Srikanth (actor, born 1979)

Personal life

Srikanth was born to a Telugu-father (from Chittoor) and Tamil-mother (from Kumbakonam) in Chennai. His family hailed from Tirupati and he was raised in Hyderabad. His father worked in State Bank of India. Srikanth had an elder brother who died due to dengue after he returned from United States. Srikanth uses the name Sriram in Telugu films to avoid confusion with his contemporary Srikanth.

He married Vandana secretly and lived together for three months. They both later went to court after allegations against Vandana. The court ruled in favor of Vandana. He remarried Vandana on 7 September 2008, who had completed her MBA in Australia. The couple has two children.

On 23 June 2025, Srikanth was arrested by Tamil Nadu Police for possession of cocaine.

Career

2002–2009: Debut and breakthrough

Looking to step into an acting career after beginning as a model, Srikanth was coached acting skills by then-assistant directors such as Vetrimaaran and Mysskin in the early 2000s. Srikanth was selected to play the lead role in Kathir's Kadhal Virus (2002) and spent a year preparing for the film, before being replaced by fellow newcomer Richard. He was then considered to make his acting debut through Jeeva's 12B, but the role went to another newcomer Shaam. Further potential projects directed by Bharathiraja and K. Balachander also did not work out, before he was cast by Sasi in Roja Kootam (2002), after the original lead actor had opted out. After the film's success, he became popularly known as Roja Kootam Srikanth for a while.

Srikanth then featured in another successful venture April Madhathil (2002) alongside Sneha followed by Manasellam (2003). He won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for his role in Parthiban Kanavu (2003) opposite Sneha, directed by Karu Pazhaniappan. Srikanth's straight Telugu film was Rasool Ellore's directorial debut Okariki Okaru under the stage name of Sriram to avoid confusion with established star Meka Srikanth. The film received positive reviews upon release with one critic noting that "He did a sensible portrayal of the role". His first release of 2004 was Varnajalam, followed by Bose, in which he was paired with Sneha for the third time after April Maadhathil and Parthiban Kanavu. Kana Kandaen (2005) directed by K. V. Anand, with the Malayalam actor Prithviraj in his first Tamil role. Srikanth and Prithviraj gave a good performance also. The film was followed by Oru Naal Oru Kanavu (2005) and Bambara Kannaley (2005). In 2006, he acted in the film Mercury Pookkal, and Uyir. Behindwoods wrote: "Sri has come up with an excellent performance of a man lost in this juggernaut of emotions." TSV Hari at Rediff.com responded negatively to Kizhakku Kadarkarai Salai, noting a thin script and "meaningless songs". This was the third film and last collaboration between the director S. S. Stanley and Srikanth after April Maadhathil and Mercury Pookkal. His next film was Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule, a Telugu film directed by Tamil director Selvaraghavan. Srikanth play the second lead role after Telugu actor Venkatesh. This was followed by Vallamai Tharayo (2008), Poo (2008) and Indira Vizha (2009).

2010–2017: Setbacks and success

In 2010, Srikanth released Rasikkum Seemane, Police Police and Drohi. Srikanth co-starring with the new Tamil actor Vishnu Vishal in this film. Mandhira Punnagai was last released as guest appearance. In 2011, he began in Malayalam film Uppukandam Brothers: Back in Action, a Telugu film, Dhada and Sadhurangam. The film was completed in 2006 but the film remained unreleased for five years. The project was released on 2011. These three movies were box office failures. In 2012, he was first seen in S. Shankar's comedy-drama Nanban (a remake of the Hindi-language film 3 Idiots), which featured him as part of an all-star cast including Vijay, Jiiva, Ileana D'Cruz and Sathyaraj. The movie is released to positive reviews. It was dubbed and released in Telugu as Snehitudu. He also started in Telugu film Nippu (2011), a Malayalam film Hero (2012) and comedy film Paagan (2012). Later, he acted in Buddy (2013) and Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam (2014) as guest appearance directed by R. Parthiepan. In 2015, he played in the supernatural drama film Om Shanthi Om. The following year, he acted in the horror film Sowkarpettai (2016) and comedy Nambiyaar (2016). He appeared in the Telugu action thriller Lie (2017).

2019–present

In 2019, his next film was Rocky: The Revenge, a Tamil action crime thriller centered on dogs. The film was a box office failure. He also appeared in the Telugu film Raagala 24 Gantallo (2019), where he played the cop.

