S. Shankar

Biography

A noted cinema personality known for directing high-budget films, S. Shankar is one of the sought-after directors in Tamil cinema.

 He made his directorial debut in the industry with the 1993 film Gentleman and then went on to direct several blockbuster hits like Jeans (1998), Nayak (2001), Anniyan (2005), Sivaji: The Boss (2007), Enthiran: The Robot (2010), Nanban (2012) and I (2015), being his most prominent ones.

 This award-winning director was bestowed with the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema at the Vijay Awards.

Shankar started his cinema career in 1993 with the Tamil film Gentleman which starred Arjun and Madhoo in the lead roles. He gained success in his very first movie Gentleman received positive reviews and turned out to be a blockbuster.

 Not only this, he won the Filmfare Awards South for Best Director and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director for the movie. It was remade in Hindi as The Gentleman in 1994, under the direction of Mahesh Bhatt, with Shankar credited as the story writer for the remake.

 Shankar`s next film was the romantic comedy thriller Kadhalan which had Prabhu Deva and Nagma play the lead, whereas Raghuvaran and Vadivelu were seen in other significant roles. The director bagged the Filmfare Awards South in the Best Director category for the film.

 Most songs in the movie gained huge popularity like "Ennavale Adi Ennavale", "Mukkabla", "Urvasi Urvasi", and "Pettai Rap", adding to its success. The director then ventured into a crime thriller film Indian (1996), which starred Kamal Haasan in a dual role, whereas Manisha Koirala and Urmila Matondkar played pivotal roles. 

The movie revolves around a man who stands up against corruption without any clue of his son`s involvement in the corrupt practices.

As a producer Shankar is also a successful producer who has been associated with several movies like Mudhalvan, Kaadhal, Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi, Veyil, Arai Enn 305-il Kadavul, Eeram, Rettaisuzhi and Anandhapurathu Veedu.

Shankar started off as an actor before venturing into direction. He made his first on-screen appearance in the Tamil film Vasantha Raagam in 1986 as a printing press worker. He then went on to act in another film in the year titled Poovum Puyalum.

 He has made special appearances in various songs like `Kadhalikum Pennin` from Kadhalan, `Balleilakka` from Sivaji: The Boss, and `Asku Laska` from Nanban. He also had a special appearance in Enthiran (2010) as a soldier.