Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also known by the initialism SK, is an Indian actor, singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil films. He is a recipient of a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison Awards, four SIIMA Awards, and two other Vijay Awards.

Personal life

Sivakarthikeyan married Aarthi on 27 August 2010. The couple have two children, including a daughter Aaradhana and a son. Aaradhana sang parts of the song "Vayadi Petha Pulla" from ''Kanaa'' alongside her father.

Career

During college, Sivakarthikeyan took part in various cultural events and performed mimicry and standup comedy onstage. Between his studies, he took a three month-break, and during this period, his friends convinced him to go for auditions of ''Kalakka Povathu Yaaru?'', a comedy reality TV show airing on Star Vijay. He started his career as a mimicry artist. Despite initial reluctance to participate, he won the show. He appeared in short films, including his friend Atlee's ''Mugapputhagam'', ''Identity'', ''Kurahl 786'', and ''360°''. The makers of ''Aegan'' noticed Sivakarthikeyan and offered him a supporting role in the film, but his portions did not make the final cut.Director Pandiraj approached Sivakarthikeyan to play the lead role in his film ''Marina'', and he signed the project. He prepared for the role by paying close attention to Pandiraj's instructions and visiting Marina Beach extensively to study the surroundings, while revealing that he hoped that his natural talent of humor would come through onscreen. Featuring alongside Oviya as a young couple in the film, Sivakarthikeyan's performance was well-received, with a critic noting "the romance adds color to a monochrome film", while the reviewer also noted that the "role of Senthilnathan requires Siva to be just himself, it is just a cake walk in terms of performance for this actor."Prior to ''Marina''s release, Aishwarya Dhanush had signed Sivakarthikeyan up to play a supporting role as Dhanush's friend in ''3'', after being impressed with his work onstage as a host. Following significant pre-release hype, the film opened to predominantly positive reviews with critics appreciating Sivakarthikeyan's work providing comic relief in a serious film. The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry.He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy ''Manam Kothi Paravai'', which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office. A critic from Behindwoods noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor." The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry.He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy ''Manam Kothi Paravai'', which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office. A critic from Behindwoods noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor."In 2013, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in three films. In his first release of the year, ''Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga'', a dual hero coming-of-age comedy, Sivakarthikeyan partnered once again with Pandiraj and shot for the film in his hometown of Tiruchirappalli alongside Vimal. The film opened to positive reviews from critics. The film became a surprise success at the box office and ended up being a profitable venture for producers and distributors. His next success was through Dhanush's debut production venture ''Ethir Neechal'', written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar, a former assistant of film director, Vetrimaaran. It is a story about a young man having talent as a runner, who strives to make an identity for himself. His third release in 2013, director Ponram's comedy ''Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'', saw him portray a carefree rural youth where he paired up with another newcomer Sri Divya. Actor Soori played an important role in the film as Sivakarthikeyan's close friend. It was also the first time that Sivakarthikeyan sang a song in a film, and a promotional video of its making was released to market the film. He won positive reviews for his performance from critics, with ''Sify'' noting "Sivakarthikeyan is terrific as Bosepandi because he makes it look so believable on screen with his body language, eyes and dialogue delivery". Another reviewer called him a delight to watch and claimed that he carried the script. The film completed 100 days during its theatrical run and was Sivakarthikeyan's biggest commercial box office success at that time. Sivakarthikeyan's entertaining performances in 2013 led him to win the year's Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year, an onstage moment which Sivakarthikeyan described as "memorable". He again joined hands with Ponram in the film ''Rajini Murugan'', starring another newcomer Keerthy Suresh. The film's producer, N. Linguswamy, ultimately failed to provide Sivakarthikeyan with his salary due to losses incurred by the film's delayed release. His film ''Remo'', directed by debutant Bakkiyaraj Kannan and produced by R. D. Raja, featured Sivakarthikeyan playing a lovestruck youth disguising himself as a female nurse to befriend his love interest. Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was director Mohan Raja's action-thriller, ''Velaikkaran'', pairing with Nayanthara and featuring Fahadh Faasil as the main antagonist. The film, which revolves around an employee fighting against food adulteration in society, was released in 2017 to positive reviews from critics. He then featured in the 2018 film ''Seemaraja'', collaborating with director Ponram for the third time. The film, featuring an ensemble cast including Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Simran, Lal and Soori, released to mixed reviews. Later that year, he acted in the film, ''Kanaa'', the directorial debut of Arunraja Kamaraj and the debut film of Sivakarthikeyan's production company Sivakarthikeyan Productions. The film features Sivakarthikeyan as a cricket coach, acting alongside Aishwarya Rajesh and Sathyaraj. The film released to highly positive reviews. Sivakarthikeyan's first 2019 film was ''Mr. Local'', starring opposite Nayanthara for the second time, which received poor reviews. His scenes from ''Kanaa'' were reused in the Telugu remake of the film titled ''Kousalya Krishnamurthy''. In 2019, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in the family drama film ''Namma Veettu Pillai'', and in a superhero film ''Hero''.Sivakarthikeyan's only 2021 film was ''Doctor'', which received highly positive reviews from the critics and audience. It became the highest-grossing film of his career, with a global collection of 100 crore rupees. This is his first movie to join the 100 crore club. His next release was ''Don'', which released in 2022. Like ''Doctor'', it received favorable reviews by both the critics and audience. It also went on to collect 100 crores at the global box office, becoming his second consecutive 100 crore hit. In 2022, he began filming for ''Prince'' under the direction of K. V. Anudeep. At the same time, he also began shooting for ''Maaveeran'', which was directed by Madonne Ashwin. ''Prince'' released in 2022 to negative reviews, but ''Maaveeran'' released in 2023 and was a commercial success. Soon after, on the occasion of Pongal, his long delayed film Ayalaan released in 2024, to generally positive reviews, especially with families. The film used 1,400 visual shots, which is the most for any Indian film. Clashing with his former co-star's film Captain Miller, the film grossed over ₹96 crore (US$12 million), emerging as a box office success, and becoming among the highest grossing Indian films of 2024. A month later, Sivakarthikeyan's film with Raaj Kamal Films International, directed by Rajkumar Periyasamy, was announced, previously under the tentative title SK21. On February 16, 2024, the title was revealed to be ''Amaran'', as confirmed by a teaser trailer. The teaser garnered more than 2 million views within 6 hours. On the same day, his next film was announced, to be directed by A. R. Murugadoss, in his second collaboration with the director, after him previously producing ''Kaaki Sattai''. Anirudh Ravichander was announced as the music director for the film, in his ninth collaboration with the musician, as confirmed by his presence at the film's muharat pooja. The movie is under the working title ''SK23''.

