M. Sasikumar

Sasikumar, or Sasi as he’s called by his fans and friends, has had one wild ride in Tamil cinema. The guy’s basically a one-man army—actor, director, producer, and he’s even sung a bit. Born and raised in Kodaikanal, he did the whole boarding school thing at St. Peter’s, then knocked out a business degree in Madurai. But let’s be real, business wasn’t his calling. Movies? Oh yeah. He kicked things off as an assistant director for Sethu in ’99, which, trust me, is a pretty gritty way to start. But then boom—Subramaniapuram happened in 2008. This wasn’t just any film; Sasi wrote it, directed it, produced it, AND starred in it. On a shoestring budget, no less. People went nuts for it. Suddenly, everyone knew his name. From there, he just kept rolling. Poraali in 2011? He was the lead and producer—another hit, and even got a remake in Kannada. Masters (2012) saw him jumping into Malayalam cinema. Then you’ve got Sundarapandian and Kutti Puli, both with Lakshmi Menon, both solid hits. Dude’s not afraid to shake things up either—he spent a month training with folk artists for Tharai Thappattai (2016), a project that took over two years to finish. Critics ate it up. He’s had a string of releases since—Vetrivel, Kidaari, Balle Vellaiyathevaa, Petta, Udanpirappe, Raja Vamsam. Plus, he’s produced bangers like Pasanga and Kodiveeran. Awards? Oh, he’s got those. Filmfare, National Awards, the works. Sasi’s basically the guy who just doesn’t quit.