Silambarasan (born 3 February 1983) is an Indian actor, director, singer and television celebrity who works in Tamil cinema. He began his career playing minor roles as a child artist in films produced by his father, T. Rajendar. His debut, as a lead actor, was in Kadhal Azhivathillai (2002), which was produced and directed by his father. [1] [2]
His second film Dum (2003), a remake of the 2002 Kannada film Appu , fared well commercially. [2] [3] In the same year he appeared in Alai , a box office failure. [4] Silambarasan had three releases in 2004. The first was Kovil , which deals with the relationship between a Hindu boy and a Christian girl. [5] Silambarasan was praised by Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu for acting with "restraint and maturity". [6] It was a box office success. [7] Silambarasan appeared next in Kuthu , a remake of the Telugu film Dil . [7] The film received unfavourable reviews but had a successful theatrical run. [8] His final release in 2004 was Manmadhan , which he also wrote. The film was a major success, [3] and propelled Silambarasan to stardom. [9] The following year, he had only one release: Thotti Jaya , in which he plays an orphaned gangster who finds love. [10] In 2006, Silambarasan had two releases: Saravana (directed by K. S. Ravikumar) and Vallavan which he helped write and directed himself. [11] [12] The film was a box office success. [13] He starred in two films in 2008: the action-masala films Kaalai and Silambattam . Neither received positive reviews, but the latter was profitable. [14] [15]
Silambarasan's sole release in 2010 as a lead actor was the romance Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa , directed and written by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The film attained cult status in Tamil cinema, and was a major breakthrough in his career. [16] It was considered an image makeover for Silambarasan as most of his earlier films were in the action genre. [17] The following year, he appeared in two films. The first was the ensemble drama Vaanam , where he stars as an impoverished cable operator. [18] The second was Osthe , a remake of the Hindi film Dabangg where he played a police officer. [19] Podaa Podi , which began production in 2008 and was released in 2012, was a commercial failure. [13] [20] His next appearance as a lead actor was in Vaalu (2015), followed by two releases in 2016: Pandiraj's Idhu Namma Aalu and Menon's Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada . [21] [22]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Film | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Uravai Kaatha Kili | Silambarasu | Child artist | [23] |
1986 | Mythili Ennai Kaathali | Girl | Uncredited role as a child artist; special appearance in the song "Ada Ponana Manasey" | [24] |
1987 | Oru Thayin Sabhatham | Himself | Child artist; special appearance in the songs "Dharmanthan Jeyikkumunga" and "Enathu Ganamun" | [23] |
1988 | En Thangai Kalyani | Simbhu | Child artist | [24] |
1989 | Samsara Sangeetham | Simbhu | Child artist | [25] |
1991 | Shanti Enathu Shanti | Babu | Child artist | [26] |
1992 | Enga Veetu Velan | Velan | Child artist | [27] [28] |
1993 | Pettredutha Pillai | Kumaran | Child artist | [29] |
Sabash Babu | Babu | Child artist | [30] | |
1994 | Oru Vasantha Geetham | Silambhu | Child artist | [31] |
1995 | Thai Thangai Paasam | Velu | Child artist | [32] |
1999 | Monisha En Monalisa | Himself | Child artist; special appearance in the song "Mo Mo Monisha" | [33] |
2001 | Sonnal Thaan Kaadhala | Himself | Cameo appearance in the songs "Chukkumala" and "Velaa" | [34] [35] |
2002 | Kadhal Virus | Himself | Cameo appearance | [36] |
Kadhal Azhivathillai | Simbhu | Debut as a lead actor | [37] | |
2003 | Dum | Sathya | [38] | |
Alai | Aadhi | [39] | ||
2004 | Kovil | Sakthivel | [6] | |
Kuthu | Gurumoorthy | [7] | ||
Manmadhan | Madhankumar (Manmadhan), Madhanraj [a] | Dual role; Also screenwriter | [40] | |
2005 | Thotti Jaya | Jayachandran (Thotti Jaya) [b] | [10] | |
2006 | Saravana | Saravana | [11] | |
Vallavan | Vallavan [b] | Also director and screenwriter | [41] | |
2008 | Kaalai | Jeeva | [42] | |
Silambattam | Vichu, Thamizharasan [a] | Dual role | [43] | |
2010 | Goa | Madhankumar | Cameo appearance | [44] |
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa | Karthik Sivakumar | [45] | ||
Ye Maaya Chesave | Himself | Telugu film; cameo appearance | [46] | |
2011 | Vaanam | Thillai Raja ("Cable" Raja) [b] | [18] | |
Osthe | Osthe Velan | [19] | ||
2012 | Podaa Podi | Arjun | [47] | |
2013 | Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya | Himself | Cameo appearance | [48] |
2014 | Inga Enna Solluthu | Raghu | Cameo appearance | [49] |
2015 | Dongaata | Himself | Telugu film; cameo appearance | [50] |
Kaaka Muttai | Himself | Cameo appearance | [51] | |
Vaalu | Sakthi (Sharp) [b] | [52] | ||
2016 | Idhu Namma Aalu | Shiva | [21] | |
Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada | Rajinikanth Muralidharan | [22] [53] | ||
2017 | Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan | Madura Michael, Ashwin Thatha, Thikku Siva [c] | Triple role | [54] |
2018 | Chekka Chivantha Vaanam | Ethirajan Senapathi | [55] | |
Kaatrin Mozhi | Himself | Cameo appearance | [56] | |
2019 | Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven | Adithya (Raja) [b] | [57] | |
90 ML | Himself | Cameo appearance | [58] | |
2021 | Eeswaran | Eeswaran | [59] | |
Maanaadu | Abdul Khaliq | [60] | ||
2022 | Maha | Malik | Cameo appearance | [61] |
Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu | Muthuveeran (Muthu) | [62] | ||
2023 | Pathu Thala | A. G. Raavanan (A. G. R.) | [63] | |
2025 | Thug Life † | TBA | Post-production | [64] |
Year | Film | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn | Karthik Sivakumar | [65] |
Year | Show | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Jodi Number One | Judge | Reality Show | Vijay TV |
2022 | Bigg Boss Ultimate | Host | Reality Show | Hotstar |
Year | Title | For Whom / Character | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Slumdog Millionaire | Dev Patel / Jamal Malik | Naanum Kodeeswaran Tamil Version | [66] |
2017 | Katha Nayagan | — | Narrator | [67] |