S. Shankar

In this Indian name, the name Shanmugam is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Shankar.

S. Shankar
Shankar in 2018
Born	Shankar Shanmugam (1963-08-17) 17 August 1963 Kumbakonam, Madras State (present-day Tamil Nadu), India
Alma mater	Central Polytechnic College
Occupation	Film director, film producer, screenwriter <!-- Occupation(s) as given in the lead (see MOS:ROLEBIO) -->
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Easwari Shankar
Children	3, including Aditi<ref name="indianexpress.com">"Shankar's daughter Aditi Shankar to make her silver screen debut with Viruman". indianexpress.com. 6 September 2021.</ref>

Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963) is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Tamil cinema. He is one of the most prominent directors of Indian cinema, he has also worked in Hindi and Telugu films. Shankar's films are known for addressing contemporary social issues, vigilante themes, and use of visual effects. Throughout his career, he has won several awards, including one National Film Award, four Filmfare Award South, and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Additionally, six of his films have won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects.

Shankar made his debut as a director in the film Gentleman (1993), for which he won the Filmfare Best Director Award and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director. He usually collaborates with composer A. R. Rahman, both having done over 11 films together. Some of his films like Indian (1996) and Jeans (1998) were commercially very successful and were submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but neither earned a nomination. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by M. G. R. University.

Shankar's psychological thriller Anniyan was released in 2005 with highly critical and commercial success. After Anniyan, Shankar teamed up with Rajinikanth on Sivaji (2007), the most expensive Indian film at that time.<ref name="indiatimes.2007.06.18">"Sivaji&nbsp;– The Boss (Now Playing)". Indiatimes. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Made on a budget of about Rs. 75 Crores...</ref> He again collaborated with Rajinikanth for the science fiction film Enthiran (2010), which again turned out to be highest grossing Tamil film at that time and also its sequel 2.0 (2018), is the seventh highest-grossing film in India and the tenth highest-grossing Indian film worldwide.<ref name="2.0second">"Top All Time India Grossers All Formats – 2.0 Second". Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.</ref><ref>"2.0 All India Update – Crosses 400 Crore NETT". Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2019.</ref> It is also the highest-grossing Indian film of 2018.

Early life

Shankar was born on 17 August 1963 in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu to Muthulakshmi and Shanmugam. He completed his diploma in mechanical engineering from Central Polytechnic College and worked in a typewriting company before entering the film industry.<ref name=kalki>"Take it easy? Not for Me!". Kalki (in தமிழ்). 4 December 1994. pp. 58–59.</ref> He was roped into the film industry as a screenwriter by S. A. Chandrasekhar, who accidentally saw the drama stage shows made by Shankar and his team. Though Shankar wanted to be an actor, he chose to be a director instead.<ref name=kalki /><ref name ="rediff">Pavithra Srinivasan (4 April 1997). "Rediff On The Net, Movies:An interview with Shankar". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2018.</ref>

Career

1985-1990: Early work before directorial

Shankar was a wannabe actor who, after small and unnoticed roles in two films such Vesham (1985) and Poovum Puyalum (1986), eventually grabbed the opportunity to assist directors S. A. Chandrasekhar and Pavithran.<ref name ="rediff"/> He began his career as an actor in the films Vasantha Raagam (1986), Neethikku Thandanai (1987) and Seetha (1990).

1993-2002: Debut and breakthrough

In 1993, Shankar made his directional debut through Gentleman, starring Arjun Sarja in the lead role. The film was made with a higher-than-average budget in Tamil cinema during that time. It received a positive response and became a blockbuster.<ref>"Director Shankar's Interview". Behindwoods. 20 January 2005. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.</ref> A. R. Rahman, the film's music composer, continued to work with Shankar in his next six directorial ventures.

Shankar's second film, Kaadhalan, a romantic thriller film, released the following year and featured Prabhu Deva in the lead role. In 1996, he collaborated with Kamal Haasan for Indian. It was dubbed in Hindi as Hindustani and Telugu as Bharateeyudu. The film was selected as the country's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Following Indian, Shankar began work on Jeans, which released in 1998 and became the most expensive film in Indian cinema at that time with a budget of ₹ 200 million. Upon release, it became one of the highest grossing Tamil films of the 1990s. He made his production debut through Mudhalvan (1999), where he collaborated with Arjun Sarja for the second time as lead actor. The film was a hit at the box office.

