Shanthanu Bhagyaraj

❧

Wikipedia

Shanthanu Bhagyaraj
Shanthanu at Vaaimai Press Meet
Born (1986-08-24) 24 August 1986 (age 39)
Years active1998 (Child artist)
2008–present
Spouse
Keerthi
​
(m. 2015)​
Parents

Shanthanu Bhagyaraj (born 24 August 1986) is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, apart from a few Malayalam films. The son of actors K. Bhagyaraj and Poornima Bhagyaraj, Shanthanu appeared as a child artist in his father's Vettiya Madichu Kattu (1998), before making his debut as a lead actor in the romantic comedy Sakkarakatti (2008).

Career

1998-2008

Shanthanu made his acting debut as a child artist in his father Bhagyaraj's film Vettiya Madichu Kattu (1998), and then worked as assistant director to his father in his sister, Saranya Bhagyaraj's debut project Parijatham (2006).

Shanthanu appeared in his first lead role in the college-based romantic comedy Sakkarakatti (2008), appearing alongside actresses Ishita Sharma and Vedhika. His performance received mixed reviews with Behindwoods.com stating: "Shanthanu has to play a thinly sketched hero, but he puts energy and charm into everything he does" and that "he is more than promising- he's star material, and he'll survive this wreck".[1] Another critic at Sify.com stated that he "has that star quality to him which is so rare to find these days, but is wasted in a role in which he just romances his heroines and dances".[2] Despite having a popular soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman, the film received largely negative reviews and became a box office failure. Despite the negative reception to the film, Shanthanu was recognised with the Best Male Debut Actor award at the Filmfare Awards and the Vijay Awards.[3]

2009-2012

After Sakkarakatti, Shanthanu appeared in the Malayalam film Angel John (2009), starring alongside Mohanlal and Nithya Menen, as a suicidal youth who is rescued by an angel.[4] Despite the high-profile cast, the film and Shanthanu's performance received mixed reviews and it did not perform well commercially.[5][6] The failure of his initial films meant that his next projects had significantly smaller budgets and lower profile releases. His next release was his father's bilingual directorial venture Siddu +2 (2010), with the failure of the Tamil version causing the Telugu version Love in Hyderabad, to be shelved. Though the romantic comedy Kandaen (2011) received positive reviews and took a good opening, his subsequent films including the action drama Aayiram Vilakku (2011) and Thangar Bachan's Ammavin Kaipesi (2012) and the courtroom drama Vaaimai (2016) received negative reviews and did not perform well at the box office.

2016-2017

The courtroom drama Vaaimai (2016) received average reviews at the box office. In an interview in 2016, Shanthanu revealed that challenging career choices had plagued his film career and he would subsequently not take advice from his father regarding film offers. He mentioned his regret at missing out on potential projects he had been offered including Boys (2003), Kaadhal (2004) Subramaniapuram (2008) and Kalavani (2010).[7][8]

Shanthanu was then cast by Parthiban to play the lead role in Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga (2017), with the director suggesting that he was keen to portray tribute to his mentor K. Bhagyaraj, by casting his son in a film.[9] The actor called the film his "re-launch in Tamil cinema" and underwent a makeover to portray the lead role of a non-resident Indian who falls in love with a married woman played by Parvathy Nair. Shanthanu won positive reviews for his performance, with a critic from The New Indian Express stating: "Shanthnu is a revelation here" and "with controlled, mature take on his role, Shanthnu displays subtle nuances of expression as Kevin travels from uncertainty and confusion, to guilt and regret".[10][11] In 2017, he also acted in Adhiroopan's drama Mupparimanam, where he portrayed a medical student.[12]

2020-present

In 2020, he played a main role in the family drama Vaanam Kottattum, which was co-written by Mani Ratnam.[13] He also starred in Master (2021), starring Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi.[14] After Chimbu Deven's Kasada Thapara, he starred in an adult comedy, Murungakkai Chips.[15]

Personal life

He married Keerthi "Kiki", the daughter of Jayanthi, in 2015.[16] He also has a YouTube channel with his wife called With Love Shanthnu Kiki.

