# Thiagarajan

Thiagarajan Sivanandam (born 21 June 1946) is an Indian actor, film director and film producer in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has acted in several Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth, son-in-law of actor-director Peketi Sivaram and the maternal uncle of Tamil actor Vikram.

## Career

Originally a businessman, Thiagarajan made his acting debut with Alaigal Oivathillai (1981), appearing as the elder brother of the film's lead actress Radha. The film became successful and offers poured in for him.
His portrayal of a jungle bandit in Malaiyoor Mambattiyan (1982) provided him a major breakthrough in his career. He was part of such successful films as Komberi Mookan (1984) and Neengal Kettavai (1984).
He acted in the Malayalam film New Delhi, which became successful and his portrayal of a goon received acclaim. The success of the film prompted Thiagarajan to make his directorial debut titled Salem Vishnu (1990), based on the character which he had played in that film. He then directed Aanazhagan (1995), with his son Prashanth in the leading role. According to Prashanth, the film was an average grosser.
Thiagarajan then stayed away from the limelight, paving the way for his son. He later returned to acting, appearing in a small role as a father to his son in Jai. Thiagarajan then directed Shock, remake of the Hindi film Bhoot in 2004. Apart from directing and producing the film, Thiagarajan handled the art and costumes department and also appeared in the film as police inspector. The film's shoot was completed in twenty-six days, with meticulous pre-planning arranged by Thiagarajan. The film received positive reviews citing that the makers "deserve an appreciation for his honest and sincere attempt on the screen".
In September 2004, Thiagarajan launched Police, a remake of the Hindi film Khakee and the film received coverage from the media after producers had approached Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai for key roles. In interviews during the period, Thiagarajan mentioned the grand scale of the project, citing that schedules would also be shot abroad; however the film failed to progress. He then returned to acting with the films Bodyguard (2010) and Drohi (2010).
In early 2007, Thiagarajan approached M. Karunanidhi with the intention of making a film on his adaptation of the Ponnar Shankar epic that he had written in the late 1970s. The latter accepted Thiagarajan's offer and approved of his decision to cast his son Prashanth, in the dual lead role. The film was released in 2011 to mixed reviews and did average business. He directed Mambattiyan (2011), a remake of his successful 1983 film in which he had acted. His son played the title role. The film received mixed reviews by critics, it took a good opening at the box office, but petered out to do average business commercially and due to its big budget, it failed to recover costs.
In 2014, he revealed that he would direct the remakes of Hindi films Special 26 and Queen in four south Indian languages; although he did not remake those films.
He later starred in supporting roles such as Vaaimai (2016), Yaman (2018), Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018) and Ponmagal Vandhal (2020).
He is a producer of his son's films Saagasam (2016), Johnny (2018) and Andhagan (2024).

## Filmography
### Tamil films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | Alaigal Oivathillai | David | |
| 1981 | Tik Tik Tik | Victor | |
| 1982 | Garuda Saukiyama | Deenadayalu | |
| 1982 | Nenjil Oru Ragam | Siva | |
| 1982 | Deviyin Thiruvilaiyadal | Mannar Perumane | |
| 1982 | Nadodi Raja | Muruga | |
| 1982 | Nenjangal | Kidnapper | |
| 1982 | Neram Vandhachu | Ravi | |
| 1983 | Paayum Puli | Thiyagu | |
| 1983 | Bhagavathipuram Railway Gate | Boodalingam | |
| 1983 | Malaiyoor Mambattiyan | Mambattiyaan | |
| 1983 | Ennai Paar En Azhagai Paar | | |
| 1983 | Ethanai Konam Ethanai Parvai | | Unreleased |
| 1984 | Nalla Naal | Kaali | |
| 1984 | Komberi Mookan | Komberi Mookan | |
| 1984 | Neengal Kettavai | Arun | |
| 1984 | Nerupukkul Eeram | | |
| 1984 | Sankari | Raghu | |
| 1985 | Raja Yuvaraja | Yuvaraja | |
| 1985 | Erimalai | Shankar Dada | |
| 1985 | Kaaval | Inspector Anand | |
| 1985 | Karuppu Chattaikaran | Yuvendran | |
| 1986 | Murattu Karangal | Veeran | |
| 1986 | Machakaran | | |
| 1988 | Oomai Dhurai | | |
| 1988 | Poovukkul Boogambam | | |
| 1990 | Salem Vishnu | Vishnu | |
| 1991 | Theechatti Govindhan | Theechatti Govindan | |
| 2004 | Jai | Veerapandi | |
| 2004 | Shock | Police Inspector | |
| 2006 | Adaikalam | Sathyamurthy | |
| 2010 | Drohi | Narayanan | |
| 2016 | Vaaimai | Dheenadayalan | |
| 2017 | Yaman | Karunakaran | |
| 2018 | Chekka Chivantha Vaanam | Chinnappadasan | |
| 2020 | Ponmagal Vandhal | Varadharajan | |
| 2024 | PT Sir | Guru Purushothaman | |
| 2024 | Andhagan | Artist | Uncredited special appearance; also director |