Shankar opted to remake Mudhalvan in Hindi as Nayak, thus making his Bollywood debut. Nayak released in September 2001 and was declared a flop by Box Office India due to its poor marketing, high budget, and distribution price. It went on to gain cult status from repeated telecasts despite not doing well at the box office.<ref>"Nayak – Movie – Box Office India". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.</ref><ref>Devika Sahni (7 September 2016). "15 Years On, Nayak Remains As Relevant To India's Political Scenario As It Was Back Then". scoopwhoop.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.</ref><ref>"Baahubali writer gets busy with Nayak sequel". The New Indian Express. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.</ref> Shankar started work on his next film, which was supposed to be a science fiction film titled Robot that was slated to have Kamal Haasan in the lead. The project was stalled since Haasan was busy with other projects. Later, the project could not move forward due to budgeting problems.<ref name ="rediff2">Rajitha (5 November 2001). "Movies:Shankar and Rajnikanth team up". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.</ref>

2003-2018: Widespread success

Shankar's coming-of-age musical film Boys released in 2003. It received mixed reviews from the critics and audience, resulting in average business. However, A. R. Rahman's soundtrack for the film became a major sensation. On the box office front, the Telugu-dubbed version of Boys was a hit in Andhra Pradesh.<ref>"Shankar now wants sci-fi with Vikram". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 16 May 2022. Boys, his latest venture, ran foul of public opinion in Tamil Nadu, with many protesting that the dialogues and some scenes were too 'vulgar' for public consumption. The film – produced by Shankar's regular producer A M Rathnam – did enormous business in Telugu.</ref>

Shankar's psychological thriller Anniyan, featuring Vikram in three distinct characters (Ambi, Remo and Anniyan), was released in 2005. Shankar collaborated with composer Harris Jayaraj for the first time. Anniyan turned out to become the second-highest grossing Tamil film of 2005.

Shortly after the release of Anniyan, it was reported that Shankar had teamed up with Rajinikanth and AVM Productions for a film. He renewed his association with A. R. Rahman for the film. Sivaji was made at a budget of ₹ 600 million,<ref name="indiatimes.2007.06.18"/> the most expensive Indian film to that point. He was paid a record salary of ₹100&nbsp;million for the film. After two years of filming, the film released in 2007 and ultimately became one of the highest grossing Tamil films of that time.

Following Sivaji, Shankar revisited the possibilities of opinion regarding the script of Robot. He later decided to make the project in Tamil with Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai. The film was produced by South Indian media proprietor, Kalanithi Maran, was renamed Enthiran, and was made on a budget of ₹1.32 billion, which was again the most expensive Indian film to that point. Some reports also make it one of the highest grossing Tamil films of the time.<ref>"Rajinikanth's 'Robot' biggest grosser of all time". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.</ref><ref>"Rajinikanth adds 30% to Kalanithi Maran's Sun TV Network revenue". The Economic Times. 31 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.</ref>

Shankar started to work on Nanban, the Tamil remake of the 2009 Hindi film 3 Idiots starring Vijay, Jiiva and Srikanth. The film opened in January 2012. After Nanban, it was wrongly reported that Shankar's next film would be called Therdal.<ref>"Samantha bags Shankar's next Therdal". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2012.</ref>

On 21 June 2012, Shankar announced his next film titled I.<ref name="I">"'I' will be produced on a mega scale". The Times of India. 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2012.</ref> A romantic thriller, Vikram essayed the roles of a bodybuilder, fashion model, and hunchback. It was his second collaboration with Shankar after Anniyan. The film, made over a period of 2.5 years, released on 14 January 2015 to mixed-to-positive reviews and earned almost ₹2&nbsp;billion in 19 days.<ref name="mark">Prakash, Upadhyaya (3 February 2015). "'I' Box Office Collection: Vikram's Flick Grosses ₹200 crore worldwide in 19 days". IB Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.</ref>

Shankar then started working on 2.0, a sequel to Enthiran, which released on 29 November 2018 and received positive to mixed reviews. It went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2018 as well as the seventh highest-grossing Indian film of all time at release. To date, the film is still the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.

2019-present: Commercial fluctuations

Shankar then began work on Indian 2, the sequel to Indian, reuniting with Kamal Haasan. It was produced by Lyca Productions, marking the production company's second collaboration with Shankar after 2.0. However, due to Haasan contesting the 2019 Indian general election, an accident on the sets,<ref>"3 killed during 'Indian 2' film shoot". The Hindu. 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.</ref> and the COVID-19 pandemic, production was stalled.

