Karthi

In this Indian name, the name Sivakumar is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Karthi .

Karthi

Karthi in January 2014
Born Karthik Sivakumar
25 May 1977[1]
Tamil Nadu, India
Residence Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Ethnicity Tamil
Alma mater
Occupation Film actor
Years active 2007–present
Spouse(s) Ranjini (m.2011-present)
Children Umayaal (b.2013)
Parent(s) Sivakumar
Lakshmi
Relatives Suriya (brother)
Jyothika (sister–in–law)
Brindha (sister)

Karthik Sivakumar better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian film actor, who works in the Tamil film industry. The younger son of actor Sivakumar, Karthi holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Industrial Engineering. Since he had always wanted to become a film director, he returned to India and joined Mani Ratnam as an assistant director. He was offered acting roles and made his acting debut in Paruthiveeran in 2007 as the titular character, a careless village rowdy, winning critical acclaim and several accolades including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. His next role was that of a coolie in Aayirathil Oruvan (2010), a fantasy-adventure film directed by Selvaraghavan. He achieved consecutive commercial successes with his subsequent releases – Paiyaa (2010), Naan Mahaan Alla (2010) Siruthai (2011),and Madras (2014), which established him in the Tamil film industry.[2][3]

Apart from his film career, Karthi has also been involved in social welfare activities, encouraging fans to do likewise through the "Makkal Nala Mandram", a social welfare club that he inaugurated. In 2011, he became a cause ambassador to promote awareness of lysosomal storage disease.

Early life

Karthi was born on 25 May 1977 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He was educated at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan,[4] and later at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Chennai. He gained a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Crescent Engineering College, Chennai.[4] After graduating, he worked as an Engineering consultant in Chennai and considered higher studies abroad. "I was earning about INR 5000, per month and found the work monotonous. That was when I thought, I should do something more", he recalls.[4] Karthi got a scholarship for his higher studies in the United States,[5] and enrolled at Binghamton University, New York, where he earned his Master of Science in Industrial Engineering.[6] While pursuing his masters, he also attended lectures on filmmaking.[4]

He worked part–time as a graphic designer in New York for a short period, then decided to pursue a career in film–making.[6] He attended two courses in basic film–making at State University of New York before entering films.[5][6] He stated, "I always knew I wanted to be in films but I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I loved movies and watched a lot of them. But my father insisted that I get a good education before I joined the film industry".[5]

Career

2007: Debut success

When Karthi returned to India, he met director Mani Ratnam, who offered him the role of Arjun (later played by Siddharth) in the film Aayutha Ezhuthu.[5] He declined the offer and worked as an assistant director on the same film and its Hindi version Yuva because he wanted to become a film director and preferred directing to acting.[7] He continued to receive acting offers and his father convinced him to take up acting, telling him " ... one can always direct films but one will not get a chance to act once you grow older".[5] He accepted his first acting assignment in April 2005.[8][9] When Ameer Sultan approached him to play the titular character in the film Paruthiveeran, he accepted the offer because the film was " ... so compelling".[7] The film was released in July 2005 and experienced financial difficulties,[10][11] and was almost abandoned by mid–2006.[12] It was released in January 2007, to critical acclaim and became commercially successful.[13]

Critics unanimously praised Karthi's portrayal of a careless village rowdy. Behindwoods said: "He has done away with every trace of sophistication in his body language and even handles the sickle with consummate ease. He looks every inch a hot blooded youngster from some rural part of Tamil Nadu [and] appears seasoned in the romantic scenes ... Uninformed people might not believe that this is the young man’s big screen debut. Look out for this guy ... ".[14] Sify said: "It’s hard to believe that it is Karthi’s debut film as he is just spectacular. His expressions, anger, laughter and anguish are all so realistic that you can feel the fire in him."[15] Rediff called his performance "excellent",[16] and " ... one of the top performances of 2007".[17] Karthi received several accolades for his performance, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil.[6][18]

