Showing all artists born in 1966

Ameer Sultan is an Indian film director, producer and actor, working in the Tamil film industry. He has directed four films and was critically acclaimed for three of them, the romantic comedy Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002), the mystery thriller Raam (2005) and the drama Paruthiveeran (2007). He made his acting debut in Yogi (2009).

Ameer Sultan was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu India. He initially studied economics and worked as an entrepreneur before starting to work as an assistant director to Tamil filmmaker Bala on his award winning film Sethu in 1999.

Shortly after, he directed his first film, the romantic comedy Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002). The film starred Suriya in the lead and became Trisha Krishnan's first release featuring her in a leading role. The same year, he began his own production company, Teamwork Production House. 

His second directorial was the mystery thriller Raam, which he produced himself and released three years later. The film, which revolves around an autistic teenager, portrayed by Jiiva, who is highly attached to his mother, but becomes suspected of having murdered her, received critical acclaim, with Jeeva and the film's composer Yuvan Shankar Raja winning awards at the 2005 Cyprus International Film Festival.  It also became Jeeva's breakthrough in the film industry, who till then had appeared in two unsuccessful home productions only.

In 2007, he directed the drama Paruthiveeran set in a village in Tamil Nadu, which marked the debut of Karthi, younger son of Sivakumar and brother of Suriya. Critics heaped high praise on the film and Ameer's direction, while Karthi as well as Priyamani, who performed the female lead, won several notable prizes for their performances. 

Paruthiveeran remains Ameer's most acclaimed work, having received six Filmfare Awards South including the Best Film and Best Director trophies, two National Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and four Vijay Awards. The film further fetched accolades at international platform, winning the Best Film Award at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema and Netpac Special Mention award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

He is currently working on his fourth directorial, Aadhi Bhagavan, featuring Jayam Ravi and Neetu Chandra in the lead roles. Ameer's next film is Jihad which is his own production.That is a love story.

On 24 October 2008, Ameer was arrested.  Being a Tamil activist, he took part in a film rally condemning state atrocities against Tamils in Sri Lanka, organized by director Bharathiraja, also a Tamil activist, and other prominent Tamil directors, actors, and producers. 

The rally was part of statewide protests across Tamil Nadu in 2008 condemning Sri Lanka. During the rally, Ameer and fellow director Seeman made speeches criticizing the Indian government and expressing support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a Tamil separatist group on the island.  The two were later released on bail with the help of their assistant directors, Bharathiraja, and actor R. Sarath Kumar. Ameer sultan has expressed strong support to Eelam Tamils right to self-determination and the independence of Tamil Eelam.

Zareena (also known by her screen name, Nadhiya or Nadia Moidu Malayalam) is a Malayalam and Tamil film actress who made her debut in a Malayalam movie named Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu, alongside Mohanlal and Padmini. This movie was re-made in Tamil as Poove Poochudava during the 1980s with Padmini and marked her debut in Tamil.

She currently acts in leading character roles. She has acted alongside most of the leading artists in the Tamil and Malayalam film industries.

After her marriage, she settled abroad with her husband and two children. She currently resides in Mumbai with her family. She made a comeback with blockbuster hit M. Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi. The film received critical acclaim for her performance as Jeyam Ravi's mother.

In 2008, she signed on as the brand ambassador for Arokya Milk and Thangamayil Jewellery. 

She recently appeared in a Tamil movie named Pattalam, which released on March 27, 2009. Nadhia hosts a popular television show called Jackpot, replacing actress Khusboo on Jaya TV.

