Shankar's best 5 films to watch on the occasion of filmmaker's 57th birthday

Shankar Shanmugam, known as S. Shankar or his mononym Shankar, is one of the most acclaimed directors in South India. The filmmaker was born on August 17, 1963, in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. He turns 57-year-old today and on this special occasion, here are a few of his best films to watch.

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Best films of Shankar to binge-watch

Gentleman

S. Shankar made his directorial debut in 1993 with Gentleman. The movie stars Arjun, Madhubala, and Subhashri in the lead, along with Manorama, M. N. Nambiar, Goundamani, Charan Raj, Senthil, Rajan P. Dev and Vineeth in supporting roles. The story centres around a respected businessman from Madras who becomes modern-day robin hood, due to a past tragedy, as he steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. Story and screenplay were also by Shankar with dialogues written by Balakumaran. Shankar won Best Director Award at Filmfare Awards South and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

Indian

Released in 1996, Indian stars Kamal Haasan in dual roles opposite Manisha Koirala, Urmila Matondkar, and Sukanya, with Nedumudi Venu in a pivotal role. The movie shows a veteran freedom fighter who is enraged with the increasing crime and corruption in society. He takes it upon himself and murders all the wrongdoers one by one using Varma Kalai, an ancient martial arts technique. The film was a critical and commercial success, with being considered as India’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1996. Kamal Haasan received immense appreciation for his performance.

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Nayak: The Real Hero

Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Amrish Puri, Paresh Raval, and Johnny Lever star in Nayak: The Real Hero. Directed by S. Shankar, it is a political action thriller film. A news reporter accepts a challenge by the chief minister of Maharashtra to run the state for one day. During his 24 hours’ period, he makes such a success that people demand him to take on the seat and join politics, which changes his life forever. The movie was applauded by the critics and garnered cult status in the industry. Nayak cast also includes Saurabh Shukla, Neena Kulkarni, Shivaji Satam, Kitty, Surya, Pooja Batra and others.

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Anniyan

After being frustrated for not taking actions on personal and public problems, Ramanujam develops other personalities of himself and hence, suffers from multiple personality disorders. His vigilante avatar uses tips from the Garuda Purana as his tools to punish people who do not fulfil their duties. Anniyan stars Vikram in a triple role, opposite Sadha, along with Nedumudi Venu, Vivek, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Cochin Haneefa, Saurabh Shukla, and others. The film was released in Hindi as Aparichit in 2006, a year later from its initial Tamil release.

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Enthiran

Enthiran, also titled Robot, is written and directed by S. Shankar. It stars superstar Rajinikanth as scientist Vaseegaran and Chitti robot. The cast also includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam, Karunas and others. The movie shows a scientist who creates a humanoid robot to protect mankind and serve his country. But things take a nasty turn when human emotions are programmed and inner turmoil causes the robot to switch sides, from good to evil. Robot received immense appreciation from the audiences and was a blockbuster at the box office.