2010–2011: Break after Paruthiveeran

In October 2006, Karthi signed his second project under Selvaraghavan's direction,[19] Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam, which was supposed to be a romance film,[20] featuring Sandhya as the female lead.[21] Karthi's character was a " ... sophisticated upmarket stylish guy ... ".[22] Selvaraghavan abandoned that project and in July 2007, he announced the production of a fantasy adventure called Aayirathil Oruvan with Karthi in the lead role.[23][24] Filming began later that year and was expected to be completed by February 2008. The producers planned to release it in mid-2008,[25] but production was delayed and filming continued until early 2009.[26] He had agreed to play the lead character in Linguswamy's next film, Paiyaa, in September 2007.[27] Because of the slow progress of Aayirathil Oruvan, Paiyaa was postponed several times.[28] He later said that he became anxious because he received several film offers but could not work on them because he needed to maintain the continuity of his looks.[29] During the filming of Aayirathil Oruvan, producer Ravindran complained that Karthi was trying to change his look and move on to Paiyaa before finishing his commitments.[30]

Aayirathil Oruvan was released in early 2010. Karthi's portrayal of a chief coolie was often compared to that in his debut film.[31] Sify called Karthi's performance " ... a scream.", and said, "Right from his introduction scene till the end, he is lovable and provides humour.", and that he had " ... made a sensational comeback ... ".[32]

In April 2010, Linguswamy's Paiyaa released. A romantic road–trip film, featuring a blockbuster album by Yuvan Shankar Raja,[33] it was very successful.[34][35][36] For the first time, he enacted a character that lives in an urban area.[37] He said that he accepted the film because he desperately wanted to play a cool dude on screen.[37] Karthi's performances in Aayirathil Oruvan and Paiyaa earned him further nominations at the 58th Filmfare Awards South in the Best Actor category.[38] Both films were dubbed into Telugu as Yuganiki Okkadu and Aawara, respectively, and were successful.[18][39][40]

Karthi's third 2010 film was Suseenthiran's thriller Naan Mahaan Alla, in which he played a middle class young person from Chennai whose life is disrupted when his father is killed. It received good reviews, was very popular,[41] and Karthi's performances was praised by critics.[42] Sreedhar Pillai of Sify wrote: "[Karthi] nails the character to perfection" ... He is one good reason to see the film."[43] Bhama Devi Ravi of Times of India wrote: " ... what a pleasure to see Karthi deliver his best performance to date ... ".[44] Rediff wrote that "Karthi has simply had a ball ... " and "It's been a long time since you saw an actor who can be as convincing in sadness and rage, as in happiness."[45] Naan Mahaan Alla was dubbed into Telugu and released as Naa Peru Shiva in 2011; it was very successful and earned Karthi some Telugu film offers.[46][47]

Karthi's next film was the action–masala film Siruthai (2011), a remake of the 2006 Telugu film Vikramarkudu. He played two roles; a thief and a police officer.[48] Karthi's performances received favourable reviews. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote: "Karthi looks and performs better with every film. Siruthai exemplifies the observation".[49] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff wrote: "But the film belongs to Rocket Raja (Karthi), the sort of adorable ruffian Tamil cinema has been missing for a while. He picks pockets, slices off handbags, charms women and even bashes (!) them up without a single jolt to his conscience."[50] Despite gaining mixed critical response, the film achieved financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2011.[51][52] In 2011, Siruthai became Karthi's biggest commercial success,[52] cementing his position in the Tamil film industry. Sify said that Karthi had become " ... one of the hottest stars in Kollywood".[52] He made a special appearance in a song in K. V. Anand's Ko (2011), alongside other prominent actors from Tamil cinema.[53]

2012–present: Career slump and resurgence

In May 2011, Karthi began working on a political comedy film, Saguni, directed by Shankar Dayal and featuring him amongst an ensemble cast of supporting actors.[54] He played Kamalakannan in the film, a villager who comes to the city to save his palatial house in Karaikudi from being destroyed for a politician's personal gain and unknowingly transforms to become a kingmaker in Tamil Nadu politics. The film opened to negative reviews from critics, and became a box-office failure.[55] He later appeared in the 2013 Pongal release Alex Pandian, opposite Anushka Shetty, which also opened to negative critical response upon release.[56][57]

