Siva

Sivakumar Jayakumar (born 12 August 1977), known professionally by his mononym Siva or Siruthai Siva, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and lyricist who works in Tamil and Telugu films.

Siva began his film career as a cinematographer, working in several Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam films. He later transitioned to directing and screenwriting in Telugu cinema, making his directorial debut with Souryam (2008), a commercial success. He followed it with Sankham (2009), and Daruvu (2012).

Siva then moved to Tamil cinema, where he made his directorial debut with Siruthai (2011). He achieved significant success with high-profile films such as Veeram (2014), Vedalam (2015), and Viswasam (2019).

Early life and family Siva was born to documentary film director M. Jayakumar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is the grandson of producer and writer A. K. Velan. His brother Bala is an actor in Tamil and Malayalam films.

Career Although he always wanted to become a filmmaker, he pursued photography. In 1998, Siva became a gold medalist from M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute Ajith Kumar requested Siva to make it as a rural story and production began in 2013. He directed Veeram (2014) with Ajith Kumar Playing the lead role, which became a blockbuster hit. His third film in Tamil titled Vedhalam (2015) starring Ajith alongside an ensemble cast including Shruti Hassan and Rahul Dev movie was a mass entertainer. His fourth film in Tamil titled Vivegam (2017) was again with Ajith Kumar. It released in August 2017 to mixed responses. His next movie with Ajith Kumar, Viswasam (2019), which was produced by Sathya Jyothi Films, became a huge hit despite releasing along with Petta. His next film Annaatthe starring Rajinikanth released on 4 November 2021 coinciding with Diwali.

Filmography As cinematographer Note: he was credited as J. Sivakumar.

As director and screenwriter Year Film Language 2008SouryamTelugu 2009 Sankham 2011 Siruthai Tamil 2012 Daruvu Telugu 2014 VeeramTamil 2015 Vedalam 2017 Vivegam 2019 Viswasam 2021 Annaatthe 2024 Kanguva

As lyricist Year Film Songs 2015 Vedalam "Theri Theme" 2017 Vivegam "Surviva", "Thalai Viduthalai", "Veriyera" 2019 Viswasam"Rise Up Theme"

As actor Manadhai Thirudivittai (2001)

Frequent collaborators Collaborator Ajith Kumar Yogi Babu Avinash Yelandur Thambi Ramaiah Kovai Sarala Kalairani R. N. R. Manohar Mayilsamy Amit Tiwari Aniket Chouhan Billy Murali Sreeja Ravi Rajitha Dharmavarapu Subramanyam Raghu Babu Banerjee Fish Venkat Vetri Ruben Aadhi Narayana