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M. Sasikumar

Sasikumar Mahalingam is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter and playback singer. He worked as an assistant director for director Bala in Sethu (1999), also worked for director Ameer in his first two films Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Raam (2005).

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M.Sasikumar
Born
Sasikumar Mahalingam

(1974-09-28) 28 September 19741
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Other nameSasi
Alma materVellaichamy Nadar College, Madurai
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Film director
  • Film producer
  • Screenwriter
  • Playback singer
Years active1999–present
Children2

Sasikumar Mahalingam (born 28 September 1974) is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter and playback singer. He worked as an assistant director for director Bala in Sethu (1999), also worked for director Ameer in his first two films Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Raam (2005).2

He is best known in the Tamil film industry for his debut film Subramaniapuram (2008), which became a blockbuster.3 He has won several accolades including a National Film Award, two Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

Early life

Sasikumar studied at St. Peters School Kodaikanal and then went on to study business administration in Vellaichamy Nadar College, Madurai.4

Career

1999-2018

Sasikumar began working in films through his uncle A Kandasamy, who produced Bala’s Sethu (1999). The actor worked as an assistant director in the film, where he met director Ameer, who was also assisting director Bala. He later assisted Ameer in Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and Raam (2005).5

Sasikumar's directorial debut Subramaniapuram (2008), despite being made on a low-budget, opened to high critical acclaim and became one of the highest grossing films of the year.6 After the success of Subramaniapuram, Sasikumar produced Pasanga (2009), directed by debutant Pandiraj. The action drama film Naadodigal (2009) was directed by Samuthrakani.7 He later directed the drama film Easan (2010). He also acted and produced Poraali (2011) 8 followed by the Malayalam film, Masters (2012) alongside Prithviraj. Masters was followed by the drama film, Sundarapandian (2012). The cast included Lakshmi Menon and Vijay Sethupathi.9 In 2013, he acted in Kutti Puli, with his previous movie pair Lakshmi Menon. The film released to positive reviews.10 He produced Thalaimuraigal directed by Balu Mahendra who acted alongside Sasikumar for the first time in his career. In 2014, Sasikumar starred in the romantic action film Bramman.11

Sasikumar acted in Bala's Tharai Thappattai and portrayed Sannasi, a nadaswaram player who heads a Karagattam troupe. To look the part, he had to train for a month with folk singers and dancers brought in by Bala, while he also grew long hair for the role. The film's production progressed over two years, while the team were forced to have a three-month break in 2015 after Sasikumar had dislocated his hand while shooting for the film's climax.12 The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film garnered a lot of expectations as it was promoted as being the 1000th film score of Ilaiyaraaja. The soundtrack consisted of seven tracks: five songs and two theme scores. The film was released on 14 January 2016 to mostly positive reviews.13 Vetrivel, Appa, Kidaari and Balle Vellaiyathevaa follow up. In 2017, he acted in Kodiveeran.1415161718 This was Sasikumar and M.Muthiah's second collaboration after Kutti Puli. Kodiveeran was produced by M. Sasikumar's Company Productions.19 In 2018, Sasikumar starred in Asuravadham. The film received mixed reviews from critics and audience.2021

2019-present

Sasikumar started the year with Rajinikanth's' Petta (2019) directed by Karthik Subbaraj.22 The next project was Suseenthiran's Kennedy Club. In their review, Sify wrote that "Sasikumar is not at all convincing as a Kabbadi player and maintains the same age-old". The film was an average sports drama.23 Sasikumar was roped in to star in Gautham Vasudev Menon's Enai Noki Paayum Thota (2019), which stars Dhanush and Megha Akash . In the film, Sasikumar acted as Dhanush's elder brother.24 After Naadodigal 2 (2020), he starred in family films like Udanpirappe (2021), MGR Magan (2021) and Raajavamsam (2021). The subsequent year, he was seen in three action films, Kombu Vatcha Singamda (2022), Naan Mirugamaai Maara (2022) and Kaari (2022).252627 In 2023, Sasikumar was praised for his performance in the drama film Ayothi.28 In 2024, Garudan and Nandhan were released to positive reviews.2930 Sasikumar starred in Tourist Family (2025), a comedy-drama directed by debutant Abishan Jeevinth 31 which became his highest-grossing release.