### Other language films

| Year | Movie | Role | Language | Notes |
| 1982 | Chillu | | Malayalam | |
| 1984 | John Jani Janardhan | Gopaldas | Hindi | |
| 1985 | Kala Rudrudu | | Telugu |
| 1987 | New Delhi | Nataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem Vishnu | Malayalam | |
| 1988 | Adholokam | Nandakumar | Malayalam | |
| 1988 | Manu Uncle | Gomas | Malayalam | |
| 1988 | Oohakachavadom | | Malayalam | |
| 1988 | Oru Muthassi Katha | Chemparundu Machan | Malayalam | |
| 1988 | Abkari | Chidambaram | Malayalam | |
| 1988 | Anthima Theerpu | Nataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem Vishnu | Telugu | |
| 1988 | New Delhi | Nataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem Vishnu | Hindi | |
| 1988 | New Delhi | Nataraj Vishnu a.k.a. Salem Vishnu | Kannada | |
| 1988 | Arjun Dennis | | Malayalam | |
| 1989 | State Rowdy | | Telugu | |
| 1989 | Miss Pameela | Victor | Malayalam | |
| 1989 | Jeevitham Oru Raagam | Raghavan | Malayalam | |
| 1990 | No.20 Madras Mail | Himself | Malayalam | Cameo appearance |
| 1990 | Magadu | | Telugu | |
| 1990 | Ashoka Chakra | Soorappa | Kannada | |
| 1991 | CBI Siva | | Kannada | |
| 1992 | Marana Mrudanga | Thyagaraj | Kannada | |
| 1992 | Police Lockup | | Kannada | |
| 1993 | Sangharsha | | Kannada | |
| 1994 | Sididedda Shiva | | Kannada | |
| 1997 | Police Bete | | Kannada | |
| 1999 | Ravimama | | Kannada | |
| 1999 | Vishwa | | Kannada | |
| 2003 | Thilakkam | Maheswaran Thampi | Malayalam | |
| 2010 | Bodyguard | Ashokan | Malayalam | |
| 2016 | Pachakkallam | | Malayalam | |

### As director, producer, writer and art director

| Year | Title | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Language | Notes |
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Art director | Language | Notes |
| 1984 | Komberi Mookan | No | No | Story | No | Tamil |
| 1988 | Poovukkul Boogambam | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Tamil | |
| 1990 | Salem Vishnu | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Tamil | |
| 1995 | Aanazhagan | Yes | No | Yes | No | Tamil | |
| 1997 | Mannava | No | No | No | Yes | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Shock | Yes | Yes | Screenplay | Yes | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Jai | No | Yes | No | No | Tamil | |
| 2011 | Ponnar Shankar | Yes | Yes | No | No | Tamil | |
| 2011 | Mambattiyan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tamil | |
| 2016 | Saagasam | No | Presenter | Screenplay | No | Tamil | |
| 2018 | Johnny | No | Yes | Screenplay | No | Tamil | |
| 2024 | Andhagan | Yes | Yes | Screenplay | No | Tamil | |