Santhanam

Biography

N Santhanam is an Indian actor and comedian who primarily works in the Tamil film industry. He began his career as a TV comedian and has successfully established himself as one of the leading comedians of Tamil cinema.

 After the popular actor Silambarasan gave him a role in the movie Manmadhan (2004), he went on to star in many successful movies and has been applauded for his comic abilities. Santhanam`s consistent performance as an entertainer has earned him several awards with the Tamil film industry giving him the title of `Comedy Superstar`.

Born and brought up in the Pozhichalur suburb of Chennai, Santhanam completed his schooling at Marya Nivas Matriculation Higher Secondary School. He holds a diploma in Electronics and Communication.

Santhanam`s first break as an actor in a movie came when actor Silambarasan offered him a supporting role in the movie Manmadhan (2004). Prior to making his acting debut on the big screen, Santhanam was a popular face on television. 

He was known for enacting spoofs of Tamil movies in the television series, Lollu Sabha, which was aired on Vijay TV. After his successful debut, Santhanam went on to appear in several movies.

In 2005, Santhanam starred in the movie Sachein, which also marked the Tamil cinema debut of the Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu. The movie was declared a hit at the box office. A long way away from establishing himself as a credible comedian, Santhanam appeared in many movies between 2005 to 2009. 

Some of his notable movies during the period include Oru Kalluriyin Kathai (2005), Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum (2006), Vallavan (2006), Polladhavan (2007), and Jeyam Kondaan (2008), Arai En 305-il Kadavul (2008). 

His performances were highly praised by critics and audience alike and in 2009 he won his first Vijay Award for Best Comedian for the movie Siva Manasula Sakthi.
 

Santhanam continued to be a part of successful movies and received critical and commercial acclaim for his roles in movies such as Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013), Vanakkam Chennai (2013), and Raja Rani (2013). 

Further, his performance in the movie Endrendrum Punnagai (2013) with Vinay and Jiiva was applauded; one of the critics quoted - "with his spot-on comedy, measured histrionics and his immense likeability, he is a revelation and provides some hearty laughs". However, his next outing at the box office was a failure as the movie All in All Azhagu Raja (2013) was declared a flop. Santhanam`s next lead role came in the 2014 movie Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham, directed by Srinath. 

For his role, Santhanam lost weight and also took dancing lessons. The movie opened to positive critic and commercial reviews with one of the critics quoting: "It is a Santhanam show all the way" and that "he also delivers as a complete actor, displaying a range of emotions".

 Santhanam produced his next movie, Inimey Ippadithaan (2015), while also playing the lead role in it. In 2016, the actor appeared in the movie Dhilluku Dhuddu directed by Rambhala. His 2017 projects include the movies Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan and Oodi Oodi Uzhaikanum. His 2020 release includes Dagaalty.

In 2012, Santhanam began his production house named, Handmade Films, The first movie produced by the company was the critical and commercially acclaimed Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham (2014). In 2015, the production house released the movie titled, Inimey Ippadithaan.