Biography

Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985),^[4] also referred to as SK, is an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil cinema and television.

In 2012, he featured in a supporting role in the Dhanush starred film 3. In 2013, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in three films: Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, Ethir Neechal and Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam. His performances that year won him the 2013 Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year.^[5] He has also won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison Awards, three SIIMA Awards and two other Vijay Awards. He produces Tamil films under his production company, Sivakarthikeyan Productions.^[6]

Career[edit]

2007–2012: Television and shift to cinema[edit]

During college, Sivakarthikeyan took part in various cultural events and performed mimicry and stand-up comedy on stage.^[7] Between his studies he took three months break and during this period his friends convinced him to go for auditions of Kalakka Povathu Yaaru, a reality show for comedy aired on Star Vijay. He started his career as a mimicry artist. Despite initial reluctance to participate, he won the show.^[8] He appeared in short films including his friend Atlee's Mugapputhagam,^[9] Identity, Kurahl 786 and 360°. The makers of Aegan noticed Sivakarthikeyan and offered him a supporting role, but his portions didn't make the final cut.^[10]

Director Pandiraj approached him to play the lead role in his film Marinaand Sivakarthikeyan signed the project. He prepared for his first role by paying close attention to Pandiraj's instructions and visiting Marina Beach extensively to study the surroundings, while revealing that he hoped that his natural talent of humour would come through on-screen.^[11] Featuring alongside Oviya as a young couple in the film, Siva's performance was well received with a critic noting "the romance adds color 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."^[12]

Prior to Marina's release, Aishwarya Dhanush had signed him up to play a supporting role as Dhanush's friend in 3, after being impressed with his work on stage as a host.^[13] Following significant pre-release hype, the film opened to predominantly positive reviews with critics appreciating Sivakarthikeyan's work providing comic relief in a serious film.^[14] The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry. He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy Manam Kothi Paravai, which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office.

A critic noted 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."^[15]

2013–2019: Experimentation in genres and success[edit]

In 2013, he appeared in three films. In his first release of the year, Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, a dual hero coming-of-age comedy, Sivakarthikeyan partnered once again with Pandiraj and shot for the film in his hometown of Tiruchirappalli alongside Vimal.^[16] The film opened to positive reviews with critics.^[17][18] The film became a surprise success at the box office and ended up being a profitable venture for producers and distributors.^[19] His next success was through Dhanush's debut production venture Ethir Neechal, written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar, a former assistant of film director, Vetrimaaran. It is a story about a young man having talent as a runner, who strives to make an identity for himself. His third release in 2013, director Ponram's comedy Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, saw him portray a carefree rural youth where he paired up with another newcomer Sri Divya. Actor Soori played an important role in the film as Sivakarthikeyan's close friend. It was also the first time that Sivakarthikeyan sang a song in a film and a promotional video of its making was released to market the film. He won positive reviews for his performance from critics, with Sify 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.^[20] The film completed 100 days during its theatrical run and is Sivakarthikeyan's biggest commercial box office success to date.^[21] Sivakarthikeyan's entertaining performances in 2013 has led him to win the year's Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year, an on-stage moment which Sivakarthikeyan described as "memorable".^[22] He started the year 2014 with a comedy film Maan Karate produced by AR Murugadoss. The film featured him as a carefree urban youth who fakes himself as a boxer to impress a girl.

Sivakarthikeyan with Nivin Pauly and Vikram at Iru Mugan film audio launch event.

In 2015, Sivakarthikeyan paired up once again with his Ethir Neechal director, Durai Senthilkumar, for a cop 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.^[23] He again joined hands with his Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam director in the film Rajini Murugan where another newcomer Keerthy Suresh acted. The film's producer, N. Linguswamy, ultimately failed to provide Sivakarthikeyan with his salary due to losses incurred by the film's delayed release.^{[citation needed]} His film Remo, directed by debutant Bakkiyaraj Kannan and produced by R. D. Raja, featured Sivakarthikeyan playing a love-struck youth disguising himself as a female nurse to befriend his love interest.^[24] Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was director Mohan Raja's action-thriller, Velaikkaran, pairing with Nayanthara and featuring Fahadh Faasil as the main antagonist. The film, which revolves around an employee fighting against food adulteration in society, was released on 22 December 2017 to positive reviews from critics.^[25] He then featured in Seemaraja, directed by Ponram. The film, featuring an ensemble cast including Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Simran, Lal and Soori, released on 13 September 2018, coinciding with the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, received mixed reviews.^[26] His next venture, Kanaa, in Arunraja Kamaraj's directorial debut, featured Sivakarthikeyan as a cricket coach along with Aishwarya Rajesh and Sathyaraj. The film was released on 21 December 2018. It was the debut movie of SK productions.^{[citation needed]} Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was the film, Mr. Local, starring opposite Nayanthara for the second time, which received poor reviews. He made his Telugu film debut alongside Aishwarya Rajesh in the film Kousalya Krishnamurthy, the remake of Kanaa.^[27] In 2019, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in the family drama film Namma Veettu Pillai, and in a super hero film Hero.

2021–present: Career expansion[edit]

His next film, Doctor, was released on 9 October 2021 and received highly positive reviews from the critics and audience. It became Sivakarthikeyan's career's highest-grossing movie, with a global cume of 100 crores. This is his first movie to join the 100 crore club. His next release was Don, which released on 13 May 2022.^[28] Like Doctor, 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. In February 2022, he began filming for a Tamil–Telugu bilingual film under the direction of Anudeep KV, of Jathi Ratnalu, fame titled Prince.^[29]

Filmography[edit]

Films[edit]

As an actor[edit]

• All films are in Tamil unless otherwise noted.

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Marina	Senthilnathan (Senthil)	Tamil film debut
	3	Kumaran	Supporting role
	Manam Kothi Paravai	Kannan
2013	Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga	Pattai Murugan (“Ranga” Murugan)
	Ethir Neechal	Kunjithapatham (Harish)
	Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam	Bose Pandi
2014	Maan Karate	Peter
2015	Kaaki Sattai	Madhimaran Ratnavel
	Vajrakaya	Himself	Kannada film; cameo appearance
2016	Rajini Murugan	Rajini Murugan and Bosepandi
	Remo	Siva Karthikeyan "SK" (Regina Motwani "Remo")
2017	Velaikkaran	Arivazhagan (Arivu)
2018	Seema Raja	Seema Raja and Kadambavel Raja
	Kanaa	Nelson Dilipkumar
2019	Mr. Local	Manohar
	Kousalya Krishnamurthy	Nelson Dilipkumar	Telugu film debut; remake of Kanaa
	Namma Veettu Pillai	Arumpon
	Hero	Sakthivel “Sakthi”
2021	Doctor	Dr. Varun
2022	Don	Chakaravarthi (Don)
	Prince	TBA	Filming; bilingual film	[30]
	Ayalaan	Raghu	Post-production
2023	Maaveeran	TBA	Pre-production

As a producer[edit]

As dubbing artist[edit]

Television[edit]

Discography[edit]

As playback singer[edit]

As lyricist[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Edison Awards[edit]

• 2013 Edison Awards for Best Male Rising Star^{[citation needed]}
• 2015 Edison Awards for Best Entertainer of the Year for Kaaki Sattai^{[citation needed]}

Other awards[edit]

• 2011 Vikatan Award – Best Anchor for Jodi No.1
• 2014 Mirchi Music Awards South – Youth Icon Award^{[citation needed]}
• 2021 Kalaimamani Award - Best Actor^[42]