Filmography

As a film director

  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
Year Film Notes
2008 Subramaniapuram Also producer
Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil
Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil
Vijay Award for Best Director
Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor
2010 Easan Also producer

As an actor

List of M. Sasikumar film acting credits
Year Film Role Notes Ref.
1999 Sethu Sethu's friend Uncredited role; also assistant director 32
2008 Subramaniapuram Paraman Also producer 33
2009 Naadodigal Karunakaran Natraj Nominated, Vijay Award for Favourite Hero 34
2010 Shambo Shiva Shambo A lover's friend Telugu film; special appearance 35
2011 Ko Himself Special appearance in "Aga Naga" song 36
Poraali Ilankumaran Also producer;
Norway Tamil Film Festival Award for Best Actor		 37
2012 Masters Milan Paul Malayalam film 38
Sundarapandian Sundarapandian Also producer 39
2013 Kutti Puli Kutti Puli 40
Thalaimuraigal Dr. Adithya Also producer; guest appearance 41
2014 Bramman Siva 42
2016 Tharai Thappattai Sannasi Also producer 43
Vetrivel Vetrivel 44
Appa Kumaran Also producer; guest appearance 45
Kidaari Kidaari Also producer 46
Balle Vellaiyathevaa Vellaiyathevan Also producer 47
2017 Kodiveeran Kodiveeran Also producer 48
2018 Asuravadham Saravanan 49
2019 Petta Malik 50
Kennedy Club Muruganadham 51
Adutha Saattai Himself Cameo appearance 52
Enai Noki Paayum Thota Thiru 53
2020 Naadodigal 2 Jeeva 54
2021 Udanpirappe Vairavan 55
MGR Magan Anbalipu Ravi 56
Raajavamsam Kannan 57
2022 Kombu Vatcha Singamda Thaman 25
Naan Mirugamaai Maara Bhoominathan 58
Kaari Sethu 27
2023 Ayothi Abdul Malik 59
2024 Garudan Aadhi 29
Nandhan Ambedkumar aka Koozhpaana 60
2025 Tourist Family Dharmadas "Das"
Freedom Maaran Unreleased
2026 With Love Dharmadas "Das" Cameo Appearance
My Lord Muthusirpi 61

Web series

Year Title Role Platform Ref
2025 Nadu Center Coach Selva JioHotstar 62
2026-Upcoming Vadhandhi: The Mystery of Mani SI Moosa Raaza Amazon Prime Video 63

As a producer

Year Film Notes
2008 Subramaniapuram
2009 Pasanga Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film
2011 Poraali
2012 Sundarapandian Norway Tamil Film Festival Award for The Most Popular Film
2013 Thalaimuraigal Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration
2016 Tharai Thappattai
2016 Kidaari
2016 Balle Vellaiyathevaa
2017 Kodiveeran

