Shiva is an Indian actor working in Tamil films. A former radio jockey at Radio Mirchi, Shiva has mainly appeared in comedy films and his performances in films "Chennai 600028" and "Saroja", both directed by Venkat Prabhu, shot him to fame before he received rave reviews for his performance in the full length parody of contemporary Tamil cinema, "Thamizh Padam".
Early life of Shiva
Born on December 10, 1982 in Udumalai town in the Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu, Shiva began his career as a radio jockey with Radio Mirchi, since when he is referred to with the nickname Mirchi Shiva.
Career of Shiva
Shiva began his film career with a cameo role in the film "12B" in the year 2001. But his debut as a lead actor was in the film "Chennai 600028" a sports comedy directed by Venkat Prabhu that released in 2007. He featured in the film alongside ten other debutant actors. Shiva"s performance of the role of Karthik in the film was well received. The film was a box office success and became a trendsetter for its light-hearted approach. His next role was again under Venkat Prabhu"s direction, in the thriller "Saroja", which also received appraisal at the box office, as did his performance.
Shiva then starred in "Thamizh Padam", a full length parody of contemporary Tamil cinema, in which his performance garnered him rave reviews. His next project was a comedy, "Va Quarter Cutting" that released in 2010 and became an average grosser. His first 2011 release was the long delayed romantic drama "Pathinaaru", in which he had his first non-comedy role. During the period, he had also completed making another comedy film titled "Siva Poojaiyil Karadi" by Rama Narayanan, but the film was never released.
In 2012, Shiva featured alongside Vimal in Sundar C.`s comedy film "Kalakalappu", which won positive reviews and performed well commercially. Portraying the role of a small time crook Raghu, critics noted that Shiva was the film`s "scene-stealer" and "carries the first half with his quips". The success of this film fetched Shiva more scripts and the actor went on to feature in 4 comedy films in 2013. His first release "Thillu Mullu", a remake of the 1981 Rajinikanth starrer of the same name, featured him alongside Isha Talwar and Prakash Raj. The film fared well commercially and Shiva"s portrayal of a conman was well received by critics. His second release of the year, "Sonna Puriyathu", where he played a dubbing artist, his portrayal winning good reviews. Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu praised the actor`s performance commenting "Nobody makes silly jokes work with a straight face like Shiva does", also adding that he is the "funny man pretending to be important." His next release "Ya Ya" had him featuring alongside Santhanam. 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, but was a commercial success.
In 2015, Shiva starred in "Masala Padam" alongside Bobby Simha, which won positive reviews and also performed well at the box office. He acted in that film because of his friendship with the debutant director Luxman. He next appeared in comedy film "144", alongside Ashok Selvan, Oviya and Shruthi Ramakrishnan. He next appeared in the comedy film "Adra Machan Visilu", alongside Naina Sarwar. His subsequent projects include "Chennai 600028 II: Second Innings", the sequel to 2007 blockbuster "Chennai 600028" and "Bin Laden", both slated for 2016 release.
In addition to acting in films and portraying comic roles, Shiva has also composed lyrics for the songs "Saudi Baasha" from the film Tamil film "Va" and "Rosa Hai" from the film "Sonna Puriyathu" to which he also lent his playback voice. He also wrote dialogues for the Tamil film "Aadama Jaichomada".
Filmography of Shiva
The Tamil films in which Shiva has acted thus far in his career, along with their respective years of release are highlighted hereunder.
| Year | Film |
| 2001 | 12B |
| 2003 | Whistle |
| 2007 | Chennai 600028 |
| 2008 | Saroja |
| 2010 | Thamizh Padam |
| Va Quarter Cutting | |
| 2011 | Pathinaaru |
| Ko | |
| 2012 | Kalakalappu |
| 2013 | Thillu Mullu 2 |
| Sonna Puriyathu | |
| Ya Ya | |
| Vanakkam Chennai | |
| 2015 | Masala Padam |
Personal Life of Shiva