Balaji Sakthivel

Balaji Sakthivel is an Indian actor and director of Tamil films.^[3] He is best known for directing the 2004 film Kaadhal.^[4]

Balaji Sakthivel nn
Balaji Sakthivel at Vaanam Kottatum Audio Launch
Born	Balaji Muralidharan (1964-01-01) 1 January 1964 (age 61)[1] Batlagundu, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India
Other names	Balaji Muralidharan
Occupation(s)	Writer and director,[2]
Years active	2002–present
Spouse	L.R.S. Kalanithi Balaji
Children	2 Vidhyadharan Balaji, Koushi Mahalakshmi

Career

Balaji Sakthivel began his off-screen career as an assistant director to S. Shankar. In 2002, he directed his first film, Samurai for Vikram. After a two-year break, he released Kaadhal (2004) under the S Pictures banner, Shankar's production house. In 2007, Kalloori won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer. His Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (2012) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Balaji Sakthivel made his onscreen debut in Dhanush's Asuran. Even before the release of the film, the director has bagged his next acting role in Mani Ratnam's next production Vaanam Kottatum (2020). He has been roped in to play an important role in the film directed by Dhana.^[5] He has been signed to play one of the important characters in Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022).^[6]

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as			Role	Notes
		Director	Writer	Actor
1995	Chinna Mani	N	N	Y	Doctor (uncredited)
2002	Samurai	Y	Y	N
2004	Kaadhal	Y	Y	N
2007	Kalloori	Y	Y	N		Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer
2012	Vazhakku Enn 18/9	Y	Y	N		National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil Vijay Award for Best Director
2019	Asuran	N	N	Y	Inspector
2020	Vaanam Kottatum	N	N	Y	Velusaamy Thevar
2022	Mahaan	N	N	Y	Soosaiyappan
	Ponniyin Selvan: I	N	N	Y	Vanangamudiyar
	Sardar	N	N	Y	Chidambaram
	Kaari	N	N	Y	Meena's father
2023	Viduthalai Part 1	N	N	Y	Advocate
	Ponniyin Selvan: II	N	N	Y	Vanangamudiyar
	Good Night	N	N	Y	House Owner
	Maaveeran	N	N	Y	Chief Minister
	Modern Love Chennai	Y	N	N		Web series Episode 2 - "Imaigal"[7]
	Paramporul	N	N	Y	Aadhi's Father/Professor
2024	Idi Minnal Kadhal	N	N	Y	Govindraj
	Nandhan	N	N	Y	Koppulingam	[8]
	Sorgavaasal	N	N	Y	Bashir
	Viduthalai Part 2	N	N	Y	Advocate
2025	Kudumbasthan	N	N	Y	Mohan Ram
	Kooran	N	N	Y