As a voice actor

Year Film Notes
2010 Maathi Yosi
2014 Nimirndhu Nil
2025 Kumki 2

As distributor

Year Film Notes
2010 Kathai only in Madurai region
References

References

  1. SASIKUMAR M. tamilfilmdirectorsassociation.com
  2. "Exclusive biography of #Sasikumar(tamil) and on his life". FilmiBeat. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  3. "10 Years of 'Subramaniapuram': Reasons why Sasikumar's film was destined to be a blockbuster". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  4. Sasi Kumar Interview Archived 22 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved on 14 October 2012.
  5. "Sasikumar began working in films with Bala's Sethu".
  6. "Subramaniapuram - Movie Review".
  7. "Naadodigal Preview, Naadodigal Story & Synopsis, Naadodigal Tamil Movie". FilmiBeat. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. "Poraali Preview, Poraali Story & Synopsis, Poraali Tamil Movie". FilmiBeat. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. "Sundarapandian Preview, Sundarapandian Story & Synopsis, Sundarapandian Tamil Movie". FilmiBeat. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. "Kutti Puli Movie Review {2.5/5}: Critic Review of Kutti Puli by Times of India". The Times of India. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  11. "Review: Bramman fails to impress". Rediff. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  12. Srinivasan, Sudhir (9 January 2016). "Enjoying his new beat". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  13. "Thaarai Thappattai (aka) Thaarai Thappattai review". Behindwoods. 13 January 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  14. "Tharai Thappattai (2016)". Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2019 – via letterboxd.com.
  15. "Kidaari (aka) Kidari review". Behindwoods. 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  16. "Balle Vellaiyathevaa – Production & Contact Info | IMDbPro". pro.imdb.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  17. "Kodiveeran (2017)". Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2019 – via letterboxd.com.
  18. "Kodiveeran (aka) Koodi Veeran review". Behindwoods. 9 December 2017. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  19. "Kodiveeran (Kodi Veeran) Preview, Kodiveeran Story & Synopsis, Kodiveeran Tamil Movie". FilmiBeat. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  20. Janani K. (29 June 2018). "Asuravadham Movie Review: Vigilante Sasikumar delivers a thrilling tale". India Today. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  21. "Asuravadham (aka) Asura Vadham review". Behindwoods. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  22. "Petta review: This Superstar film is a solid crowd pleaser". Sify. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019.
  23. "Kennedy Club review: A predictable sports film which doesn't impress". Sify. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019.
  24. "Petta: Sasikumar to play a cameo in Rajinikanth film". India Today. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  25. "Kombu Vatcha Singamda Movie Review: A subdued Sasikumar shoulders an okayish Sundarapandian reboot". Cinema Express. 14 January 2022.
  26. "Naan Mirugamaai Maara Movie Review : A violent revenge-drama let down by inconsistent writing". The Times of India.
  27. "'Kaari' movie review: Much to like in this rural actioner". 26 November 2022.
  28. "Ayothi review: A sensible take on the fading sense of humanity". 3 March 2023.
  29. "Garudan Movie Review : Strong performances elevate this familiar story". The Times of India.
  30. "'Nandhan' movie review: A relevant premise let down by a patronising tone". 21 September 2024.
  31. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (1 May 2025). "'Tourist Family' movie review: This Sasikumar-Simran feel-good film leaves you all fuzzy". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  32. "Did you know, Sasikumar appeared in a blink-and-miss part in Vikram's 'Sethu'?". The Times of India. 25 June 2020.
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  34. "NAADODIGAL MOVIE REVIEW".
  35. "Sambo Siva Sambho". IMDb.
  36. "Ko".
  37. "Poraali Review".
  38. "Sasikumar excited about 'Masters' debut". 16 May 2012.
  39. "SUNDARAPANDIAN MOVIE REVIEW".
  40. "KUTTI PULI MOVIE REVIEW".
  41. "Review: Thalaimuraigal is brilliant".
  42. "BRAMMAN MOVIE REVIEW".
  43. "Tharai Thappattai Review".
  44. "VETRIVEL MOVIE REVIEW". 22 April 2016.
  45. "Appa Movie Review". The Times of India.
  46. "KIDAARI MOVIE REVIEW". 2 September 2016.
  47. "Balle Vellaiyathevaa Review".
  48. "Kodi Veeran Review".
  49. "Asuravadham review: A thin story that benefits from its treatment". 30 June 2018.
  50. "Petta Review".
  51. "Kennedy Club Review".
  52. "Makers announce new release date of Adutha Saattai". The Times of India. 13 October 2019.
  53. "Enai Noki Paayum Thota Movie Review: The bullet finally arrives, but just misses the mark". Cinema Express. 29 November 2019.
  54. "Naadodigal 2 Review".
  55. "Udanpirappe Review : Udanpirappe is an unaffecting, uneven drama". The Times of India.
  56. "MGR Magan Movie Review: A mirthless comedy that has its moments". Cinema Express. 4 November 2021.
  57. "Raajavamsam Movie Review: A tepid family drama that flatters to deceive". Cinema Express. 27 November 2021.
  58. "Naan Mirugamaai Maara Movie Review: A promising thriller with middling results". Cinema Express. 19 November 2022.
  59. "'Ayothi' movie review: Full of heart and yet, marred by melodrama". 4 March 2023.
  60. "M Sasikumar's Nandhan To Release On September 20". Times Now. 29 August 2024. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  61. "Sasikumar-Chaithra Achar's My Lord locks release date". Cinema Express. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  62. "Nadu Center out on OTT: Stream basketball-themed sports drama here; three episodes out". OTTPlay. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  63. "Amazon Prime Video unveils South slate for 2026: From Inspector Rishi 2 to Teja Sajja's The Traitors". The Indian Express. 19 March 2026.