Anandha Kannan (23 March 1973 – 16 August 2021) was an
Indian Singaporean
Indian Singaporeans (Tamil language, Tamil: ') are Singaporeans of Indian people, Indian or South Asian ancestor, ancestry, who constitute 9.0% of the country's citizens, making them the third largest ancestry and ethnic group in Singapore.
Wh ...
actor and
television host
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...
, popularly known for his theatre works and shows broadcast in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Sun Network.
Early life and family
Anandha Kannan was born on 23 March 1973 in Singapore to Govindaraju and Vasanthakumari.
Kannan married Rani Kanna
and have one daughter.
Career
Kannan’s career started with Vasantham as an actor and host. During his teenage years, he acted in radio dramas like Siruvar Medai and hosted TV shows like Siruvargal Naangal. He had a keen interest in the theatre scene from a young age and became famous for performing in Ravindran Drama Group’s (RDG) productions and later in local television dramas. In 1988, his role as one of the main characters in RDG’s Kudubathin Araigal earned the appreciation of many theatergoers. He won the Best Actor Award for Indian Cultural Month in 1990. He gave the prize money to RDG to enable it to produce more plays.
Kannan moved to Chennai and joined
Sun Music
Sun Music ( ta, சன் மியூசிக்) is India's first 24-hour music channel led by the well-known Sun TV Network of India. The channel features Tamil music from Kollywood. Most of the shows in Sun Music requires call-in audience p ...
as a video jockey in the 2000s. It brought him fame and helped him broaden his audience base. He acted in a children’s drama called Sindubad on Sun TV which earned him many young fans. He also acted in Tamil films like the science-fiction
Adhisaya Ulagam
''Adhisaya Ulagam'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language science fantasy film written and directed by Shakthi Scott and produced by R. Banuchitra. The film stars J. Livingston, Sreelakshmy N. Nair, and Mannan Prithivraj.
This project, combining a ...
( 2012). On
Vasantham
''Vasantam'' () is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by N.V.Prasad & Sanam Naga Ashok kumar on Sri Sai Deva Productions banner, directed by Vikraman. Starring Venkatesh, Arti Agarwal, Kalyani and music is composed by S. A. Rajk ...
, Kannan hosted programmes such as Maalai Mathuram, Amali Thumali, Oorkuruvi and Suvai and the gameshow Savaal Singapore (2013 to 2018) which is a Tamil version of
We Are Singaporeans. In 2011, he won the Best Host award at the station’s awards show Pradhana Vizha. He also received the International Youth Icon award at the World Universities Tamil Conference in 2013. With the support of the National Arts Council, Kannan went to India in 2017 to study Tamil folk theatre from the renowned teacher Na Muthuswamy.
He started AK Theatre Ltd, a non-profit organisation, in 2013 to keep Indian culture alive among the younger generation. It produces performances that celebrate traditional Tamil forms of theatre such as Koothu, karagam, kummi, parai and villupattu. He also organised cultural and language festivals, stage productions, workshops and competitions free of charge, to benefit many students of folk arts. AK Theatre launched the Anandha Koothu, a diploma course in Indian musical theatre, in affilia-tion with the University of West London in 2019 to encourage youngsters and young adults. It is an internationally accredited art enrichment programme on traditional arts and theatre forms.
He also acted as lead in Mullum Malarum with his co-host
Prajin
Prajin Padmanabhan is an Indian actor concentrating in Tamil and Malayalam-language films. He started his career as a VJ with Sun TV. He played the protagonist in the film '' Pazhaya Vannarapettai''.
Film career
Prajin started his career in ...
and Ithanai Naalai Engirunthai with
Manochitra
Manochitra (born 5 March 1997) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu films.
Career
Manochitra made her acting debut with (2010) under the screen name of Nandhagi. She then met the Casting Director T ...
but both were never released to audiences. He also made guest appearance in
Venkat Prabu movie
Saroja. He was also famous for being brand ambassador of Naturals Spa & Salon.
Filmography
Television
Awards and recognitions
* Awarded as "International Youth Icon" at World Universities Tamil Conference 2013.
* Television Actors Guild Award (South India) for "Best Actor"
*Tamil Sudar Award, AK Theatre Limited, Awarded by Mediacorp 2019
Awards & Recognition at
Pradhana Vizha as follows,
Death
Anandha Kannan died at the Singapore General Hospital died on 16 August 2021 at the age of 48 due to
bile-duct cancer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kannan, Anandha
1973 births
2021 deaths
21st-century Indian male actors
21st-century Singaporean male actors
Indian male television actors
Singaporean male television actors
Male actors in Tamil cinema