2007–2012: Television and shift to cinema

During college, Sivakarthikeyan took part in various cultural events and performed mimicry and stand-up comedy on stage. Between his studies he took three months break and during this period his friends convinced him to go for auditions of ''Kalakka Povathu Yaaru'', a reality show for comedy aired on Star Vijay. He started his career as a mimicry artist. Despite initial reluctance to participate, he won the show. He appeared in short films including his friend Atlee's ''Mugapputhagam'', ''Identity'', ''Kurahl 786'' and ''360°''. The makers of ''Aegan'' noticed Sivakarthikeyan and offered him a supporting role, but his portions didn't make the final cut.Director Pandiraj approached him to play the lead role in his film ''Marina'' and Sivakarthikeyan signed the project. He prepared for his first role by paying close attention to Pandiraj's instructions and visiting Marina Beach extensively to study the surroundings, while revealing that he hoped that his natural talent of humour would come through on-screen. Featuring alongside Oviya as a young couple in the film, Siva's performance was well received with a critic noting "the romance adds color to a monochrome film", while the reviewer also noted that the "role of Senthilnathan requires Siva to be just himself, it is just a cake walk in terms of performance for this actor."Prior to ''Marina''s release, Aishwarya Dhanush had signed him up to play a supporting role as Dhanush's friend in ''3'', after being impressed with his work on stage as a host. Following significant pre-release hype, the film opened to predominantly positive reviews with critics appreciating Sivakarthikeyan's work providing comic relief in a serious film. The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry. He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy ''Manam Kothi Paravai'', which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office.A critic from Behindwoods noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor." The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry. He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy ''Manam Kothi Paravai'', which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office.A critic from Behindwoods noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor."

