Vignesh Shivan is an Indian film director, actor and lyric writer who works in Tamil cinema. He has been regularly associated in projects involving Silambarasan, Dhanush and Anirudh Ravichander, as well as helming independent music videos. Vignesh Shivan made a short film and after getting Dharan to compose music for it; showed the film to producers, Gemini Film Circuit, and then to his childhood friend, Silambarasan and both parties agreed to collaborate to make it a feature film titled Podaa Podi (2012). His second film, Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015), like his first film, went through several changes of cast and production studios, before finalising on Vijay Sethupathi and Nayantara as actors and Dhanush as producer. The film, for which he drew inspiration from the lives of his parents, opened to highly positive reviews in October 2015.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 18, 1984 (42)
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Writer, producer, director and actor
- 17 on MovieCove · 37 credits in all
What are Vignesh Shivan's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 0 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Allyas Vignesh Shivan in Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale (2024)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Vignesh Shivan's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 17 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- ZEE5
Subscription and free streaming for Vignesh Shivan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
37 credits, 17 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Hi(2026)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Madharaasi(2025)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Dragon(2025)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Nesippaya (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Inga Naan Thaan Kingu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Shubh Yatra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Connect (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Don(2022)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Etharkkum Thunindhavan(2022)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Valimai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Rocky(2021)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Netrikann (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Pebbles(2021)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Master(2021)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Paava Kadhaigal(2020)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
Mookuthi Amman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Dharala Prabhu(2020)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Dhanusu Raasi Neyargalae(2019)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Namma Veettu Pillai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Saaho(2019)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Sindhubaadh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
NGK(2019)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Irumbu Thirai(2018)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Vikram Vedha(2017)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Naanum Rowdydhaan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Velaiyilla Pattathari (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Podaa Podi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Sivi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Mookuthi Amman 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
NT81 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Oorkuruvi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Walking Talking Strawberry Icecream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 36 titles, 32 of them dated from 2007 to 2026.
Biggest box office
LIK: Love Insurance Kompany (2026)
Highest rated
Pebbles (2021)
Most popular right now
LIK: Love Insurance Kompany (2026)
Film career
- 2014Screen debut· Velaiyilla Pattathari
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Vignesh Shivan's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 16; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 14th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 17 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved4
- Loved with Detractors1
- Divisive2
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the dialogue 30/100 and the plot and story 37/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Vignesh Shivan work with?
People who share at least 2 of Vignesh Shivan's MovieCove titles; Nayanthara shares the most, 3.
- Anirudh RavichanderShared titles: LIK: Love Insurance Kompany (2026), Paava Kadhaigal (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Anirudh Ravichander
- NayantharaShared titles: LIK: Love Insurance Kompany (2026), Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale (2024), Pebbles (2021)See all 3 shared titles with Nayanthara