Srikanth plays serial killer in the action thriller Mirugaa (2021), followed by three Telugu films Y (2021), Asalem Jarigindi (2021) and 10th Class Diaries (2022). Then he plays the role of a cop who investigates the case in the crime Maha. However, the film was a failure to critics. Later, he was cast in multi-stars in Coffee with Kadhal (2022), Bagheera (2023), Kannai Nambathey (2023) and Ravanasura (2023). After that, he returns as the main hero in Echo (2023), Amala (2023) and Pindam (2023). Srikanth, who plays the lead role in the film Operation Laila (2024), portrays two characters.{{Cite news |title=ஆபரேஷன் லைலா

Awards

• ITFA Best New Actor Award for Roja Kootam (2002)
• Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor for Parthiban Kanavu (2003)
• Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu (2018)

Filmography

• Note: He is credited as Sriram in Telugu.

Television

References

References

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8. (16 February 2022). link
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42. "Manasellam".
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48. "Kana Kandein rocks!".
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50. "Bambara Kannaley (2005)". Behindwoods.
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52. (7 July 2006). "Cleverness shows". [[The Hindu]].
53. "Kizhakku Kadakarkarai Salai: Pathetic".
54. "6 Scenes From Venkatesh-Trisha Starrer Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule To Make You Smile – Zee5 News".
55. "A ho-hum Vallamai Tharayo". Rediff.
56. "Poo is poetic". Rediff.
57. (17 July 2009). "Glam game gone awry – Indira Vizha". The Hindu.
58. (15 February 2010). "Review: Rasikkum Seemane lacks substance".
59. (14 January 2017). "Srikanth excited for Kutrapirivu". [[The Times of India]].
60. (18 September 2010). "Drohi doesn't betray". [[The Hindu]].
61. "Mandhira Punnagai".
62. "Uppukandam Brothers: Back in Action".
63. "Dhada Movie Review - Naga Chaitanya, Kajal, Srikanth, Samiksha, Brahmanandam, Ali, Rahul Dev, Aruna Shields others - 123telugu.com".
64. "SATHURANGAM MOVIE REVIEW". Behindwoods.
65. Rangarajan, Malathi. (14 January 2012). "Nanban: Celebrating friendship". The Hindu.
66. "Nippu Movie Review". The Times of India.
67. "Review: Nothing unusual about Hero".
68. Srinivasan, Pavithra. "Review: Paagan is a feel-good film".
69. "Srikanth, Bhumika team up again".
70. (15 August 2014). "Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam Movie Review".
71. (31 October 2015). "Om Shanthi Om: Easy to dislike, hard to dismiss". [[The Hindu]].
72. (5 March 2016). "Sowkarpettai: Unintentionally horrifying". [[The Hindu]].
73. "Nambiyaar Movie Review". The Times of India.
74. "LIE Movie Review {3/5}: The nail-biting experience that the second-half offers goes south towards the end".
75. (14 April 2019). "Rocky – the Revenge movie review: A Canine's Revenge".
76. "Review : Jai Sena – Good concept bad execution". 123telugu.
77. (6 March 2021). "Mirugaa Movie Review: An interesting idea that fails to become anything more".
78. Rajesh, Aryan. (22 October 2021). "Asalem Jarigindi Movie Review: అస‌లేం జ‌రిగింది? మేకింగ్‌లో కొత్తదనం! ఆ పాట మూవీకి హైలెట్ !".
79. "10th Class Diaries Movie Review: An honest effort which shines in parts". [[The Times of India]].
80. "Maha trailer: Hansika's 50th film promises a nail-biting thriller". [[The Times of India]].
81. (31 January 2022). "Sundar C's next with Jiiva, Jai and Srikanth goes on floors".
82. (3 March 2023). "Bagheera Movie Review : Prabhudeva's Bagheera is a tedious and problematic crime thriller". [[The Times of India]].
83. "Kannai Nambathey Movie Review: Kannai Nambathey falters despite a thrilling setup". [[The Times of India]].
84. (8 April 2023). "Ravanasura: An effective Ravi Teja shoulders a middling revenge thriller". [[The New Indian Express]].
85. (6 October 2020). "Srikanth-Vidya Pradeep's Echo goes on floors".
86. Ramachandran, Arjun. (16 June 2023). "Amala review: A good effort by debutant director Nishad Ebrahim in crafting a psychological thriller". The South First.
87. (18 November 2023). "Pindam gets release date". Cinema Express.
88. "Operation Laila (2024) - Movie, Reviews, Cast & Release Date".
89. (28 October 2023). "It's a wrap for 'Anandapuram Diaries', starring Meena". The Times of India.
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91. "Valari review: An uneven yet compelling reimagining of the horror genre". Cinema Express.
92. "Maya Puthagam Movie Review : A magic book of missed opportunities". The Times of India.
93. (15 February 2025). "திரை விமர்சனம்: தினசரி". Hindu Tamil Thisai.
94. "Mathru: A Gripping Scientific Thriller". Deccan Chronicle.
95. "Blackmail Movie Review: Convenient writing lets down this tepid thriller". Cinema Express.
96. "Srikanth, Srushti Dange-starrer 'The-Bed' to release in january next year". Ians Live.
97. "Erracheera thriller". Book my Show.