K. Manikandan
Indian screenwriter, actor and film director (born 1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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), Lover (2024) and Kudumbasthan (2025).
K. Manikandan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 September 1987[1] |
| Occupations | Actor, screenwriter, film director, radio jockey, mimicry artist |
| Years active | 2013–present |
Career
Manikandan participated in Kalakka Povathu Yaaru? Season 4 (Vijay TV) 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.[2] He has also written dialogues for Telugu films dubbed in Tamil.[3]
He debuted as a writer with Pizza II: Villa (2013).[4] He made his acting debut with India Pakistan (2015) and played a minor role in the Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum (2016) directed by Nalan Kumarasamy.[2] Manikandan then played an antagonist in Sri Ganesh's debut directorial venture 8 Thottakkal (2017) alongside M. S. Bhaskar and Lallu.[5] 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).[6][7] He paired with Nivedithaa Sathish in the romantic anthology film Sillu Karupatti (2019), directed by Halitha Shameem.[8][9] 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.[10][11] The film was selected to participate in Bengaluru International Film Festival (2016) under ‘Indian Cinema Competition’.[12][13] Endless was one of the four films to be selected for screening at 16th New York Indian Film Festival (2016).[14][15]
He played the role of Rajakannu in the film Jai Bhim (2021) and won critical acclaim for his portrayal.[16] He played the lead role in movie Good Night (2023) which became an audience favourite.[17] In 2024, he starred in Lover, a romantic drama that received positive reviews for its realistic portrayal of modern relationships.[18] He also joined hands with debutant director Rajeshwar Kalisamy for Kudumbasthan, which was released on 24 January 2025 in theaters to positive reviews from critics, becoming his third consecutive hit as the lead role.[19]
Filmography
As actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Pizza II: Villa | Assistant director | Uncredited role |
| 2014 | Irukku Aana Illai | Nainamalai | |
| 2015 | India Pakistan | Mani | |
| 2015 | Indru Netru Naalai | Film director | |
| 2016 | Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum | Murali | |
| 2017 | 8 Thottakkal | Jai | |
| Vikram Vedha | Santhanam | Behindwoods Gold Medal – Best Dialogue Writer[20] Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Male) | |
| 2018 | Kaala | Lenin | |
| 2019 | Sillu Karupatti | Mukhilan | Anthology film; segment: "Kakka Kadi" |
| 2021 | Aelay | Paarthi | Released on Star Vijay |
| 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 | [21] |
| 2025 | Kudumbasthan | Naveen | [22] |
Web series
| Year | Film | Role | Platform | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Paava Kadhaigal | Driver | Netflix | under segment Love Panna Uttaranum | |
| 2023 | Mathagam | Padalam Sekhar | Disney+ Hotstar | ||
As writer
| Year | Film | Credited as | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | |||
| 2013 | Pizza II: Villa | Dialogues | |
| 2016 | Narai Ezhuthum Suyasaritham | Yes | |
| 2017 | Vikram Vedha | Dialogues | Vijay Award for Best Dialogue Writer |
| 2019 | Viswasam | Dialogues | |
| Thambi | Screenplay | ||
| 2022 | Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal | Yes |
As director
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Narai Ezhuthum Suyasaritham |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Kalakka Povathu Yaaru? | Contestant | Star Vijay | 1st Runner-up |
| 2024 | Super Singer Season 10 | Guest | Star Vijay | |
As dubbing artist
| Year | Film | Actor | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Bolt | Todd Cummings, Lino DiSalvo, Tim Mertens | Joey, Vinnie and Bobby | Tamil dubbed version |
| 2024 | The Greatest of All Time | Vijayakanth | AI appearance[23] | |
| 2025 | Kantara: Chapter 1 | Rishab Shetty | Tamil dubbed version[24] |