K. Manikandan

K. Manikandan
Born	(1987-09-29) 29 September 1987 (age 37) Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)	Actor, Screenwriter, Film director, Radio Jockey
Years active	2013-present

K. Manikandan is an Indian screenwriter and actor who works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known of his characters in Jai Bhim (2021), Good Night (2023), and Lover (2024).

Career

Manikandan participated in a popular reality comedy show and finished as the runner-up of the season. Subsequently, he joined an FM channel as a Radio Jockey while also dubbing/voice acting for several films and TV shows.[1]

He debuted as a writer with Pizza II: Villa (2013).[2] He made his acting debut with India Pakistan (2015) and played a minor role in the Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum (2016) directed by Nalan Kumarasamy.[1] Manikandan then played an antagonist in Sri Ganesh's debut directorial venture 8 Thottakkal (2017) alongside M. S. Bhaskar and Lallu.[3] He penned the dialogues for Pushkar–Gayathri's third directorial venture Vikram Vedha (2017) and also played a role of a police constable in the film. In 2018, Pa. Ranjith picked Manikandan for a role in Kaala (2018).[4][5] He paired with Nivedithaa Sathish in the romantic anthology film Sillu Karupatti (2019), directed by Halitha Shameem.[6][7] Manikandan received critical acclaim for his role in the film, Aelay (2021).

Manikandan directed an independent film Narai Ezhuthum Suyasaritham (English Title: Endless) starring Delhi Ganesh and himself.[8][9] The film was selected to participate in Bengaluru International Film Festival (2016) under ‘Indian Cinema Competition’.[10][11] Endless was one of the four films to be selected for screening at 16th New York Indian Film Festival (2016).[12][13]

He played the role of Rajakannu in the film Jai Bhim (2021) and won critical acclaim for his portrayal.[14] He played the lead role in movie Good Night (2023) which became an audience favourite.[15]

Filmography

As actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2013	Pizza II: Villa	Assistant director	Uncredited Appearance
2015	India Pakistan	Mani
2016	Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum	Murali
2017	8 Thottakkal	Jai
	Vikram Vedha	Santhanam	Behindwoods Gold Medal - Best Dialogue Writer[16]
2018	Kaala	Lenin
2019	Sillu Karuppatti	Mukhilan
2020	Paava Kadhaigal	Driver	Released on Netflix
2021	Aelay	Paarthi	Released on Star Vijay & Netflix
	Netrikann	Manikandan	Released on Disney+ Hotstar
	Jai Bhim	Rajakannu	Released on Amazon Prime Video Behindwoods Gold Medal - Best Actor Critics
2022	Narai Ezhudhum Suyasaridham	Manikandan	Directing debut; completed in 2016
	Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal	Rajasekar
2023	Good Night	Choolaimedu Mohan
2024	Lover	Arun	[17]
	Kudumbasthan	Naveen	[18]

Web series

Year	Film	Role	Platform
2023	Mathagam	Padalam Sekhar	Disney+ Hotstar

Other roles

Year	Film	Credited as		Notes
		Writer	Director
2013	Pizza II: Villa	Y	N
2017	Vikram Vedha	Y	N	Best Dialogue Writer
2019	Viswasam	Y	N
	Thambi	Y	N
2022	Narai Ezhuthum Suyasaritham	Y	Y	Directing debut; completed in 2016
	Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal	Y	N

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network
2024	Super Singer Season 10	Guest	Star Vijay

References

1. Purushothaman, Kirubhakar (2 August 2017). "A versatile talent in demand". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
2. Prakash, R. S. (15 November 2013). "Movie review - Pizza 2: Villa". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
3. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (7 April 2017). "8 Thottakkal: Engaging thriller let down by lengthy sequences". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
4. "Ajith wanted Viswasam to be 'sure-shot entertainer', his performance has an added dimension, says director Siva". Firstpost. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
5. "Karthi-Jyotika starrer 'Thambi' is based on a documentary". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
6. Rao, Subha J. (7 January 2019). "Halitha Shameem opens up on 'Sillu Karuppatti'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
7. S, Srivatsan (27 December 2019). "'Sillu Karupatti' movie review: Life is like a box of chocolates". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
8. Menon, Vishal (25 July 2015). "The odd couple". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
9. Rao, Subha J. (11 July 2015). "Delhi Ganesh on staying with the times". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
10. Khajane, Muralidhara (3 February 2016). "Festivals groom future filmmakers". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
11. "Meenakshi Shedde: How movies start". mid-day. 7 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
12. "16th Annual NEW YORK INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL May 7 to 14, 2016". www.iaac.us. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
13. "NYIFF 2016". www.iaac.us. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
14. Pudipeddi, Haricharan (1 November 2021). "Jai Bhim movie review: Suriya headlines a powerful film about fighting for the oppressed and police brutality". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021.
15. "Good Night Movie Review : Good Night: The snoring is loud enough in a very enjoyable way". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
16. "BEST DIALOGUE WRITER - MANIKANDAN FOR VIKRAM VEDHA".
17. The Hindu (25 December 2023). "Manikandan's next titled 'Lover'; teaser out". Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
18. "First look of Manikandan's next to be out on this date". Cinema Express. 26 September 2024. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.

External links

• K. Manikandan at IMDb