Thiagarajan


Thiagarajan Sivanandam is an Indian actor, director and producer in Tamil cinema. Beside Tamil, he has also acted in several Malayalam and Kannada films and a few Telugu films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth. He is the maternal uncle of Tamil actor Vikram.

Career

Basically a businessman, Thiagarajan made his acting debut with Alaigal Oivathillai, appearing as the elder brother of the film's lead actress Radha. The film became successful and offers poured in for him. His portrayal of a jungle bandit in Malaiyoor Mambattiyan provided him a major breakthrough in his career. He was part of such successful films as Neengal Kettavai and Paayum Puli.
He acted in the Malayalam film New Delhi, which became successful and his portrayal of a goon received acclaim. The success of the film prompted Thiagarajan to make his directorial debut titled Salem Vishnu, based on the character which he had played in that film. He then directed Aanazhagan, with his son Prashanth in the leading role. Prashanth appeared in a drag role and revealed that the most daunting aspects of the role were the "waxing, the threading, the works" as well as "wearing a sari in summer, doing a bharatanatya sequence in a woman's costume, and getting the nuances and variations right were the other challenges", revealing that his mum had assisted him.
According to Prashanth, the film was an average grosser. Thiagarajan then stayed away from the limelight, paving the way for his son. He later returned to acting, appearing in a small role as a father to his son in Jai.
Thiagarajan then directed Shock, remake of the Hindi film Bhoot in 2004. Apart from directing and producing the film, Thiagarajan handled the art and costumes department and also appeared in the film as police inspector. The film's shoot was completed in twenty-six days, with meticulous pre-planning arranged by Thiagarajan. The film received positive reviews citing that the makers "deserve an appreciation for his honest and sincere attempt on the screen".
In September 2004, Thiagarajan launched Police, a remake of the Hindi film Khakee and the film received coverage from the media after producers had approached Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai for key roles. In interviews during the period, Thiagarajan mentioned the grand scale of the project, citing that schedules would also be shot abroad; however the film failed to progress. He then returned to acting with the films Bodyguard, Drohi and Vaaimai.
In early 2007, Thiagarajan approached M. Karunanidhi with the intention of making a film on his adaptation of the Ponnar Shankar epic that he had written in the late 1970s. The latter accepted Thiagarajan's offer and approved of his decision to cast his son Prashanth, in the dual lead role.
The film was released in 2011 to mixed reviews and did average business. The next year, he directed Mambattiyan, a remake of his successful 1983 film in which he had acted. His son played the titular role. The film received mixed reviews by critics, it took a good opening at the box office, but petered out to do average business commercially and due to its big budget, it failed to recover costs.
In 2014, he revealed that he would direct the remakes of Hindi films Special 26 and Queen in four south Indian languages.

Filmography

As actor

YearMovieRoleLanguage
1981Alaigal OivathillaiDavidTamil
1981Andhi MayakkamTamil
1981Rama DhanduTelugu
1981Tik Tik TikVictorTamil
1982Deviyin ThiruvilaiyadalTamil
1982Kalyana KalamTamil
1982Avanukku Nigar AvaneTamil
1982Billa RangaHindi
1982EkalavyaTelugu
1982Garuda SaukiyamaDeenadayaluTamil
1982Mullillatha RojaTamil
1982Nadodi RajaTamil
1982NenjangalTamil
1982Nenjil Oru RagamTamil
1982Neram VandhachuTamil
1983Malaiyoor MambattiyanMambattiyaanTamil
1983Bhagavathipuram Railway GateBoodalingamTamil
1983Ethanai Konam Ethanai ParvaiTamil
1983Ennai Paar En Azhagai PaarTamil
1983Paayum PuliThiyaguTamil
1984John Jani JanardhanGopaldasHindi
1984Nalla NaalKaaliTamil
1984Neengal KettavaiArunTamil
1984Neruppukkul EeramTamil
1984Komberi MookanKomberi MookanTamil
1984SankariTamil
1985ErimalaiShankar DadaTamil
1985KaavalTamil
1985Karuppu ChattaikaranTamil
1985Raja YuvarajaTamil
1985ChilluMalayalam
1986MachakaranTamil
1986Murattuk KarangalVeeranTamil
1987New DelhiNataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem VishnuMalayalam
1988AdholokamNandakumarMalayalam
1988Manu UncleGomasMalayalam
1988OohakachavadomMalayalam
1988Oru Muthassi KathaChemparundu MachanMalayalam
1988Oomai DhuraiTamil
1988Poovukkul BoogambamTamil
1988AbkariChidambaramMalayalam
1988Anthima TheerpuNataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem VishnuTelugu
1988New DelhiNataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem VishnuHindi
1988New DelhiNataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem VishnuKannada
1988Arjun DennisMalayalam
1989State RowdyTelugu
1989Miss PameelaVictorMalayalam
1989Jeevitham Oru RaagamRaghavanMalayalam
1990No.20 Madras MailCameo AppearanceMalayalam
1990Salem VishnuVishnuTamil
1990MagaduTelugu
1991Theechatti GovindhanTheechatti GovindanTamil
1991CBI SivaKannada
1992Marana MrudangaThyagarajKannada
1992Police LockupKannada
1993SangharshaKannada
1997Police BeteKannada
1999RavimamaKannada
1999VishwaKannada
2003ThilakkamMaheswaran ThampiMalayalam
2004JaiVeerapandiTamil
2004ShockPolice InspectorTamil
2006AdaikalamSathyamurthyTamil
2010BodyguardAshokettanMalayalam
2010DrohiNarayananTamil
2016VaaimaiDheenadayalanTamil
2016PachakkallamMalayalam
2017YamanKarunakaranTamil
2018Chekka Chivantha VaanamChinnappadasanTamil
2020Ponmagal VandhalVaradharajanTamil

As director, producer, writer and art director