K. V. Anand is an Indian cinematographer, film director and former photo journalist. K. V. Anand was born in Chennai, India graduated with Bachelor's degree in Physics from D. G. Vaishnav, Chennai followed by Master's degree in Visual Communications from Loyola College, Chennai. Anand, during his college days participated in annual trekking expeditions in the Himalayas. His exploratory trips to various remote locations in India triggered his passion in photography. Anand participated in inter-collegiate, state and national level photography contests. His visual images earned him numerous photography awards. 
After working for a short period as a journalist, he became a cinematographer in the early 1990s, working for about fifteen films in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. In 2005, Anand turned film director with the critically acclaimed Kana Kandaen (2005) and rose to fame with his second film, Ayan (2009). Anand won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his debut film as a cinematographer, Thenmavin Kombath, in 1995.He was named the Best Director in Edison Awards 2010.
2011, his third directorial Ko, starring Jiiva, Ajmal Ameer and Karthika Nair released to very positive response from media and public. One of the critics neatly summarized it by saying "For an audience numbed by predictable Kollywood potboilers week after week, here is an original offering from KV Anand, a fearless filmmaker who doesn't insult your intelligence. He is able to cater to the needs of both the elite as well as mass audiences, which should be applauded." Anand is currently shooting his fourth directorial, Maatraan collaborating with Suriya again.

Kay Kay Menon is an Indian film actor who works in Hindi cinema.


Menon was raised in Ambarnath and Pune, Maharashtra. His early life was in "H" type Rangehills, Khadki which were factory quarters for those working in the ammunition and high explosives factories. His father was popularly known as "Cashier Menon". His parents moved from Kerala to Mumbai when he was very young.


KICHU, as Menon was known among friends, studied at the St. Josephs Boys' High School in Khadki. He passed his 10th grade in 1981. He did his Bachelors from Mumbai University and his MBA from the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Pune, graduating in 1988 with a major in marketing. He was popular in his class as a singer of ghazals.


Menon's initial focus was working in the advertising industry. He was involved in the first Kinetic Honda and Marlboro cigarette advertisements in India. He started his career in theatre productions where he met his wife, Nivedita Bhattacharya. He gradually moved to television acting and finally film acting. He made his film debut with Naseem (1995), followed by Bhopal Express.


During his struggling days, he was a regular feature at the Lunar Cafe, a small restaurant near the Santa-Cruz (East) bus stand.


In the early years of his career, Menon worked in TV shows such as Pradhan Mantri and TV movies like Zebra 2 and Last Train To Mahakali. Menon was first noticed in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, where he was greatly appreciated with fellow newcomer Shiney Ahuja, and received much acclaim for his performance. His performance as the anguished DCP Rakesh Maria in the movie Black Friday has been widely appreciated and acclaimed. The movie, based on the book by journalist S. Hussain Zaidi on the 1993 Bombay bombings, awaited an Indian release for almost two years before its final release on 9 February 2007. It was featured at the Locarno International Film Festival and received widespread praise. The Sunday edition of the Indian Express described his performance, "Excellent as always".In 2007, he acted in the commercially and critically successful Life in a... Metro, as the adulterous husband of Shilpa Shetty's character. In 2008, he was highly appreciated for his performance in the film Shaurya. He played the role of the antagonist in the critical and commercial failure, Drona, starring alongside Abhishek Bachchan. In 2009, he starred in The Stoneman Murders where he played a police officer on the hunt for the Stoneman serial killer. Kay Kay will now be seen in Dream Man, a new film by Makrand Deshpande. The film is a spoof on Bollywood. The versatile actor will be seen in 13 roles against Bollywood actors Afzaal Khan, Vasudha of (Aasma band) and Amit Mistry.


He has been considered on par with actors like Irfaan Khan, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur and Nasserudin Shah.

Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, working in Tamil cinema. Bala was born on 11 July 1966 in Periyakulam, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India. He studied Tamil Literature at The American College in Madurai. He admitted, that, as a youngster, he was not interested in studies and had dropped in his college days and was considered by many as he won't come up in life. At certain point he determined to prove himself to the society. After a struggling period he came to Chennai and entered the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to National Film Award–winning director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra, where a close friendship between the two grew. Bala is frequently credited with having "revolutionized Tamil cinema", through his realistic, dark and disturbing films that have garnered high critical acclaim. He has received several awards and recognition for his work, including the National Film Award for Best Director for his fourth feature film Naan Kadavul (2009).
Bala is known for his later success. He made his directorial debut with Sethu in 1999, that gave a break to Vikram, the film's lead actor, who was also struggling in the Tamil film industry for almost a decade without a hit and recognition. More than 60 distributors saw the film and hesistated to screen it because of its tragic ending. But after multiple preview shows, the film was released on a low profile without any advertisement. But after the first days the film started running to packed houses just through 'word of mouth'. The film was said to have initiated a 'new wave' as it received raving reviews and became a huge hit. Its stupendous success led to remakes in Kannada (Huchcha), Telugu (Seshu) and Hindi (Tere Naam) languages.Bala's next film was Nandha which gave a career boost to Suriya. His third film Pithamagan broke all the sentiments which were prevailing in Tamil cinema. In 2009 he released Naan Kadavul in Tamil featuring Arya and Pooja Umashankar for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Direction. In 2011, his fifth directorial Avan Ivan, considered his first comedy film, released, starring Vishal Krishna and Arya. While the film opened to mixed reviews by critics, the lead actors gained critical acclaim for their performances, particularly Vishal.Currenly he is doing Paradesi Tamil Film with Adharvaa.

Revathy (born as Asha Kelunni Kutty) is an Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry and over a hundred films to her credit. She has won several accolades, including three National Film Awards, in three different categories, and six Filmfare Awards South.

Vijayashanti is an Indian film actress, producer and a politician. In a film career spanning thirty years, she has acted in over 186 feature films in a variety of roles in various Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. She was tagged "The Lady Superstar" and "Lady Amitabh" of South Indian cinema. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her work as a "super cop" in Karthavyam (1991), and received seven Filmfare Awards South for best acting, including the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (South) in the year 2003, and four state Nandi Awards for her performance.

Vijayashanti was born in Madras, Madras State on 24 June 1965 to Varalaxmi and Srinivas Prasad, who migrated to Madras from Ramannagudem in Warangal district, Telangana. She has said that she prefers to think of herself as being from Telangana rather than Madras, although as of 2004 she had never visited her parents' village.She completed her 10th class at Holy Angels High School, Madras, before starting her film career.

Vijayashanti began her acting career at the age of 13, playing the leading lady in the Tamil film Kallukkul Eeram ("The moisture inside stone / rock"), directed by Bharathiraja. In the same year, she debuted in Telugu cinema with the movie Kilaadi Krishnudu, opposite Krishna. She was given screen name "Vijaya Shanthi", which was based on that of her aunt and veteran actress Vijaya Lalitha. Vijayashantis first break as a performer came in the 1983 Telugu film Neti Bharatham directed by T. Krishna.

n 1985 Vijayashanti received her first state Nandi Award for her role in Pratighatana, in which she played a University lecturer named Jhansi. At the same time she was cast in Agni Parvatam alongside super star Krishna, where she perfectly balanced her performance and Glam doll roles. In the early career itself she excelled in performance-oriented roles in films like Desamlo Dongalu Paddaru, Vandemaataram, Aruna kiranam, Repati Pourulu, Devaalayam, etc. Repati Pourulu received a Silver Nandi Award for the year 1986. This film was released after death of the movie director T. Krishna. Bharathanari in 1989 bought her second Nandi Award.

Her glamour roles, under the direction of K. Raghavendra Rao and A. Kodandarami Reddy, in films like Challenge, Kondaveeti Raja, Pasivadi Pranam, Rudranetra, Muddula Krishnaiah, Agni Parvatam, Swayamkrushi, Yamudiki Mogudu, Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu, Muddula Mavayya, Kondaveeti Donga, and Gang Leader establishing herself as one of the top actress of Telugu cinema, and being cited in the media as one of the nation's most popular and attractive personalities of the 1980s.Padamati Sandhya Ragam a Jandhyala directorial film is another penny in her kitty where she looks and performs as a traditional Telugu girl who falls love with an American guy(Thomas Jane).
Two of her very close friends are Suhasini Maniratnam who has been instrumental in improving her hair dressing skills and her competitor Radha, with whom she shares special friendships. In fact, in one of the interviews to a Telugu magazine, Vijayashnathi has mentioned that she considers Suhasini as her elder sister who has been protective of her in her difficult times.

