# M. Sasikumar

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).
He is best known in the Tamil film industry for his debut film Subramaniapuram (2008), which became a blockbuster. 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.

## Career
### 2008-2018: Beginning as an actor, director and producer

For his debut Sasikumar, who had his initial training under Bala and Ameer has followed their path in choosing a different plot for his first film Subramaniapuram (2008) and succeeds in delivering a slick product. After the success of Subramaniapuram, Sasikumar produced Pasanga (2009), directed by debutant Pandiraj. The action drama film Naadodigal (2009) was directed by himself. He later directed the drama film Easan (2010). He also acted and produced Poraali (2011). Followed by Malayalam film, Masters (2012) alongside Prithviraj. It was followed by drama film, Sundarapandian (2012). The cast includes Lakshmi Menon and Vijay Sethupathi. In 2013, he acted in Kutti Puli, with his previous movie pair Lakshmi Menon. The film was released to positive reviews. He produced Thalaimuraigal directed by Balu Mahendra who acted along with Sasikumar for the first time in his career. In 2014, a romantic action film Bramman.
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. The soundtrack has been composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film has garnered a lot of expectations in being promoted as the 1000th film score of Ilaiyaraaja. The soundtrack consists of seven tracks: five songs and two theme scores. The film is released on 14 January 2016 to mostly positive reviews. Vetrivel, Appa, Kidaari and Balle Vellaiyathevaa follow up. In 2017, he acted in Kodiveeran. This is the second time that this actor and director joining hands after Kutti Puli. Kodi Veeran is produced by M. Sasikumar's Company Productions. In 2018, Asuravadham. After a series of underwhelming films, the film has received mixed reviews from critics and audience.

### 2019-present

He starts the year with Rajinikanth's' Petta (2019) directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The next project is Suseenthiran's Kennedy Club. Sify relieves: "Sasikumar is not at all convincing as a Kabbadi player and maintains the same age-old". The film is an average sports drama. 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. After Naadodigal 2 (2020), he starred in family films like Udanpirappe (2021), MGR Magan (2021) and Raajavamsam (2021). Next year, he was seen next in three action films, Kombu Vatcha Singamda (2022), Naan Mirugamaai Maara (2022) and Kaari (2022). In 2023, Sasikumar comes up with a strong performance after a long time in the drama film Ayothi. In 2024, Garudan and Nandhan was released to positive reviews.

## 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 Best Tamil Director Award 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 |
| 1999 | Sethu | Sethu's friend | Uncredited role; also assistant director |
| 2008 | Subramaniapuram | Paraman | Also producer |
| 2009 | Naadodigal | Karunakaran Natraj | Nominated, Vijay Award for Favourite Hero |
| 2010 | Shambo Shiva Shambo | A lover's friend | Telugu film; special appearance |
| 2011 | Ko | Himself | Special appearance in "Aga Naga" song |
| 2011 | Poraali | Ilankumaran | Also producer; Norway Tamil Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| 2012 | Masters | Milan Paul | Malayalam film |
| 2012 | Sundarapandian | Sundarapandian | Also producer |
| 2013 | Kutti Puli | Kutti Puli | |
| 2013 | Thalaimuraigal | Dr. Adithya | Also producer; guest appearance |
| 2014 | Bramman | Siva | |
| 2016 | Tharai Thappattai | Sannasi | Also producer |
| 2016 | Vetrivel | Vetrivel | |
| 2016 | Appa | Kumaran | Also producer; guest appearance |
| 2016 | Kidaari | Kidaari | Also producer |
| 2016 | Balle Vellaiyathevaa | Vellaiyathevan | Also producer |
| 2017 | Kodiveeran | Kodiveeran | Also producer |
| 2018 | Asuravadham | Saravanan | |
| 2019 | Petta | Malik | |
| 2019 | Kennedy Club | Muruganadham | |
| 2019 | Adutha Saattai | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 2019 | Enai Noki Paayum Thota | Thiru | |
| 2020 | Naadodigal 2 | Jeeva | |
| 2021 | Udanpirappe | Vairavan | |
| 2021 | MGR Magan | Anbalipu Ravi | |
| 2021 | Raajavamsam | Kannan | |
| 2022 | Kombu Vatcha Singamda | Thaman | |
| 2022 | Naan Mirugamaai Maara | Bhoominathan | |
| 2022 | Kaari | Sethu | |
| 2023 | Ayothi | Abdul Malik | |
| 2024 | Garudan | Aadhi | 25th Film |
| 2024 | Nandhan | Ambedkumar aka Koozhpaana | |
| 2025 | Evidence | | Filming |
| 2025 | Tourist Family | | Filming |
| 2025 | Freedom | | Delayed |
| 2025 | Naa Naa | | Delayed |
| 2025 | Pagaivanuku Arulvai | | Delayed |
| 2025 | Zambara Entertainment banner | | Pre-production |

### As a producer

| Year | Film | Notes |
| 2008 | Subramaniapuram | |
| 2009 | Pasanga | Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film |
| 2010 | Easan | |
| 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 | |

### As distributor

| Year | Film | Notes |
| 2010 | Kathai | only in Madurai region |