In February 2021, Shankar announced his debut in Telugu cinema, Game Changer, starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani; with the story written by Karthik Subbaraj.<ref>Bhasin, Shriya (8 September 2021). "Shankar's 'SVC 50' starring Kiara Advani, Ram Charan goes on floor". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 21 September 2021.</ref> It was produced by Dil Raju under Sri Venkateswara Creations.

In April 2021, he also announced his return to Hindi cinema with Ranveer Singh, a remake of Anniyan. It was to be produced by Jayantilal Gada under Pen Studios.<ref>Ramachandran, Naman (14 April 2021). "Ranveer Singh and S. Shankar Team For 'Anniyan' Bollywood Remake (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 April 2021.</ref> However, Shankar faced legal difficulties regarding rights to remake the film, and the production never commenced.<ref>"Ranveer Singh's Anniyan Remake in Legal Trouble, Producer Ravichandran to Move Court". News18. 24 August 2021.</ref>

Production on Game Changer began, and after Haasan became available following the release of Vikram, Shankar stated that he will work on and direct both Game Changer and Indian 2 simultaneously.<ref>"Shankar gears up to resume Ram Charan's 'RC15' shooting". The Times of India. 26 August 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.</ref> During filming of Indian 2, it was decided that the film would be split into two parts due to the length of the material. Both parts were simultaneously shot.<ref>"EXCLUSIVE: Kamal Haasan's Indian is now a trilogy– Shankar simultaneously shoots part 2 and 3". Pinkvilla. 26 July 2023. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.</ref> Indian 2 was released on 12 July 2024. It was panned by critics and audiences alike,<ref>"Kamal Haasan's 'Indian 2' Gets Trimmed By 20 Minutes After Negative Reviews". Outlook India. 14 July 2024. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.</ref> and was a box-office bomb.<ref>Singh, Jatinder (13 August 2024). "Indian 2 worldwide closing box office collections: Kamal Haasan, Shankar film is a colossal DISASTER". Pinkvilla.</ref> It also included a teaser for Indian 3, which was better received.<ref>Seta, Fenil (12 July 2024). "Exclusive: Kamal Haasan-starrer Indian 3's exciting glimpse to appear as mid-credit scene in Indian 2; is 2 minutes and 30 seconds long". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.</ref>

Game Changer was released on 10 January 2025, coinciding with Sankranti. It opened to mixed reviews from critics and audience and emerged as Shankar's second consecutive box-office bomb.<ref>"Game Changer (Hindi) Final Worldwide Box Office: Ram Charan and Kiara Advani's political drama to end run with JUST Rs 39 crore globally". Pinkvilla. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.</ref><ref>Talwar, Puja (20 January 2025). "When big films flop, who should take the fall?". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 23 January 2025.</ref>

Indian 3 was scheduled to be released on 24 January 2025, but is currently undergoing reshoots due to the panning of its predecessor. However, it remains unreleased.<ref>"'இந்தியன் 3' படத்திற்காக மீண்டும் படப்பிடிப்பு". Dinamalar (in தமிழ்). 27 July 2024. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.</ref>

Personal life

Shankar is married to Easwari Shankar. The couple has two daughters and a son. Their younger daughter, Aditi Shankar, made her acting debut with Viruman (2022).<ref name="indianexpress.com"/> In April 2024, Shankar's older daughter Aishwarya's second marriage was with Tarun Karthikeyan, after her divorce from cricketer Damodaran Rohit.<ref>"Director Shankar's daughter Aishwarya marries Tarun Karthikeyan; Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Suriya, and Vikram attend the wedding". The Times of India.</ref><ref>"Director Shankar's daughter Aishwarya to tie the knot with cricketer Rohit Damodharan today". India Today. 27 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Shankar's son-in-law Tarun: 'Didn't work with him as assistant director'". India Today. 17 April 2024.</ref> Shankar's son Arjith Shankar is also an aspiring actor.<ref>"Director Shankar's son Arjith expected to make his acting debut with a Tamil film". The Times of India.</ref>

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

• Note: all films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.

As director

• Note: He is credited in films as Shankar.