In 1992 Mondi Mogudu Penki Pellam was a huge success. In that she played a bold lady speaking Telangana slang and delivered the career-defining song "Laloo Darwaja Laskar". In the 1990s, she was the only actress demanding highest remuneration in India equal to her co-superstars.Most of her films with Telugu superstars Chiranjeevi (19 films) and Balakrishna (17 films) were huge hits and her on-screen chemistry with both actors worked very well at the box office.

In 1993 she acted in a dual role Police Lockup directed by Kodi Ramakrishna was a superhit. After she started concentrating on action roles, something special is her naivity showing. She was paired opposite Superstar Krishna and Shobhan Babu. She also acted opposite Daggubati Venkatesh in Shatruvu, Surya IPS and Chinarayudu and with Nagarjuna in Vijay, Janaki Ramudu and Jaitra Yatra. She also acted alongside Tamil superstars Rajinikanth, as the antagonist in the film Mannan, and with Kamal Hassan as an investigative reporter in Indrudu Chandrudu. She acted in two movies with Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi, being Yuvathurki and Kallu Kondoru Penn. She was also starred opposite Big B Amitabh Bachchan in Zamaanat was shelved for different reason.

In the blockbuster movie Karthavyam (1990), her electrifying performance as a tough cop (modeled after real-life supercop Kiran Bedi) won her the National Film Award for Best Actress from the Government of India and an Andhra Pradesh State award for best actress. The film, made with a budget of about 90 lakhs and grossed over 7 crores in southern territories alone. The success of this movie saw her moving away from glamorous roles and limiting herself to heroine-oriented films did not stop her from continuing as Number One. These tough lady roles made her a Superstar and became the highest paid actress in India.She was the path breaking actress for those female power packed action roles.Actresses like Anushka Shetty, Nayanthara and Trisha are often tagged and compared with Vijayashanthi for taking the same lady oriented action roles.She was widely applaused from Bollywood and to mention Big B Amitabh Bachchan appreciated her daring and dashing acts all without any duplicate.

A. M. Rathnam, who was Shanti's personal make-up artist, turned out to be money-making producer. Vijayashanti financially supported him and made the award-winning Karthavyam and Aasayam. In 1990, Karthavyam was dubbed into Tamil as Vyjayanthi IPS and its success brought her superstardom in Tamil cinema as well. (It was also remade in Hindi as Tejaswini, with herself playing the lead role directed by N. Chandra. This, too, did very well at the Hindi box-office). The film influence the then 10-year old C. Indhumathi who is now an IAS Officer was till then brought up on Tamil films with men playing super heroes was thoroughly impressed by Vijayashanthi's portrayal of the woman cop who fought against all odds. The woman cop grew to be her inspiration in the years to come. Vyjayanthi IPS ran for 50 days in Vetri theater in Chennai and this record is broken by a Tamil dubbed version of Baahubali in August 2015.

In 1997 she did Osey Ramulamma, directed by Dasari Narayana Rao and this was the biggest blockbuster of the year, winning her fourth Nandi Award. From this film onward she is mostly called as "Ramulamma" by the people. Later she appeared in strong roles in movies like Adavi Chukka and Rowdy Darbar, directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. She also worked in a Bollywood movie Gundagardi (1997) in an action role opposite Dharmendra. Vijayashanthi has also worked for many commercials like Chandana Bros., and Power Detergent soap. She was the only actress to be first featured in a saree commercial. Later many actress followed her and are featured in many saree and dress commercials.

