S. Shankar

Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963) is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Tamil cinema. Known as one of the most prominent directors in the history 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 incorporating state-of-the-art technology and visual effects (VFX) with magnificence. 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. 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. 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 an typewriting company before entering the film industry. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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, the most expensive Indian film to that point. He was paid a record salary of 100 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.

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''.

On 21 June 2012, Shankar announced his next film titled '' I''. 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 billion in 19 days.

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, 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. 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. However, Shankar faced legal difficulties regarding rights to remake the film, and the production never commenced.

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. 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. ''Indian 2'' was released on 12 July 2024. It was panned by critics and audiences alike, and was a box-office bomb. It also included a teaser for '' Indian 3'', which was better received.

''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.

''Indian 3'' was scheduled to be released on 24 January 2025, but is currently undergoing reshoots due to the panning of its predecessor.

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). In April 2024, Shankar's older daughter Aishwarya's second marriage was with Tarun Karthikeyan, after her divorce from cricketer Damodaran Rohit. Shankar's son Arjith Shankar is also an aspiring actor.

Filmography

As director

As producer

As an actor

Awards and nominations

National Film Awards

Filmfare Awards South

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

Vijay Awards

Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, S.
1963 births
Living people
Film directors from Tamil Nadu
Tamil film directors
Tamil-language film directors
Tamil screenwriters
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners
People from Thanjavur district
Filmfare Awards South winners
Indian science fiction film directors
Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
Indian film directors