Filmography

  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
Key
† Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released
As actor
YearTitleRoleNotesRef
1998Vettiya Madichu KattuSonuChild artist[17]
2008SakkarakattiYuvarajWon - Filmfare Best South Male Debut
Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor
ITFA Best New Actor Award
2009Angel JohnMaradonna JosephMalayalam film
2010Siddu +2Siddharth (Siddu)
2011KandaenVasanth
Aayiram VilakkuGopal
2012Ammavin KaipesiAnnamalai
2014Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam IyakkamHimselfGuest appearance
2016VaaimaiSiddharthan[18]
2017Koditta Idangalai NirappugaKevin[19]
MupparimanamKathir[20]
2020Vaanam KottatumRamanathan
Paava KadhaigalSaravanan (Thangam)Netflix anthology film; segment: Thangam[21]
2021MasterBhargav
Kasada ThaparaIsaacSony LIV hyperlink film; segment: Sadhiyaadal
Murungakkai ChipsArjun
2023Raavana KottamSenguttuvan[22]
2024Blue StarRajesh[23]
2025BaltiKumar / DashMalayalam-Tamil bilingual film[24]

Web series

List of web series and roles
Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2023Story of ThingsBrittoSonyLIV Segment: Car[25]
MY3 Eliyas Disney+ Hotstar [26]

Short films

  • KoCoNaKa (2020)

Songs

  • Lipstick (2015) from the album Glassmates
  • Oru Chance Kudu (2020)
  • Enga Pora De (2020)
  • Gundumalli (2021)

Television

YearProgramRoleLanguageChannel
2015Let's Dance Season 2JudgeMalayalamAmrita TV
2015Let's Dance Season 3JudgeMalayalamAmrita TV
2018Dance Jodi Dance (season 2)JudgeTamilZee Tamil

As singer

YearMovieSongComposerNotes
2014Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam"Live The Moment"S. Thamanalong with Venkat Prabhu, Premji Amaran, Nakul
2016Vaaimai"Hey Naadu"Augathalong with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
2020Enga Pora De"Enga Pora De"Dharan KumarAlbum Song[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Sakkarakatti movie review". Behindwoods.com. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Movie Review:Sakkarakatti". Sify. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Sakkara Katti Review - Tamil Movie Review by PVS". Nowrunning.com. 28 September 2008. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Meet Mohanlal, the angel - Rediff.com Movies". Movies.rediff.com. 11 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Review: Angel John is no Bruce Almighty - Rediff.com Movies". Movies.rediff.com. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Review : (2009)". Sify. 22 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Shanthnu on Bhagyaraj and Vaaimai". The Hindu. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Friday Review (8 January 2010). "Return of Raj - MADS". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Shanthanu gets a make-over in 'Kodita Idangalai Nirappuga'". Sify. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Review : Kodita Idangalai Nirappuga review- Tedious watch (2017)". Sify. 14 January 2017. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "The story draws a lot of blanks". The New Indian Express. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "A significant film for Shanthanu". Deccanchronicle.com. 12 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  13. ↑ The Hindu Net Desk (19 July 2019). "Shanthanu Bhagyaraj joins the cast of Mani Ratnam's 'Vaanam Kottatum'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  14. ↑ "Shanthnu reveals about Thalapathy Vijay's Master trailer". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  15. ↑ "Murungakkai Chips review : An adult comedy that falls flat!". Sify. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "On actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj's birthday, take a look at his happy photos with wife Keerthi". www.timesnownews.com. 24 August 2021.
  17. ↑ M, Ramakrishnan (March 2017). "You can give a hit today and fall tomorrow: Shanthanu". The Hindu.
  18. ↑ "Vaaimai Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "Review: Koditta Idangalai Niruppuga is Parthiepan's show all the way". Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "Mupparimanam Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  21. ↑ "'I wanted actors without a set image for my short in Paava Kadhaigal'". Cinema Express. 23 December 2020. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  22. ↑ "Shanthanu loses over 10 kilos; shares his transformation video". The Times of India. 20 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  23. ↑ "Ashok Selvan, Shanthnu Bhagyaraj, and Keerthi Pandian in Pa Ranjith's cricket-based film". Times of India. 15 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Shane Nigam's Balti gets a release date". Cinema Express. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  25. ↑ "SonyLIV's Tamil anthology series Story of Things gets release date". The Indian Express. 27 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  26. ↑ "'MY3': First look of Hansika, Shanthnu, Mugen's web series out". www.thehindu.com. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Arya and Aishwarya Rajesh release Enga Pora De teaser". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.