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Vignesh Shivan, also known as Vicky, is an Indian director, actor, writer, producer, and lyricist. He prominently works in Tamil cinema. He is well-known for being the husband of the Indian film actress and producer Nayanthara, who mainly works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Some of the films written and directed by him are ‘Naanum Rowdydhaan’ (2015), ‘Thaanaa Serndha Koottam’ (2018), ‘Paava Kadhaigal’ (2020), and more.
Wiki/Biography
Vignesh Shivan was born on Wednesday, 18 September 1985 (age 38 years; as of 2023) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He went to Santhome Higher Secondary School in Mylapore, Chennai.
A childhood picture of Vignesh with his mother
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Vignesh Shivan belongs to a Tamil family in Chennai.
Vignesh with his mother, father, and wife, Nayanthara
Parents & Siblings
Both of his parents are police officers. His father, late Sivakozhundhu, worked as a superintendent, and his mother, Meena Kumari, is a retired inspector at the Vadapalani police station. He has a sister named Aishwarya.
Vignesh with his mother and sister, Aishwarya
Wife & Children
On 9 June 2022, he got married to Nayanthara at a resort in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. On 9 October 2022, Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan became parents to twin boys.
A wedding day image of Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara
Relationships/Affairs
In 2015, Vignesh and Nayanthara met on the set of the film ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan,’ and later, in the same year, they started dating each other. In 2021, they got engaged to each other in a private ceremony.
Vignesh Shivan with Nayanthara
Career
Director
Vignesh debuted as a director with the film ‘Podaa Podi’ in 2012, which was a musical romantic comedy short film. Some sources say that it took him four years to complete the film.
Poster of the first film ‘Podaa Podi’ written and directed by Vignesh
The second film that he wrote and directed was ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’ for which he received his first award as a director. After that, he gained recognition and worked with some famous actors like Suriya in the film ‘Thaanaa Serndha Koottam’ in 2018. In 2020, he directed a drama web series in the Tamil language titled ‘Paava Kadhaigal.’
Actor
In 2007, Vignesh made his acting debut with the Tamil horror film ‘Sivi.’
Poster of film Sivi
He was chosen for the role of a cameo appearance in the 2012 film ‘Podaa Podi.’ In 2014, he did a cameo in the Tamil film ‘Velaiyilla Pattathari’ in which he played the role of an engineer.
Lyricist
Vignesh has written songs for many movies. He wrote three songs, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,’ ‘Maattikittenae,’ and ‘Un Paarvaiyilae’ for his debut movie, Podaa Podi, which was also directed by him.
Music Video
In 2012, a Tamil song was directed by him titled ‘Love Anthem.’ He has also directed music videos for several Tamil songs including ‘Chancey Illa,’ and ‘Aakko.’ Some single tracks, whose music videos are directed by him are ‘Avalukena’ (2016), ‘Onnume Aagala’ (2017), ‘Julie’ (2018), and others.
Producer
His first film as a producer was ‘Netrikann’ in 2021. In 2018, he founded a new production house, ‘Rowdy Pictures Private Limited,’ in partnership with Nayanthara. Their production house has produced two films titled ‘Pebbles’ (2021) and ‘Rocky’ (2021).
Controversies
Police Case Filed Against Vignesh Shivan
On 22 March 2022, an FIR was filed against director Vignesh Shivan and actress Nayanthara. The complaint filed against them stated that the name of their production company ‘Rowdy Pictures’ promotes Rowdies and Rowdism, while police are trying to stop such cases as much as possible. Reportedly, after the success of the film ‘Naanum Rowdydhan’ in which Nayanthara appeared as the lead actress and which was directed by Vignesh, they named the production house Rowdy Pictures.
Complaint Against ‘Rowdy Pictures’ for Exploding Fireworks
In 2022, a case was filed against the production house ‘Rowdy Pictures’. The case was filed on the basis of claims made by people that disturbance was created by the production house while exploding fireworks. Reports say that to celebrate the declaration that Vignesh was going to direct actor Ajit Kumar’s next movie ‘AK62,’ all those fireworks exploded. It was also said that Vignesh himself was a part of bursting crackers and creating noise.
Surrogacy Row
In October 2022, Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan attracted controversy after they announced that they have become parents to twin boys. According to some sources, the couple didn’t reveal that the babies were born through surrogacy. Questions were also raised that whether they followed the norms laid under the Indian surrogacy laws. When Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian was questioned about the same during a press conference, he replied,
The surrogacy itself is subjected to a lot of debates. But, the law allows individuals to involve in surrogacy if they are above 21 years and below 36 years of age, with the approval of the family.”
Awards
- SIIMA Award for Best Director for the film ‘Naanum Rowdydhaan’ in 2015
- SIIMA Award for Best Lyricist for the song ‘Thaanaa Serndha Koottam’ in 2019
Vignesh with SIIMA Award
- Won ‘The Golden New Age Lyricist’ at Behindwoods Gold Mic Music Awards in 2019
Vignesh with Behindwoods Gold Mic Award
- Tiger Award for the film ‘Pebbles’ at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2021
Vignesh posted this picture with Tiger Award on Instagram
Favourites
- IPL team: Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
- Filmmaker: Quentin Tarantino
Facts/Trivia
- Vignesh was featured on the cover page of Galatta Cinema magazine in 2018.
Vignesh on the cover page of Galatta Cinema magazine
- He considers Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is a popular Indian cricketer, as his role model.
Vignesh with his icon, Mahendra Singh Dhoni
- He has more than 2 million followers on Instagram and more than 775k followers on Facebook.