahadh Faasil as the main antagonist. The film, which revolves around an employee fighting against food adulteration in society, was released in 2017 to positive reviews from critics.^[32]

Sivakathikeyan then featured in the 2018 filmSeemaraja, collaborating with director Ponram for the third time. The film, featuring an ensemble cast includingSamantha Ruth Prabhu,Simran,Lal andSoori, released to mixed reviews.^[33] Later that year, he acted in the film,Kanaa, the directorial debut ofArunraja Kamaraj and the debut film of Sivakarthikeyan's production company Sivakarthikeyan Productions. The film features Sivakarthikeyan as a cricket coach, acting alongsideAishwarya Rajesh andSathyaraj. The film was released to highly positive reviews.^[34] Sivakarthikeyan's first 2019 film wasMr. Local, starring opposite Nayanthara for the second time, which received poor reviews. His scenes fromKanaa were reused in the Telugu remake of the film titledKousalya Krishnamurthy. In 2019, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in the family drama filmNamma Veettu Pillai, and in a superhero filmHero.^[35][36]

Sivakarthikeyan's only 2021 film wasDoctor, which received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences. It became the highest-grossing film of his career, with a global collection of 100 crore rupees. This is his first movie to join the 100 crore club.^{[citation needed]} His next release wasDon, which released in 2022.^[37][38] LikeDoctor, it received favorable reviews by both the critics and audience. It also went on to collect 100 crores at the global box office, becoming his second consecutive 100 crore hit.^{[citation needed]} In 2022, he began filming forPrince under the direction ofK. V. Anudeep.^[39][40] At the same time, he also began shooting forMaaveeran, which was directed byMadonne Ashwin.^[41][42][43]Prince released in 2022 to negative reviews, butMaaveeran released in 2023 and was a commercial success. Soon after, on the occasion ofPongal, his long-delayed filmAyalaan was released in 2024 to generally positive reviews, especially with families. The film used 1,400 visual shots, which is the most for any Indian film.^{[citation needed]} Clashing with his former co-star's filmCaptain Miller, the film grossed over ₹96 crores (US$12 million), emerging as a box office success, and becoming among the highest-grossing Indian films of 2024.^[44]

A month later, Sivakarthikeyan's film withRaaj Kamal Films International, directed by Rajkumar Periyasamy, was announced, previously under the tentative title SK21.^[45] On 16 February 2024, the title was revealed to beAmaran, as confirmed by a teaser trailer.^[46] The teaser garnered more than 2 million views within 6 hours.Amaran became a sleeper hit at the box office, emerged as the secondhighest-grossing Tamil film of 2024, garnering widespread critical acclaim for its engaging screenplay, based on the real life incidents revolving around veteran Indian army officerMukund Varadarajan.^[47][48] The film was his first major fully-fledged action entertainer.^[49]

His latest film was directed byA. R. Murugadoss, in his second collaboration with the director, after him previously producingMaan Karate.Anirudh Ravichander was announced as the music director for the film, in his ninth collaboration with the musician, as confirmed by his presence at the film'smuharat pooja.^[50] The movie is titledMadharaasi.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023, Tamil composerD. Imman publicly announced that he would no longer collaborate with actor Sivakarthikeyan, mentioning a personal betrayal that deeply impacted his life. He chose not to share further details, emphasizing his children’s well-being and the importance of privacy.^[51]

Subsequently, rumors emerged suggesting an inappropriate relationship between Sivakarthikeyan and Imman’s ex-wife, Monica Richard. Monica addressed these rumors, clarifying that Sivakarthikeyan had only acted as a mediator during her divorce, trying to help preserve family harmony. She firmly denied any inappropriate relationship and expressed concern over the misinterpretation of Imman’s comments.^[52]

• All films are inTamil unless otherwise noted.

• "'Don': Sivakarthikeyan shaves off his beard for "Don"".The Times of India. Retrieved9 November 2021.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSivakarthikeyan.

• Sivakarthikeyan atIMDb
• Sivakarthikeyan atRotten Tomatoes

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