Karthi
Karthik Sivakumar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Karthik Sivakumar |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 2007-present |
Karthik Sivakumar (Tamil: கார்த்திக் சிவகுமார் ; born 25 May 1977), popularly known by his stage name Karthi, is a Tamil film actor. Son of actor Sivakumar and younger brother of Surya Sivakumar, he made his acting debut in 2007 with the top-grossing film Paruthiveeran, receiving critical acclaim and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance as the titular character. He went on to appear in Aayirathil Oruvan, Paiyaa and Naan Mahaan Alla. Rediff has called him a "golden boy" of the Tamil film industry.[1]
Early life
Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Karthi is the younger son of film actor Sivakumar and Lakshmi, having an elder brother Surya, likewise a Tamil actor, and younger sister Brindha. Karthi graduated from St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Chennai after which he went on to complete his undergrade from the Crescent Engineering College, Chennai. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering and got a scholarship to the United States,[2] where he earned a master's degree in Industrial Engineering from Binghamton University in New York State.[3] He later got a job and was working as a graphic designer there for some time, before realizing his priorities and deciding to pursue a career in filmmaking.[3] He did a couple of basic courses in filmmaking and returned home to join the film industry.[2]
Career
In India, he got to meet director Mani Ratnam, who initially offered him the role of Arjun (later played by Siddharth Narayan) in the film Aayutha Ezhuthu.[2] But Karthi instead joined him as an assistant director for the same film and its Hindi version Yuva, since he always wanted to become a film director and preferred direction to acting.[4] However, he continued to receive several acting offers. When Ameer Sultan approached him to play the lead role in his film Paruthiveeran, Sivakumar eventually accepted the offer as the film was "so compelling".[4] The film earned him several awards, including the Fimfare Best Tamil Actor Award.
In January 2010, his second film, the Selvaraghavan-directed fantasy adventure film Aayirathil Oruvan, got released. The film, like his first film Paruthiveeran was stuck in production, languishing in production hell, for a long time, releasing only three years after his debut film.[5] His character in the film itself was similar and often compared to his own character in his debut film.[6] In April 2010, his next project, the romantic-action film, Paiyaa directed by N. Linguswamy, supported by the soundtrack album by Yuvan Shankar Raja,[7] had the best opening of the summer[8] bringing in Rs 20 Crore in the initial weeks and called by its director "fantastic by any yardstick".[9] Both its dubbed Telugu versions, named Yuganiki Okkadu and Aawara were also released in Andra Pradesh.
Later that year, he had his third 2010 release with Suseenthiran's drama-thriller Naan Mahaan Alla "stood out from the crowd" and gave Sivakumar "every reason to celebrate."[10]. Sreedhar Pillai of Sify.com stated that he "nails the character to perfection" and was "one good reason to watch the film",[11] while Times of India reviewer Bhama Devi Ravi described his performance as his "best work yet".[12] He is currently working on Siruthai, the remake of the 2006 Telugu Vikramarkudu, in which he would essay dual roles for the first time.[13]
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Paruthiveeran | Paruthiveeran | Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor Winner, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor |
| 2010 | Aayirathil Oruvan | Muthu | |
| Paiyaa | Shiva | ||
| Naan Mahaan Alla | Jeeva Pragasam | ||
| 2010 | Siruthai(Filming) |
Awards
- 2007 - Best Tamil Actor for Paruthiveeran
References
- ^ Warrior, Shobha (August 18, 2010). "Eagerly awaiting Karthi's Naan Mahaan Alla". Rediff. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c Warrior, Shobha (January 24, 2007). "Surya's brother debuts". Rediff. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Gupta, Rinku (October 12, 2007). "a la Karthi". The Hindu. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ a b Daithota, Madhu (July 23, 2008). "I want to look nice shirtless: Karthi". Times of India. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ Warrior, Shobha (2009). "Waiting for Karthi's Aayirathil Oruvan". Rediff. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra (April 19, 2010). "Aayirathil Oruvan is not for the faint hearted". Rediff. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
- ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra (Junse 23, 2010). "Half-yearly BO report: Suriya rules Tamil". Rediff. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Moviebuzz (May 13, 2010). "Summer Box-office is lukewarm!". Sify. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ Moviebuzz (April 19, 2010). "Lingusamy's Paiyaa is a super hit!". Sify. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ "Naan Mahaan Alla is a blockbuster".
- ^ Moviebuzz (August 20, 2010). "Movie review:Naan Mahaan Alla". Sify. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ Bhama Devi Ravi (August 20, 2010). "Naan Mahaan Alla movie review". Times of India. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ http://www.videos.behindwoods.com/videos-q1-09/actor-actress-interview/actor-karthi.html