2007–2012 (Early Stage)

During college, Sivakarthikeyan took part in various cultural events and performed mimicry and stand-up comedy on stage. Between his studies he took three months break and during this period his friends convinced him to go for auditions of Kalakka Povathu Yaaru, a reality show for comedy aired on Star Vijay. He started his career as a mimicry artist. Despite initial reluctance to participate, he won the show. He appeared in short films including his friend Atlee's Mugapputhagam, Identity, Kurahl 786 and 360°. The makers of Aegan noticed Sivakarthikeyan and offered him a supporting role, but his portions didn't make the final cut.Director Pandiraj approached him to play the lead role in his film Marina, and Sivakarthikeyan signed the project. He prepared for his first role by paying close attention to Pandiraj's instructions and visiting Marina Beach extensively to study the surroundings, while revealing that he hoped that his natural talent of humour would come through on-screen. Featuring alongside Oviya as a young couple in the film, Siva's performance was well received with a critic noting "the romance adds color to a monochrome film", while the reviewer also noted that the "role of Senthilnathan requires Siva to be just himself, it is just a cake walk in terms of performance for this actor."Prior to Marina's release, Aishwarya Dhanush had signed him up to play a supporting role as Dhanush's friend in 3, after being impressed with his work on stage as a host. Following significant pre-release hype, the film opened to predominantly positive reviews with critics appreciating Sivakarthikeyan's work providing comic relief in a serious film. The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry. He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy Manam Kothi Paravai, which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office.
A critic noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor, moving away from the annals of a comedian."

2011–2013: Television and shift to cinema

During college, Sivakarthikeyan took part in various cultural events and performed mimicry and standup comedy onstage. Between his studies, he took a three month-break, and during this period, his friends convinced him to go for auditions of ''Kalakka Povathu Yaaru?'', a comedy reality TV show airing on Star Vijay. He started his career as a mimicry artist. Despite initial reluctance to participate, he won the show. He appeared in short films, including his friend Atlee's ''Mugapputhagam'', ''Identity'', ''Kurahl 786'', and ''360°''. The makers of ''Aegan'' noticed Sivakarthikeyan and offered him a supporting role in the film, but his portions did not make the final cut.Director Pandiraj approached Sivakarthikeyan to play the lead role in his film ''Marina'', and he signed the project. He prepared for the role by paying close attention to Pandiraj's instructions and visiting Marina Beach extensively to study the surroundings, while revealing that he hoped that his natural talent of humor would come through onscreen. Featuring alongside Oviya as a young couple in the film, Sivakarthikeyan's performance was well-received, with a critic noting "the romance adds color to a monochrome film", while the reviewer also noted that the "role of Senthilnathan requires Siva to be just himself, it is just a cake walk in terms of performance for this actor."Prior to ''Marina''s release, Aishwarya Dhanush had signed Sivakarthikeyan up to play a supporting role as Dhanush's friend in ''3'', after being impressed with his work onstage as a host. Following significant pre-release hype, the film opened to predominantly positive reviews with critics appreciating Sivakarthikeyan's work providing comic relief in a serious film. The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry.He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy ''Manam Kothi Paravai'', which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office. A critic from Behindwoods noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor." The project also marked the beginning of an association with Dhanush, whom Sivakarthikeyan has often stated is his mentor in the film industry.He was next seen in Ezhil's romantic comedy ''Manam Kothi Paravai'', which opened to mixed reviews but had a decent run at the box office. A critic from Behindwoods noted that the film "might not provide Sivakarthikeyan the platform he is aspiring for – lead roles in movies. But it does showcase his potential as an actor."

2013– present (Rising to the Fame)

In 2013 he appeared in three films. In his first release of the year, Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, a dual hero coming-of-age comedy, Sivakarthikeyan partnered once again with Pandiraj and shot for the film in his hometown of Tiruchirappalli alongside Vimal. The film opened to positive reviews with critics. The film became a surprise success at the box office and ended up being a profitable venture for producers and distributors. His next success was through Dhanush's debut production venture Ethir Neechal, written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar, a former assistant of film director, Vetrimaaran. It is a story about a young man having talent as a runner, who strives to make his identity into a pride one. His third release in 2013, director Ponram's comedy Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, saw him portray a carefree rural youth where he paired up with another newcomer Sri Divya. Actor Soori played an important role in the film as Sivakarthikeyan's close aide. It was also the first time that Sivakarthikeyan sang a song in a film and a promotional video of its making was released to market the film. He won positive reviews for his performance from critics, with Sify noting "Sivakarthikeyan is terrific as Bosepandi because he makes this yarn look so believable on screen with his body language, eyes and dialogue delivery". Another reviewer called him a delight to watch and claimed that he carried the script. The film completed 100 days during its theatrical run and is Sivakarthikeyan's biggest commercial box office success to date. Sivakarthikeyan's entertaining performances in 2013 has led him winning the year's Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year, an on-stage moment which Sivakarthikeyan described as "memorable". He started the year 2014 with a comedy film Maan Karate produced by AR Murugadoss The film featured him as a carefree urban youth who fakes himself as a boxer to impress a girl.