Karthi's next release was Rajesh M's All in All Azhagu Raja, which featured him opposite Kajal Aggarwal and Santhanam. The film was released on Diwali 2013, and received mostly negative reviews from critics, with Behindwoods saying "Though the laughs are spread across a few moments, when 'AAA' is pitted against Rajesh's other wholesome 'laughathons' such as OKOK and Boss, it falls way short" and Sify saying "The trouble with 'AAA' is that it lacks basic storyline and took the audiences for granted. The film has no real script to speak of, at best a skeletal plot."[58] His next film was Venkat Prabhu's Biriyani, which was released in December 2013, opening to positive reviews and became a box office success.[59][60] He also sang the song "Mississippi" under Yuvan Shankar Raja's direction for both the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film.[61][62] Karthi later appeared in director Ranjith's Madras, opposite Catherine Tresa which was a huge success after siruthai.[63] He will be seen in director Muthiah's rural action drama Komban [64] and in a film tentatively titled Kashmora opposite Nayantara directed by Gokul.[65] and a telugu film with nagarjuna.

Personal life

Karthi is the second son of actor Sivakumar and his wife Lakshmi. He has two siblings; an elder brother, Suriya, also a leading actor in the Tamil film industry, and a younger sister named Brindha. Former leading Tamil film actress, Jyothika Sadanah is Karthi's sister–in–law.[66] On 3 July 2011, Karthi married Ranjani, who graduated with a Master's degree in English literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai.[67] They were engaged on 29 April 2011 at Ranjani's native village, Goundampalayam in Erode District,[68] and the wedding was held at the CODISSIA trade fair complex in Coimbatore.[69] The wedding was arranged by the elders of the family.[70] They have a daughter named Umayaal, born on 11 January 2013.[71]

Other work

Karthi has been involved in several charities and social service activities. On his 31st birthday, he inaugurated the Makkal Nala Mandram,[72][73] in order to encourage his fans to become involved in welfare activities.[74] During the event, Karthi donated blood, donated bicycles to handicapped people, sewing machines to women and schoolbags to children. He presented a cheque of INR 50,000 to YRG Care Centre, which helps AIDS affected children.[74] In 2011, Karthi became a cause ambassador for promoting awareness of lysosomal storage disease.[75] He had also adopted a white tiger cub at Vandalur Zoo and contributed INR 72,000 to protect and preserve the animal.[75] On his birthdays, Karthi visits orphanages and donates funds to them.[76] He told Indiaglitz; "When I see people in need, I make sure I go and help. If I am going on birthdays to reach out to kids in orphanages, it is for my own satisfaction. I feel happier to be with them and it's nice to make them smile on that particular day."[77]

On September 2010, he signed a contract with Bharti Airtel to become its brand ambassador in South India and appear in its "Indraikku enna plan" advertising campaign.[78] He has also appeared in advertisements for Bru Instant Coffee along with Kajal Aggarwal, who had earlier acted opposite him in Naan Mahaan Alla and in All in all Azaghu Raja.[79]

Filmography

As actor

Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Film Role Language Notes
2007 Paruthiveeran Paruthiveeran Tamil Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil[7]
Tamil Nadu State Film Special Prize[80]
Vijay Award for Best Male Debut[81]
2010 Aayirathil Oruvan Muthu Tamil Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil[38]
2010 Paiyaa Siva Tamil Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil[38]
2010 Naan Mahaan Alla Jeeva Prakasam Tamil Nominated—Vijay Award for Best Actor[82]
2011 Siruthai Rathnavel Pandian,
'Rocket' Raja 		Tamil Dual role
2012 Saguni Kamalakannan Tamil
2013 Alex Pandian Alex Pandian Tamil
2013 All in All Azhagu Raja Azhagu Raja Tamil
2013 Biriyani Sugan Tamil
2014 Madras Kaali Tamil
2015 Komban Kombaya Pandian Tamil
2015 Untitled Vamsi Paidipally project Films that have not yet been released Telugu
Tamil 		Filming
2015 Kashmora Films that have not yet been released Tamil Pre-Production[83]

