Silambarasan Tesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1983), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is a recipient of two Edison Awards and three SIIMA Awards.
He is the eldest son of actor/director T. Rajendar. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father, before his first lead role in his father's Kadhal Azhivathillai (2002).
In 2004, he starred in Manmadhan which was a huge success and became a turning point in his acting career. He went on to star in several commercially successful films such as Saravana (2006), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), Vaanam (2011), Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (2016), Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018) and Maanaadu (2021).
Early life Silambarasan TR was born on 3 February 1983 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, as the eldest child of T. Rajendar, a Tamilian, and Usha Rajendar, a Telugu. He has a younger brother Kuralarasan, and a sister Ilakiya. From an early age, he has been a devout Hindu and an ardent follower of Lord Shiva.
Silambarasan TR was educated at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai. He then studied at the Loyola College, Chennai. Silambarasan TR starred in many of his father's films as a child until 2002, when he acted in his father's Kadhal Azhivathillai, his first main role as a hero.
Film career 1984–2001 Silambarasan appeared as a baby in the film Uravai Kaatha Kili held by his father T Rajendar. He started acting in several of his father's movies, including En Thangai Kalyani, Samsara Sangeetham, Santhi Enathu Santhi, Enga Veetu Velan, Pettredutha Pillai, Sabash Babu, Oru Vasantha Geetham, Thai Thangai Paasam, Monisha En Monalisa and Sonnal Thaan Kaadhala.
2002–2004 Silambarasan played his first protagonist role in Kadhal Azhivathillai (2002), directed by his father. His second film was Dum (2003), which was loosely based on Jagannadh's 2002 Kannada film Appu. The next release was Alai (2003).
Silambarasan had three releases in 2004; the first was Hari's direction Kovil which deals with the relationship between a Hindu boy and a Christian girl. After this, Silambarasan starred in Kuthu, a remake of the Telugu film Dil.The A. Venkatesh directorial was an all-centre hit and it took Simbu to the masses. His final release in 2004 was Manmadhan, co-starring with Jyothika for the first time, and the film became a turning point in his career.
2005–2009 Silambarasan's first release in 2005 was the film Thotti Jaya, directed by V. Z. Durai. He starred in Saravana (2006), directed by K. S. Ravikumar. This was the second time that Simbu and Jyothika worked together after the success of Manmadhan (2004). He next starred in and directed Vallavan (2006), as well as writing its story, screenplay and co-dialogue.
In 2008, he starred in the action masala film Kaalai, which was a flop. Later that year, he appeared in another action masala film Silambattam.
2010–2015 In 2010, his film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, directed and written by Gautham Vasudev Menon, became a Tamil 'cult classic' film. Director K. Balachander in an open letter called Silambarasan's performance as his best in his career.
The following year he appeared in two films. In early 2011, he appeared in the multi-starrer Vaanam (2011) as Cable Raja, a poor youngster. The film, a remake of Vedam (2010), featured an ensemble cast, was released to positive reviews and subsequently became a hit at the box office. Later that year, his next release was Osthe (2011), the remake of the Bollywood film, Dabangg (2010). Silambarasan played a police officer for the first time in his career. He had only one release in 2012, Podaa Podi, directed by debutant Vignesh Shivan. His next release was Vaalu, directed by debutant Vijay Chander. It was released in 2015 after a gap of three years due to various issues; actor Vijay helped clear the impediment of the film and aided in its release.
2016–present In 2016, Silambarasan starred in the Pandiraj-directed Idhu Namma Aalu alongside Nayanthara, Andrea Jeremiah and Soori playing lead roles. His next film, Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada, was his second collaboration with Gautham Menon and A. R. Rahman. In 2017, it was reported that Silambarasan had signed up for an English-language film. His next film, Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan, was panned by critics and was commercially unsuccessful. The release led to multiple controversies that were reported in the media involving the film's producer, Michael Rayappan blaming him for being uncooperative during the film's production. In 2018, he appeared in Mani Ratnam's, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, as part of an ensemble cast that included Arvind Swamy, Vijay Sethupathi and Arun Vijay. In 2019, STR acted in Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven, the remake of Attarintiki Daredhi (2013).
After a brief hiatus during the pandemic, Silambarasan revealed to the public that he was on a regimen to significantly reduce his weight and improve his spirituality. He became a vegetarian during this period, lost over 30 kilograms, and also learnt Bharatanatyam. His comeback film was Eeswaran, directed by Suseenthiran. It was released on the eve of Pongal festival in theatres after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted in Tamil Nadu on 14 January 2021, clashing with Vijay's Master (2021). Silambarasan's next release was the political thriller film, Maanaadu (2021), directed by Venkat Prabhu, which hit theatres in Diwali. In 2022, he returned to TV as the host of Bigg Boss Ultimate.
