Shiva (actor)
Indian film actor, comedian, radio jockey, dialogue writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shiva is an Indian actor and dialogue writer who appears in Tamil films. Prior to his acting career, Shiva worked as a radio jockey with Radio Mirchi.[2][3][4][5][6] His tenure earned him the nickname Mirchi Shiva.[7] Acting mainly in comedy films, he rose to fame following his performances in the Venkat Prabhu directorials Chennai 600028 (2007) and Saroja (2008). He is humorously known by fans as "Agila Ulaga Superstar" (worldwide superstar) after his hilarious spoof on Tamil cinema's portrayal in Tamizh Padam (2010).[8]
- Actor
- radio jockey
- dialogue writer
Shiva | |
|---|---|
Shiva | |
| Born | 10 December 1982[1] |
| Other names | Mirchi Shiva |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse |
Priya (m. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
Film career
Shiva's first film role was a supporting role in the 2001 film 12B, where he played Shaam's friend.[9] He debuted as a lead actor in Venkat Prabhu's 2007 sports comedy Chennai 600028 alongside several stars.[10] His next role, again under Venkat's direction, Saroja (2008). Both films were box office hits.[11]
Shiva then starred in Tamizh Padam (2010), a full-length parody of contemporary Tamil cinema, and his performance earned rave reviews. His comedy Va Quarter Cutting, was an average grosser. His first 2011 release became the long-delayed romantic drama Pathinaaru, which was his first non-comedy venture. During the period, he also completed another comedy film titled Siva Poojaiyil Karadi, by Rama Narayanan, but the film was never released.[12]
In 2012, he featured alongside Vimal in Sundar C's comedy film Kalakalappu, which won positive reviews and performed well commercially. Portraying the role of the small-time crook Raghu, critics noted that Shiva was the film's "scene-stealer" and "carries the first half with his quips".[13][14] The success of the film fetched the actor more scripts and Shiva went on to feature in four comedies in 2013. His first release Thillu Mullu, a remake of the 1981 Rajinikanth starrer, featured him alongside Isha Talwar and Prakash Raj and also fared well commercially. The actor also won positive portrayal of a conman with a critic noting that "Shiva has taken the entire film in his shoulders and has given his best. His comic timing is perfect and the one-liners are hilarious."[15][16] His second release of the year Sonna Puriyathu, where he played a dubbing artist, also won good reviews. Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu praised the actor's performance noting that "Nobody makes silly jokes work with a straight face like Shiva does", also that he is the "funny man pretending to be important".[17] The next release Ya Ya, featured him alongside Santhanam in the lead role. Shiva was next seen in Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi's directorial debut Vanakkam Chennai, a romantic musical opposite Priya Anand. The film received positive to mixed reviews.[18]
In 2015, he starred in two films with Masala Padam and 144.[19][20] In 2016, his films were Adra Machan Visilu and Chennai 600028 II, a sequel sports comedy to Chennai 600028.[21][22] In 2018, Kalakalappu 2, the sequel to that film Kalakalappu, has been released, directed by the same Sundar C.[23] After a gap of eight years, C. S. Amudhan's Tamizh Padam 2 (2018) has released, amidst high expectations.[24] His voiceover has also appeared in films such as Vandi (2018) and Charlie Chaplin 2 (2019).[25][26]
In 2022, Shiva made his comeback with a horror-comedy movie Idiot.[27] In 2023, he had two released in Single Shankarum Smartphone Simranum and Kasethan Kadavulada.[28][29] In 2024, Shiva, in his usual quirky style, opens up the dusty box from the sequel 2013 original and tries to revive his ‘kidnapping’ business after a jail term in Soodhu Kavvum 2.[30] In 2025, the sports comedy Sumo as well as the musical road Paranthu Po was released.[31][32]
Personal life
Filmography
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
As actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 12B | Shakti's co-worker | Uncredited role |
| Nayak: The Real Hero | Crowd member | Hindi film; uncredited role | |
| Aalavandhan | Partygoer | Uncredited role | |
| 2003 | Whistle | Jeeva's friend | Uncredited role |
| 2007 | Chennai 600028 | Karthik | Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor |
| 2008 | Saroja | Ajay Raj | |
| 2010 | Tamizh Padam | Shiva | |
| Va | Sunderrajan (Sura) | ||
| 2011 | Pathinaaru | Shiva | |
| Ko | Himself | Special appearance | |
| 2012 | Kalakalappu | Raghu | |
| 2013 | Thillu Mullu | Pasupathy (Ganguly Kanthan) | |
| Sonna Puriyathu | Shiva | ||
| Ya Ya | Ramarajan "Ram" (Dhoni) | ||
| Vanakkam Chennai | Madasamy (Ajay) | ||
| 2015 | Masala Padam | Mani | |
| 144 | Thesu | ||
| 2016 | Adra Machan Visilu | "Simmakkal" Shekar | |
| Chennai 600028 II | Karthik | ||
| 2018 | Kalakalappu 2 | Ganesh | |
| Tamizh Padam 2 | Shiva / Barathamuni | ||
| Party † | Babu Murali / Bob Marley | Unreleased Film | |
| 2022 | Naai Sekar | Padaiyappa | Voice only |
| Idiot | Chinnarasu, Paandi and Thor | ||
| 2023 | Single Shankarum Smartphone Simranum | Shankar | |
| Kasethan Kadavulada | Ramu | ||
| 2024 | Soodhu Kavvum 2 | Gurunath "Guru" | |
| 2025 | Sumo | Shiva | also screenplay and dialogues |
| Paranthu Po | Gokul | [36] | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards | Host | Sun TV | Co-hosted with Pooja Ramachandran | |
| 2015 | 4th South Indian International Movie Awards | Co-hosted with Suchitra | |||
| 2016 | 5th South Indian International Movie Awards | Co-hosted with Sathish | |||
| 2018 | Colors Super Kids | Colors Tamil | — | ||
| 2019 | 8th South Indian International Movie Awards | Sun TV | Co-hosted with Janani Iyer | ||
| Bigil audio launch | Co-hosted with VJ Ramya | ||||
| Sun Kudumbam Virudhugal | Himself | Appeared in a TV serial spoof video, portraying a doctor | |||
| 2022 | 10th South Indian International Movie Awards | Host | Co-hosted with VJ Ramya | ||
As lyricist
- "Saudi Baasha" (Va)
- "Rosa Hai" (Sonna Puriyathu)
As singer
- "Rosa Hai" (Sonna Puriyathu)
As writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Aadama Jaichomada | dialogues |
| 2025 | Sumo | Screenplay and dialogues |
As narrator
- Vandi (2018)
- Charlie Chaplin 2 (2019)