List of S. Shankar film credits as director

Year	Title	Languages	Notes
1993	Gentleman	Tamil
1994	Kaadhalan	Also lyricist for "Pettai Rap"
1996	Indian
1998	Jeans
1999	Mudhalvan
2001	Nayak: The Real Hero	Hindi	Hindi film debut; Remake of Mudhalvan (1999)
2003	Boys	Tamil
2005	Anniyan
2007	Sivaji: The Boss
2010	Enthiran
2012	Nanban	Remake of 3 Idiots (2009)
2015	I
2018	2.0	Standalone sequel of Enthiran (2010)
2024	Indian 2	Sequel of Indian (1996)
2025	Game Changer	Telugu	Telugu film debut
Template:Tba	Indian 3	Tamil	Delayed<br>Sequel of Indian 2 (2024)

As producer

List of S. Shankar film credits as producer

Year	Title	Notes
			1999	Mudhalvan	As producer
2004	Kaadhal
2006	Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi
	Veyil
2007	Kalloori
2008	Arai Enn 305-il Kadavul
2009	Eeram
2010	Rettaisuzhi
	Anandhapurathu Veedu
2014	Kappal	As distributor
2023	Aneethi

As an actor

List of S. Shankar film credits as actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Vesham	Worker
1986	Poovum Puyalum	Student
	Vasantha Raagam	Printing press worker
1987	Neethikku Thandanai	Reporter
1990	Seetha	Japan
1994	Kaadhalan	Spectator	Uncredited appearance in the song "Kadhalikum Pennin"
2002	Kadhal Virus	Himself	Special appearance
2007	Sivaji: The Boss	Person who telephones	Uncredited appearance in the song "Balleilakka"
2010	Enthiran	Army soldier	Uncredited appearance
2012	Nanban	Director	Uncredited appearance in the song "Asku Laska"

Awards and nominations

National Film Awards

List of S. Shankar National Film Awards and Nominations

Year	Film	Category	Result	Ref.
2006	Veyil	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil	Won	<ref>"'Veyil' wins National Award for best TAMIL film".</ref>

Filmfare Awards South

List of S. Shankar Filmfare Awards South awards and nominations

Year	Film	Category	Result	Ref.
1993	Gentleman	Best Director	Won	<ref>"Gentleman Awards: List of Awards won by Tamil movie Gentleman". The Times of India.</ref>
1994	Kaadhalan			<ref>"Kadhalan Awards: List of Awards won by Tamil movie Kadhalan". The Times of India.</ref>
2005	Anniyan			<ref>"Filmfare Awards South". IMDb.</ref>
2006	Veyil	Best Film – Tamil		<ref>"Filmfare Awards South". IMDb.</ref>
2007	Sivaji: The.Boss	Best Director	Nominated	<ref name="Filmfare Awards South">"Filmfare Awards South". IMDb.</ref>
2010	Enthiran			<ref name="Filmfare Awards South"/>
2015	I			<ref>"Filmfare Awards South". IMDb.</ref>

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

List of S. Shankar Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Category	Result	Ref.
1993	Gentleman	Best Director	Won	<ref>"This 'Gentleman' turns 56 today". Telangana Today.</ref>
1996	Indian	Best Film (First prize)		<ref>"mahadevan\htmls\1996 cinema awards". 3 February 1999. Archived from the original on 3 February 1999. Retrieved 20 November 2023.</ref>
2005	Anniyan	Best Film (Second prize)		<ref name="Tamil Nadu State Film Awards">"Tamil Nadu State Film Awards". IMDb.</ref>
		Best Director		<ref name="Tamil Nadu State Film Awards"/>
2006	Veyil	Best Film (First prize)		<ref>"Tamil Nadu State Film Awards". IMDb.</ref>
2007	Sivaji: The.Boss			<ref>"Tamil Nadu State Film Awards". IMDb.</ref>

Vijay Awards

List of S. Shankar Vijay Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Category	Result	Ref.
2010	Enthiran: The Robot	Favourite Director	Won	<ref>Staff Reporter (26 June 2011). "Legends steal the show at Close Up Vijay Awards". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.</ref>
2013	Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema			<ref>"Shah Rukh Khan honoured at Vijay Awards". Khaleej Times.</ref>

Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards

List of S. Shankar Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Category	Result	Ref.
2018	2.0	Best Animation and Visual Effect	Won	<ref>"Vikatan Awards 2019: Winners list is here". 1 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2021.</ref>

External links

• {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
• S. Shankar on IMDb