In 2015, Sivakarthikeyan paired up once again with his Ethir Neechal director, Durai Senthilkumar, for a cop action film, Kaaki Sattai. The film released on 27 February 2015. It was a story about a sincere Constable who takes risks to stop black market Organ donation and having the aim to become an Inspector. He again joined hands with his Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam director in the film Rajini Murugan where another newcomer Keerthy Suresh acted. The film's producer, N. Linguswamy, ultimately failed to provide Sivakarthikeyan with his salary due to losses incurred by the film's delayed release. His film Remo, directed by debutant Bakkiyaraj Kannan and produced by R. D. Raja, featured Sivakarthikeyan playing love-struck youth disguising himself as a female nurse to befriend his love interest. Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was director Mohan Raja's action-thriller, Velaikkaran, pairing with Nayanthara and featuring Fahadh Faasil as the main antagonist. The film, which revolves around an employee fighting against food adulteration in society, was released on 22 December 2017 to positive reviews from critics. He then featured in Seemaraja, directed by Ponram. The film, featuring an ensemble cast including Samantha Akkineni, Simran, Lal and Soori, released on 13 September 2018, coinciding with the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, received mixed reviews. His next venture, Kanaa, in Arunraja Kamaraj's directorial debut, featured Sivakarthikeyan as a cricket coach along with Aishwarya Rajesh and Sathyaraj. The film was released on 21 December 2018. It was the debut movie of SK productions.

Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was the film, Mr. Local, starring opposite Nayanthara for the second time, which received poor reviews. He made his Telugu film debut alongside Aishwarya Rajesh in the film Kousalya Krishnamurthy, the remake of Kanaa.In 2019, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in the family drama film Namma Veettu Pillai, and in a Super Hero film Hero.
His next movie Doctor was released on 9 October 2021 and received huge positive reviews from critics. Doctor became his career's highest-grossing movie which has crossed a whopping 100 Crores turnover which was announced by Director Nelson in Twitter. This is the first Sivakarthikeyan movie which has joined the 100 Crore Club. His next releases are Ayalaan and Don in the year 2022. He will be making Tollywood debut as lead actor with Jathi Ratnalu director Anudeep KV with #SK20.

2013–2019: Experimentation in genres and success

In 2013, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in three films. In his first release of the year, ''Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga'', a dual hero coming-of-age comedy, Sivakarthikeyan partnered once again with Pandiraj and shot for the film in his hometown of Tiruchirappalli alongside Vimal. The film opened to positive reviews from critics. The film became a surprise success at the box office and ended up being a profitable venture for producers and distributors. His next success was through Dhanush's debut production venture ''Ethir Neechal'', written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar, a former assistant of film director, Vetrimaaran. It is a story about a young man having talent as a runner, who strives to make an identity for himself. His third release in 2013, director Ponram's comedy ''Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'', saw him portray a carefree rural youth where he paired up with another newcomer Sri Divya. Actor Soori played an important role in the film as Sivakarthikeyan's close friend. It was also the first time that Sivakarthikeyan sang a song in a film, and a promotional video of its making was released to market the film. He won positive reviews for his performance from critics, with ''Sify'' noting "Sivakarthikeyan is terrific as Bosepandi because he makes it look so believable on screen with his body language, eyes and dialogue delivery". Another reviewer called him a delight to watch and claimed that he carried the script. The film completed 100 days during its theatrical run and was Sivakarthikeyan's biggest commercial box office success at that time. Sivakarthikeyan's entertaining performances in 2013 led him to win the year's Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year, an onstage moment which Sivakarthikeyan described as "memorable". He again joined hands with Ponram in the film ''Rajini Murugan'', starring another newcomer Keerthy Suresh. The film's producer, N. Linguswamy, ultimately failed to provide Sivakarthikeyan with his salary due to losses incurred by the film's delayed release. His film ''Remo'', directed by debutant Bakkiyaraj Kannan and produced by R. D. Raja, featured Sivakarthikeyan playing a lovestruck youth disguising himself as a female nurse to befriend his love interest. Sivakarthikeyan's next venture was director Mohan Raja's action-thriller, ''Velaikkaran'', pairing with Nayanthara and featuring Fahadh Faasil as the main antagonist. The film, which revolves around an employee fighting against food adulteration in society, was released in 2017 to positive reviews from critics. He then featured in the 2018 film ''Seemaraja'', collaborating with director Ponram for the third time. The film, featuring an ensemble cast including Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Simran, Lal and Soori, released to mixed reviews. Later that year, he acted in the film, ''Kanaa'', the directorial debut of Arunraja Kamaraj and the debut film of Sivakarthikeyan's production company Sivakarthikeyan Productions. The film features Sivakarthikeyan as a cricket coach, acting alongside Aishwarya Rajesh and Sathyaraj. The film released to highly positive reviews. Sivakarthikeyan's first 2019 film was ''Mr. Local'', starring opposite Nayanthara for the second time, which received poor reviews. His scenes from ''Kanaa'' were reused in the Telugu remake of the film titled ''Kousalya Krishnamurthy''. In 2019, Sivakarthikeyan appeared in the family drama film ''Namma Veettu Pillai'', and in a superhero film ''Hero''.