In 1998 Vijayashanti joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was soon made the secretary of BJP's Women's Wing (Bharateeya Mahila Morcha).During the 1999 general election she was named BJP's contestant from the Cuddapah Lok Sabha seat against Sonia Gandhi of Congress(I) (however, she withdrew from the race after Sonia Gandhi decided to contest from Bellary). She started her own political party, Talli Telangana, in January 2009 which she merged into Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to strengthen the victory of Telangana state. From 1999 her movie appearances decreased as she focused on her political career. By 2004 she had stopped signing up for new films. In the 2009 general election, she won as a Member of Parliament from Medak constituency. In June 2009, she resigned from the post of secretary general of TRS, expressing solidarity with the resignation of Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao. In 2011, she submitted her resignation as an MP. The resignation was later rejected by the speaker of the house, as they were not in the proper format. Later she was actively participating in politics for separate Telangana state (region), which she played a key role in the process.

Vijayashanti joined Indian National Congress party in February 2014 after split with TRS chief KCR and contesting the Lok Sabha elections 2014 on a Congress ticket.She lost in those elections and then taking a small break from politics. She said she would also re-enter to the cinema in 2017 once she found a suitable script.

She is married to a real-estate businessman and a Film producer M. V. Srinivas Prasad.He produced a movie Nippu Ravva under the banner Yuvarathna arts.

Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian film actor and director who works in the Tamil film industry. He directed the film Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan starring Vadivelu; his performance in Mynaa won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ramaiah has also worked occasionally as a lyricist.

Career

Thambi Ramaiah was born in Rarapuram village in Pudukkottai, and initially entered the film industry hoping to become a screenwriter. His father was a poet and a fiction writer and his mother was a housewife, while Ramaiah was their eldest child. He earned pocket money during his school days by writing love letters for his classmates.  He also had an interest in lyric writing, often writing lyrics for parody versions of popular songs, while becoming trained in various instruments including the harmonium and guitar. At the age of 20, he moved to Chennai and tried to make a breakthrough into the film industry, but was hindered by his lack of contacts and instead worked for a private company for nine years.  He got a break in 1994 and took up a job as a dialogue writer for a serial on Sun TV, doubling up as an assistant director, script writer and lyricist. He then earned opportunities to work as an assistant director in films directed by T. Rajender and P. Vasu, and he considers the latter his teacher of screenplay-writing.  He made a cameo acting appearance in Vasu's film Malabar Police (1999) in a scene featuring Goundamani. The following year, he made his directorial début with Manu Needhi (2000), which starred Murali and Napolean in the lead roles. He carried on playing supporting roles in films as well as writing comedy tracks, also directing the Vadivelu-starrer Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan (2008).

He made a breakthrough as an actor portraying a friendly cop in Prabhu Solomon's romantic film Mynaa (2010) and won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He subsequently won positive reviews for his performances in films including Saattai, Kumki (2012) and Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam (2014). At the peak of his career in 2013-2014, he worked for up to four films a day, while being on locations for close to 25 days a month. He also served as his own manager and often was in charge of his own make-up and costumes in films.

In 2014, he announced plans to introduce his son, Umapathi, as an actor. His son later made his debut in Adhagappattathu Magajanangalay (2016).

Vikram (born as Vikram Kennedy on 17 April 1966) is an Indian film actor who predominantly appears in Tamil language films. During his years in the Indian film industry, he has won six Filmfare Awards South as well as one National Film Award and Tamil Nadu State Film Award amongst other recognitions and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by People's University of Milan in May 2011. Vikram is known for his intense performances, with his work often fetching critical acclaim and commercial success. He established himself as one of the leading contemporary actors in the Tamil film industry.

