Siva (director)

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[1] He went on to work with cinematographer Jayanan Vincent. Siva then came to Hyderabad to work for Venkatesh' film Jayam Manade Raa (2000) as an operative cameraman.[1] In 2002, he became an independent cinematographer, shortly after his brother Bala, made his acting debut. He has shot for about 15 films since then.

In 2008, he narrated a script to actor Gopichand who agree to play the lead role.[1] Souryam, co-starring Gopichand along with Anushka Shetty was Siva's directorial debut. The following year, Siva made his second film, again with Gopichand in the lead. In 2011, Siva made his debut as a director in Tamil cinema with Siruthai, a remake of S. S. Rajamouli's Telugu action masala Vikramarkudu. The film, featuring Karthi in the starring role, went on to become a high commercial success, which led to him being referred to as "Siruthai" Siva in Tamil cinema from then on.[2] His fourth directorial, Daruvu, released in May 2012.

In December 2011, Siva was signed by Vijaya Productions to direct a film for their centenary year with Ajith Kumar signed on to play the leading role.[3] Ajith Kumar requested Siva to rework the script to make it as a rural story and production began after a brief delay in 2013.[4] he has given film with ajith titled as Veeram (2014) which was the biggest commercial hit on his directorial ventures and told the story of a village do-gooder and his brothers. The film opened in January 2014 to positive reviews and commercial success. His third film in Tamil titled Vedhalam (2015) becomes Blockbuster movie starring Ajith alongside an ensemble cast including Shruti Hassan and Rahul Dev. His Fourth film in Tamil titled Vivegam (2017) was a Blockbuster movie in which Ajith and Siva worked together. It released in August 2017 and got mixed criticized by reviewers.[5] His next movie with Ajith Kumar, Viswasam (2019), which was produced by Sathya Jyothi Films, was released to positive reviews from the audience and was declared a blockbuster at the box office after 5 days. The movie was praised for its portrayal of bond between a father and his daughter.[6]

Siva was born to documentary photographer Jayakumar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.[1][2] He is the grandson of producer and writer A. K. Velan.[7] His brother Bala is an actor in Tamil films. N Panchapakesan, the founder of Chennai Sai Sankara Matrimonials, and carnatic musician Vishaka Hari are relatives of Siva.

As cinematographer

As director and screenwriter

• Siva on IMDb
• Siva (as J. Siva Kumar) on IMDb