Vignesh Shivan (born 18 September 1985) is an Indian film director, film producer,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

who works in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

, making films of various genres.

Personal life

Shivan studied at Santhome Higher Secondary School,

Mylapore Mylapore (also spelt Mayilapur), or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil ...

, Chennai and then studied at Vanavani Matriculation Higher Secondary School. Shivan and actress

Nayanthara Nayanthara (born Diana Mariam Kurian; 18 November 1984) is an Indian actress and producer known for her work in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she ...

have been in a relationship ever since they worked together on ''

Naanum Rowdy Dhaan ''Naanum Rowdy Dhaan'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language romantic action comedy film written and directed by Vignesh Shivan, produced by Dhanush under his Wunderbar Films. The film stars Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara, with Parthiban, Radh ...

'' in 2015. They announced their engagement in 2021, and got married on 9 June 2022 at Sheraton Grand in

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram), is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of ...

. The couple had twin boys on 26 September 2022 through surrogacy. Netflix has documented his wife's journey in cinema, as well as her relationship with him, in a documentary titled '' Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale'' (2024).

Career

After getting

Dharan Dharan () is a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Koshi Province, in eastern Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in eastern Nepal after Biratnagar and I ...

to compose music for it, showed the film to producers, Gemini Film Circuit, and then to

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...

and both parties agreed to collaborate to make it a feature film titled '' Podaa Podi'' (2012). The joint producers of the film, Shanaya Telefilms, released a series of posters in June 2008 publicising the film, while Silambarasan and Vignesh toured in Canada scouting for locations and agreeing a deal with Mayor Ron Stevens to film in Orillia and Toronto. The film languished in production for close to four years, before finally releasing in October 2012 to mixed reviews. He then continued to be active in films by working as a lyricist, filming independent music videos and appeared in a cameo role as an engineer in ''

Velaiyilla Pattathari ''Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (), popularly referred to as ''VIP'', is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama written and directed by Velraj, in his directorial debut, and produced by Dhanush, who also enacts in the lead role alongside Amala P ...

'' (2014) along with

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...

. His second film, ''

'' (2015), went through several changes of cast and production studios, before finalising on

Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi Kalimuthu (born 16 January 1978) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Sethupathi is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Awards, National F ...

and

as lead actors and

as producer. In his third venture, '' Thaanaa Serndha Koottam'', he teamed up with Suriya and

Keerthy Suresh Keerthy Suresh (born 17 October 1992) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam films. Her film accolades include one National Film Award, five South Indian In ...

Anirudh Ravichander Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also credited mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian composer and playback singer who works primarily in Tamil cinema, in addition to Telugu and Hindi films. He has won two Filmfare Awards South, ten ...

wrote the music numbers. Vignesh Shivan along with Nayanthara, founded a new venture called Rowdy Pictures which produced the films ''Pebbles'' (2021) and ''Rocky'' (2021). His Recent Movie is "LIK" will be releasing on 2025.

Filmography

As director, writer and actor

As producer

* '' Netrikann'' (2021) *'' Koozhangal'' (2021) *''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

'' (2021) *'' Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal'' (2022) *'' Connect'' (2022) *'' Shubh Yatra'' (2023)

As distributor

*''

'' (2021)

As lyricist

Other work

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shivan, Vignesh Living people Tamil film directors Tamil film poets Tamil-language lyricists 1985 births Indian Tamil people 21st-century Indian people