In 2023, he starred in the gangster film Pathu Thala, which was a remake of the Kannada film Mufti. The film was fairly successful, collecting over 50 crores. Silambarasan's next film bankrolled by himself through his new film production house Ātman Cine Arts, was announced with a working title of STR50, marking his 50th feature film. Due to satellite television and overall financial issues, Kamal Haasan and Raaj Kamal Films International had to step away from this project, so Silambarasan was granted to take over the film himself. It is being directed by Desingh Periyasamy. He was also cast in Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, marking his second collaboration with him after Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. It stars Kamal Hassan in the lead role with an ensemble cast of Trisha.
Music Silambarasan has frequently worked as a playback singer in the Tamil film industry. He first sang in Samsara Sangeetham (credited as chorus) and went on to sing over 90 songs for various composers. He predominantly sings in his own films and has collaborated mostly with his friend and fellow composer Yuvan Shankar Raja. Silambarasan also wrote the lyrics for several songs of his films.
On 27 December 2011, Silambarasan released the non-film single "Love Anthem For World Peace" to promote world peace.
In 2013, he sang "Diamond Girl" in the Telugu film Baadshah directed by Srinu Vaitla starring Jr. NTR and Kajal Aggarwal. This was his first venture in Telugu music.
He stated in the summer of 2015 that he would collaborate with Yuvan Shankar Raja to release the non-film single titled "Karma".
He composed the music and background score for the film Sakka Podu Podu Raja featuring Santhanam in the lead role.
Personal life Relationships His relationships and personal life have been highly subjected by tabloids. During the shooting of Vallavan (2006), he was in a relationship with his co-actress, Nayanthara. However, they broke up by the time the film released, and their relationship was announced a year after they broke up, after he posted photos of them together, which later created a huge controversy. They remained civil and later worked together in Idhu Namma Aalu (2016).
During the shooting of Vaalu (2015), he was in a relationship with his co-actress, Hansika Motwani. However, they too broke up a year later, but remained mutual and he even made a cameo appearance in her film Maha (2022).
Controversies
In the 2010s, Silambarasan was involved in a number of public controversies primarily related to professional and legal issues. Reports from film producers cited scheduling conflicts and project delays involving the actor. One notable case was with Passion Movie Makers, related to the unreleased film Arasan, for which he had received an advance payment. In 2018, the Madras High Court directed Silambarasan to return the advance, following the producers’ complaint.
In December 2015, Silambarasan faced public backlash after the release of a private music track, unofficially known as the "Beep Song", which was alleged to contain misogynistic language. The incident drew criticism from several public figures, and a police case was filed against the actor and music composer Anirudh Ravichander, although the latter denied involvement in the track.
Following these events, Silambarasan took a break from acting and underwent a personal and professional transformation beginning in 2020. He lost significant weight and adopted a more disciplined lifestyle, which he credited to spiritual practices and renewed focus. His comeback was marked by critically and commercially successful films such as Maanaadu (2021), Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu (2022), and Pathu Thala (2023). Media outlets and industry professionals praised his renewed professionalism and consistent work ethic.
Music In 2010, Silambarasan sang the song "Evan Di Unna Pethan," with music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja and lyrics jointly written by Silambarasan and Yuvan, as a part of the soundtrack album for his film Vaanam and the song faced severe opposition for its provocative lyrics. A women's rights organisation in Chennai criticised the lyrics and issued a statement to Silambarasan for the lyrics being "chauvinistic" that "demean women". Further it was argued that "music needs to appeal to larger sections than to the ‘thrill-seeking’ youth who are often misguided into ‘cheap thrills’ because of such songs", demanding censorship. However, several prominent people from the film industry came to support Silambarasan stating that there have been more objectionable scenes in films in the past and that there were "bigger issues in society" and applying censorship was not "the ideal way out in democracy."
After releasing a promotional version of "Love Anthem For World Peace" song in 2011, Silambarasan announced that a final version would be released thereafter and announced his desire to bring in international artists Akon and Rihanna for the venture. He subsequently headed to Los Angeles in January 2012 and recorded an original version of the song by himself at Studio Zappa with music producer Elan Morrison on the keyboards. The failure to sign in the international artists prompted the project's producer, Silambarasan's father T. Rajendar to lodge a police complaint against two agents who had misled his production company into supposed connections with the international artists concerned. Rajendar noted that the sound editor Ramji Soma and a Canadian entrepreneur Talvinder Bathh had charged Rs 12 million ($200,000) from his company and failed to return it despite promises made to sign on Akon, David Guetta and either Rihanna or Nicole Scherzinger for the project. In May 2013, Silambarasan was finally successfully able to bring in Akon to collaborate for an alternate version of the song, with the move being facilitated by Tracktical Entertainment. The latest version of the song is yet to be released, with Silambarasan hinting in early 2014 that the song may be launched before the end of 2014. In an interview in June 2015, he revealed that the venture would be resumed soon, though that he was busy with other commitments.