He made his debut in the 1990 film En Kadhal Kanmani, which was followed by a series of small-budget Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films in the 1990s, many of which went unnoticed. However the success of Bala's tragedy film Sethu (1999), in which Vikram appeared as a rogue turned lover, started Vikram's successful career as an actor. In the early 2000s, Vikram appeared in a series of masala films, with Dhill (2001), Gemini (2002), Dhool (2003) and Saamy (2003) becoming commercially successful ventures. During the period, Vikram also appeared in diverse roles and received critical acclaim for his performance as a blind villager in Kasi and a Robin Hood-esque figure in Samurai. In 2003, Vikram's performance as a gravedigger with autism spectrum disorders in Bala's Pithamagan saw him win the National Film Award for Best Actor, with his character only speaking a couple of lines of dialogue in the entire film.  His appearance as an innocent Brahmin with multiple personality disorder in Shankar's blockbuster Anniyan (2005) also won critical acclaim, as did his appearance as a superhero in Kanthaswamy (2009). Vikram's portrayal of Veeraiya, a tribal leader inspired by the Ramayana character Ravana, in Mani Ratnam's Raavanan saw him secure further accolades; while his appearance as a mentally challenged adult with the maturity of a six-year-old boy in Deiva Thirumagal (2011), saw the film earn critical acclaim and commercial success.

Vikram has promoted various social causes and appeared as the Youth Envoy for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2011. He has been a brand ambassador of Sanjeevani Trust and a school for special children, Vidya Sudha, which he stayed at during the making of Deiva Thirumagal as well as having long-term associations with the Kasi Eye Care and running his own welfare association through the Vikram Foundation.

Vikram Vinod Raj was born to a Christian father Vinod Raj and Hindu mother Rajeshwari in Madras, Tamil Nadu on 17 April 1966. He was christened Kennedy as a child. His father, Vinod Raj was a native of Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram and ran away from home to start a career in films. His father however did not fare successfully, and only managed to act in supporting roles in Tamil films and television serials and this inspired Vikram to take part in theatre lessons and become professionally trained in classical and cinema dance forms to ensure he became a leading actor. Rajeswari, Vikram's mother, was a sub-collector and her brother, Thyagarajan is an established director-actor in the Tamil film industry; with his son, actor Prashanth, being Vikram's first cousin. Vikram has an elder sister, Anita, who is a teacher and an elder brother, Arvind, who was previously set to make his film debut in the 2008 film Saroja but eventually did not feature.

Vikram was educated at Montfort School, Yercaud, a boarding school in a hill station near Salem and graduated in 1983. He has mentioned since that he used his opportunities at school well and learned karate and swimming out of lessons. Despite expressing his interest to join films after school, his father forced him to go through college with Vikram subsequently graduating in English from Loyola College, Chennai and working half way through an MBA programme. Vikram was knocked down by a truck during a major motorbike accident while in college and suffered a serious leg injury. He remained hospital-ridden bed for three years during college and subsequently went through twenty three surgeries to stop his leg being amputated.

Vikram met his wife, Shailaja Balakrishnan, for the first time when he was in crutches, following three years of being hospital-ridden after his broken leg in the late 1980s. Vikram got married to Shailaja in Guruvayoor in an event which saw dozens of other couples get married at the same time at the same place. She originates from Thalassery, Kerala and now works as a psychology teacher at a leading Chennai school. Shailaja also worked in the team of Deiva Thirumagal by giving professional advice on how people with special needs are treated and helping develop the characteristics of the character played by Vikram. Vikram's daughter, Akshita, is nineteen and his son Dhruv is fourteen, with Vikram suggesting that his son is a keen actor. He lives in a house near the beach in Besant Nagar, Chennai and has stated that he would remain based in Chennai regardless of any offers in other regional films.

Vikraman made his debut with the movie Pudhu Vasantham, a story of four unemployed friends who are musical experts. This movie released in 1989 was successful. Its hero Murali went on to become a famous romantic actor who donned the mike-wielding singer role in subsequent movies. The trio of Vikraman-S.A.Rajkumar-R.B.Choudari came commercially successful. But a flop in Pudhiya Mannargal forced him to go back. He worked as an assistant to actor cum director R. Parthiban in Pudhea Paadhai, which was the latter's debut film as a director and an actor. Director K. S. Ravikumar assisted him in making films in his early days.