2021–present: Career expansion

Sivakarthikeyan's only 2021 film was ''Doctor'', which received highly positive reviews from the critics and audience. It became the highest-grossing film of his career, with a global collection of 100 crore rupees. This is his first movie to join the 100 crore club. His next release was ''Don'', which released in 2022. Like ''Doctor'', it received favorable reviews by both the critics and audience. It also went on to collect 100 crores at the global box office, becoming his second consecutive 100 crore hit. In 2022, he began filming for ''Prince'' under the direction of K. V. Anudeep. At the same time, he also began shooting for ''Maaveeran'', which was directed by Madonne Ashwin. ''Prince'' released in 2022 to negative reviews, but ''Maaveeran'' released in 2023 and was a commercial success. Soon after, on the occasion of Pongal, his long delayed film Ayalaan released in 2024, to generally positive reviews, especially with families. The film used 1,400 visual shots, which is the most for any Indian film. Clashing with his former co-star's film Captain Miller, the film grossed over ₹96 crore (US$12 million), emerging as a box office success, and becoming among the highest grossing Indian films of 2024. A month later, Sivakarthikeyan's film with Raaj Kamal Films International, directed by Rajkumar Periyasamy, was announced, previously under the tentative title SK21. On February 16, 2024, the title was revealed to be ''Amaran'', as confirmed by a teaser trailer. The teaser garnered more than 2 million views within 6 hours. On the same day, his next film was announced, to be directed by A. R. Murugadoss, in his second collaboration with the director, after him previously producing ''Kaaki Sattai''. Anirudh Ravichander was announced as the music director for the film, in his ninth collaboration with the musician, as confirmed by his presence at the film's muharat pooja. The movie is under the working title ''SK23''.

Remo success meet issue

On 12 October 2016, at the success meet of Remo, Sivakarthikeyan revealed that, when the film was ready for release, there were quite a few obstacles planted by people who wanted to ensure it didn't release. He faced a similar agony when his Rajini Murugan saw a delayed release in January 2016.P. L. Thenappan, the general secretary of Tamil Nadu Producers Council, has told a website that K. E. Gnanavelraja of Studio Green, Madan of Escape Artists and Vendhar Movies Madhan have filed formal complaints accusing the actor of taking advance amounts to act in their films, but failing to fulfil his commitments. Gnanavel Raja has an agreement copy of their deal, while the other two do not have the same. On the other hand, Sivakarthikeyan has admitted to have taken the advance amount from Gnanavel Raja, but there is no mention of the other two. Actors Simbu and Vishal, extended support to Sivakarthikeyan about the issue.

Stalking controversy

Sivakarthikeyan was often criticised for glorifying stalking onscreen. Though the portrayal was common in his earlier films, it faced huge criticism, when his 2016 film Remo was released, where he stalks his co-star Keerthy Suresh, by dressing in drag. Chennai based PhD scholar Iswarya V, who started the online petition against glorification of stalking in Tamil films by their "Calling Out Stalking" campaign, due to the outbreak of Swathi murder case, which happened in the same year (June 2016) created a nationwide rage, pointed out that Tamil films routinely promote stalking, as an acceptable way of wooing a woman, but doesn't know that these are also responsible for crimes against women. and also publicly advocating its petitioners to boycott the film, because of its portrayal. Many reviewers, especially from the English-press gave harshly critical response for the film, especially Ananda Vikatan, gave a review stating that "detrimental to the Tamil cinema and society". Later Sivakarthikeyan in March 2018, announced that his future films will not have drinking or stalking scenes.