Discography

Year Song Title Film Composer Notes
2012 Kandha Kaara Vadai Saguni G. V. Prakash Kumar
2013 Mississippi Biriyani Yuvan Shankar Raja [84]

References

  1. ↑ "Happy Birthday Karthi!". The Times of India. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Karthi – Tamil Movie News – Karthi’s hat-trick". Behindwoods. behindwoods.com. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Warrior, Shobha (18 August 2010). "Eagerly awaiting Karthi's Naan Mahaan Alla". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Karthi Sivakumar, casual and down to earth". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 23 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Warrior, Shobha (24 January 2007). "Surya's brother debuts". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Gupta, Rinku (12 October 2007). "a la Karthi". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Daithota, Madhu (23 July 2008). "I want to look nice shirtless: Karthi". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "Surya's brother to debut". Behindwoods. behindwoods.com. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Surya's brother takes a bow – Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Paruthiveeran's wife creates trouble for Paruthiveeran". Behindwoods. behindwoods.com. 18 February 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Paruthi Veeran finally hits the screen". oneindia.com. 17 February 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Trouble brewing for Paruthiveeran". Behindwoods. behindwoods.com. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  13. ↑ Warrier, Shobha. "2007's Top Tamil hits so far". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Paruthiveeran Movie Review: Director’s special, Debutant delight". Behindwoods. behindwoods.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  15. ↑ "Movie Review:Paruthiveeran". Sify. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  16. ↑ Iyer, Sriram (26 February 2007). "Paruthiveeran: A remarkable effort". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  17. ↑ "rediff.com: The top Tamil heroes of 2007". Rediff. Specials.rediff.com. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "‘Paruthi Veeran’ 357 not out! – Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "Selva’s new film with Karthi!". Sify. 17 October 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  20. ↑ Moviebuzz. "Karthi- A Star is born". Sify. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  21. ↑ "Metro Plus Visakhapatnam / Cinema : In a lead role". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 28 October 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  22. ↑ "The next pin-up boy!". Sify. 16 April 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  23. ↑ "Karthi is `Aayirathil Oruvan`". Sify. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  24. ↑ "Karthi is Ayirathil Oruvan – Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  25. ↑ "Selva on Aayirathil Oruvan". Sify. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  26. ↑ Warrior, Shobha (2009). "Waiting for Karthi's Aayirathil Oruvan". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
  27. ↑ "Karthi in Lingusamy's film". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  28. ↑ "Karthi goes to Bangkok!". Sify. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  29. ↑ "Waiting for Karthi's Aayirathil Oruvan – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff. rediff.com. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  30. ↑ "Karthi not to take off his beard!". Sify. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  31. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (19 April 2010). "Aayirathil Oruvan is not for the faint hearted". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  32. ↑ "Aayirathil Oruvan-Review". Sify. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  33. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (23 June 2010). "Half-yearly BO report: Suriya rules Tamil". Rediff. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  34. ↑ Moviebuzz (13 May 2010). "Summer Box-office is lukewarm!". Sify. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  35. ↑ Moviebuzz (19 April 2010). "Lingusamy's Paiyaa is a super hit!". Sify. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  36. ↑ "'Paiyaa' at peak—Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Pillai, Sreedhar (7 April 2010). "Karthi: On road to superstardom". The Times of India.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 "Nominees of Idea Filmfare Awards South". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  39. ↑ "Awara’s record collections — Telugu Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  40. ↑ "Aawara completes 100 days — Telugu Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  41. ↑ "Naan Mahaan Alla is a blockbuster". Behindwoods. behindwoods.com.
