Thiagarajan Sivanandam (born 21 June 1946) is an Indian actor, director and producer in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has acted in several Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth, son-in-law of actor-director Peketi Sivaram and the maternal uncle of Tamil actor Vikram.
Career Originally a businessman, Thiagarajan made his acting debut with Alaigal Oivathillai (1981), 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 (1982) provided him a major breakthrough in his career. He was part of such successful films as Komberi Mookan (1984) and Neengal Kettavai (1984).
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 (1990), based on the character which he had played in that film. He then directed Aanazhagan (1995), with his son Prashanth in the leading role. 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 Body Guard (2010) and Drohi (2010).
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. He directed Mambattiyan (2011), a remake of his successful 1983 film in which he had acted. His son played the title 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; although he did not remake those films.
He later starred in supporting roles such as Vaaimai (2016), Yaman (2018), Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018), Ponmagal Vandhal (2020) and PT Sir (2024). He is a producer of his son's films Saagasam (2016), Johnny (2018) and Andhagan (2024).
Filmography Tamil films Year Title Role Notes 1981 Alaigal Oivathillai David Tik Tik Tik Victor 1982 Garuda Saukiyama Muthu krishna Nenjil Oru Ragam Siva Deviyin Thiruvilaiyadal Mannar Perumane Nadodi Raja Muruga Nenjangal Kidnapper Neram Vandhachu Ravi 1983 Paayum Puli Thiyagu Bhagavathipuram Railway Gate Boodalingam Malaiyoor Mambattiyan Mambattiyaan Ennai Paar En Azhagai Paar Ethanai Konam Ethanai Parvai Unreleased1984 Nalla Naal Kaali Komberi Mookan Komberi Mookan Neengal Kettavai Arun Nerupukkul Eeram Sankari Raghu 1985 Raja Yuvaraja Yuvaraja Erimalai Shankar Dada Kaaval Inspector Anand Karuppu Chattaikaran Yuvendran 1986 Murattu Karangal Veeran Machakaran 1988 Oomai Dhurai Poovukkul Boogambam Bharath 1990 Salem Vishnu Vishnu 1991 Theechatti Govindhan Theechatti Govindan 2004 Jai Veerapandi Shock Police Inspector 2006 Adaikalam Sathyamurthy 2010 Drohi Narayanan 2016 Vaaimai Dheenadayalan 2017 Yaman Karunakaran 2018 Chekka Chivantha Vaanam Chinnappadasan 2020 Ponmagal Vandhal Varadharajan 2024 PT Sir Guru Purushothaman Andhagan Artist Uncredited appearance;also director
Other language films
Year Movie Role Language Notes 1984 John Jani Janardhan Gopaldas Hindi 1985 Kala Rudrudu Telugu 1987 New Delhi Nataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem Vishnu Malayalam 1988 Adholokam Nandakumar Manu Uncle Gomas Oohakachavadom Oru Muthassi Katha Chemparundu Machan Abkari Chidambaram Anthima Theerpu Nataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem Vishnu Telugu New Delhi Hindi New Delhi Kannada Arjun Dennis Malayalam 1989 State Rowdy Phanindra Bhupathi Telugu Miss Pameela Victor Malayalam Jeevitham Oru Raagam Raghavan 1990 No.20 Madras Mail Himself Cameo appearance Magadu Telugu Ashoka Chakra Soorappa Kannada 1991 CBI Siva 1991 Veera Dheera 1992 Marana Mrudanga Thyagaraj Police Lockup 1993 Sangharsha 1994Sididedda Shiva 1997 Police Bete 1999 Ravimama Vishwa Special Commissioner D'Souza 2003 Thilakkam Maheswaran Thampi Malayalam 2010 Body Guard Ashokan 2016 Pachakkallam
As director, producer, writer and art director Year Title Credited as Language Notes Director Producer Writer Art director 1984 Komberi Mookan Tamil1988 Poovukkul Boogambam 1990 Salem Vishnu also lyrics for song "Mayanginen Mannan" 1995 Aanazhagan 1997 Mannava 2004 Shock Jai 2011 Ponnar Shankar 2011 Mambattiyan also singer for song "Kaatuvazhi" 2016 Saagasam 2018 Johnny 2024Andhagan
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External links