Nandha Durairaj, better known by his stage name Nandha, is an Indian movie actor who works primarily in Tamil Cinema. He made his feature film debut in a supporting role in "Mounam Pesiyadhe" (2002), a Tamil romantic comedy that was a box office hit. He later made his breakthrough in S. Shankar"s acclaimed and successful romantic horror "Eeram", where he played the villainous role.
Early Life and Education of Nandha Durairaj
Nandha Durairaj was born as Govind Durairaj, in the Coimbatore city of Tamil Nadu, to parents Durairaj and Rani. He is the grandson of former minister M. Kannappan, and has a younger brother Karthik. Nandha studied at the PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.
Career of Nandha Durairaj
Nandha Durairaj was spotted by film producer S. Thanu during his family function. In the year 1998, he joined the Film Institute in Chennai with S. Thanu"s help and obtained a diploma in acting after a one-year course. It was only at the "Mounam Pesiyadhe" film launch that Nandha was spotted by director Ameer, who was looking for a cheerful and well-built hero for his debut project, to play the co-role alongside Suriya. Nandha immediately fit the part and was therefore selected for the role. "Mounam Pesiyadhe" released in 2002, where he featured in a supporting role alongside Tamil star Suriya and debutante Trisha Krishnan. The film was a box office success. He was next seen in the 2003 Tamil romantic drama "Punnagai Poove", where he featured as the lead hero alongside Rekha Vedavyas and Kaveri. He subsequently appeared in the lead in the 2005 romantic drama film "Selvam", which received above average reviews. He again featured in the lead in the 2006 film "Kodambakkam", where his performance was praised along with the film. The same year, he was seen in John Mahendran-directed war film "Aanivaer".
In 2007, Nandha featured in the lead alongside debutante Archana, in the action film "Aragam", written and directed by T. Nagarajan. Though the film and Nandha"s performance were praised, it ended up a failure at the box office. The same year, he featured in the lead in the film "Urchagam". The actor subsequently made his breakthrough in S. Shankar"s production "Eeram", a Tamil romantic horror where he starred in the supporting role of the villain, alongside Aadhi and Sindhu Menon in the lead. The film was critically acclaimed and immensely successful at the box office. The actor"s portrayal of the character Balakrishnan in the film earned him a nomination in the Vijay Award for Best Villain. He next featured in the lead in another S. Shankar-produced project, a supernatural mystery titled "Anandhapurathu Veedu", which was again a commercial success. In 2011, Nandha appeared in the crime thriller "Vanthaan Vendraan", alongside Jiiva and Taapsee Pannu in the lead. It opened to mixed to negative reviews. His subsequent project was the action film "Vellore Maavattam", where he played the role of police officer Muthukumar. 
After a 3-year hiatus, Nandha featured in the Tamil thriller "Athithi", which released in June 2014, which received average to positive reviews. He featured as sub-inspector Nandha in "Katham Katham", which released in March 2015 to mixed reviews from critics. The same year, he appeared in the action film "Adhibar", in the supporting role of David. It had a negative critical reception. In 2016, Nandha was seen in the lead in the Tamil thriller "Puthiya Thiruppangal" that dealt with the subject of child trafficking. He is currently filming the Tamil project "Villangam". Nandha has also worked as a dubbing artist for Malayalam actor Prithviraj, in the Tamil version of 2013 Malayalam film "Celluloid", based on the life story of J. C. Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema.
Filmography of Nandha Durairaj
Nandha Durairaj has acted in 15 Tamil films thus far in his career, highlighted alongside his roles and the respective years of release.
| Year | Film | Role |
| 2002 | Mounam Pesiyadhe | Kannan |
| 2003 | Punnagai Poove | Venkat |
| 2005 | Selvam | Selvam/Kannan |
| 2006 | Kodambakkam | Sugavannan |
| Aanivaer | Dr. Nandha | |
| 2007 | Agaram | Thiru |
| Urchagam | Ganesh | |
| 2009 | Eeram | Balakrishnan |
| 2010 | Anandhapurathu Veedu | Bala |
| 2011 | Vanthaan Vendraan | Ramana |
| Vellore Maavattam | Muthukumar | |
| 2014 | Athithi | Madhiazhagan |
| 2015 | Katham Katham | Nandha |
| Adhibar | David | |
| 2016 | Puthiya Thiruppangal | Adithya |