  42. ↑ "Karthi superb in tale of love and murder". Times LIVE. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  43. ↑ Moviebuzz (20 August 2010). "Movie review:Naan Mahaan Alla". Sify. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  44. ↑ Bhama Devi Ravi (20 August 2010). "Naan Mahaan Alla movie review". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  45. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (20 August 2010). "Naan Mahaan Alla is almost perfect". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  46. ↑ "Karthi conquers Andhra". Rediff. rediff.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  47. ↑ Raghavan, Nikhil (20 August 2011). "Itsy Bitsy". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  48. ↑ "Actor Karthi – Tamil Cinema Actor Interview". Behindwoods. Videos.behindwoods.com. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  49. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (23 January 2011). "Cops, crooks and a comedy". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  50. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (14 January 2011). "Siruthai is Karthi's show all the way". Rediff. rediff.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  51. ↑ "Kollywood -Progress Report, Jan 1 to June 30, 2011". Sify. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 "Karthi- Waiting for the right choice". Sify. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  53. ↑ Thollai, Sreedhar (1 March 2011). "Karthi gets going with Saguni". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  54. ↑ "Karthi gets going with Saguni". sify. sify movies. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  55. ↑ "Karthi takes blame for Saguni". The Times of India. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  56. ↑ "Alex Pandian draws Rajini fans to theatres". The New Indian Express. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  57. ↑ "ALEX PANDIAN MOVIE REVIEW". Behindwoods. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  58. ↑ "'All in All Azhaguraja' Review Roundup: Joke is on Audiences". International Business Times. 3 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  59. ↑ "'Biriyani' Review Roundup: Delicious Entertainer". International Business Times. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  60. ↑ "'Biryani' Is Karthi's Biggest Hit In Telugu' Says The Film Unit". IndiaGlitz. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  61. ↑ "Karthi croons in Telugu". The Times of India. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  62. ↑ "The support I get from my fans in Kerala is overwhelming : Karthi". The Times of India. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  63. ↑ "'Madras' Movie Review Roundup: Must Watch". International Business Times. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  64. ↑ "Karthi, Lakshmi Menon team up for Komban". Times of India. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  65. ↑ "Karthi Sivakumar's Kashmora To Roll From February 2015". NDTV. 9 Nov 2014.
  66. ↑ "Karthi gets engaged quietly". Sify. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  67. ↑ "Actor Karthi to marry Ranjani". The Times of India. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  68. ↑ Ramesh, S. (30 April 2011). "Karthi to tie the knot". The Hindu (Chennai, India).
  69. ↑ "Karthi's big day". Behindwoods (behindwoods.com). 3 July 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  70. ↑ "Actor Karthi set for marriage". Rediff Movies. Rediff. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  71. ↑ "Karthi's daughter named Umayaal!". The Times of India. March 19, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  72. ↑ "Retail Plus Chennai : First take". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 8 June 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  73. ↑ "Paruthiveeran Karthi's new association". Behindwoods. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  74. ↑ 74.0 74.1 "For Karthi, charity begins at home – Times Of India". The Times of India. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  75. ↑ 75.0 75.1 "Karthi, for a cause – Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  76. ↑ "Karthi's b'day bash! – Times Of India". The Times of India. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  77. ↑ "Suriya competition – Karthi". IndiaGlitz. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  78. ↑ "Karthi campaign". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 25 September 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  79. ↑ "Karthi and Kajal Agarwal for Bru". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  80. ↑ "State Awards for the year 2006 – Govt. of Tamil Nadu". Indiaglitz. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  81. ↑ "Reliance Mobile Vijay Awards – The Awards Ceremony". Star Box office. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  82. ↑ "Vijay Awards 2011: List Of Nominations". News365today. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  83. ↑ "Karthi and Nayanthara together in May"
  84. ↑ "BIRIYANI SONGS REVIEW". Behindwoods. Retrieved 17 September 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karthi.
Awards
Filmfare Awards South
Preceded by
Ajith Kumar
for Varalaru
Best Actor for Paruthiveeran
2007 		Succeeded by
Suriya
for Vaaranam Aayiram