Soundarya Rajinikanth (born Shaku Bai Rao Gaikwad; 20 September 1984) is an Indian graphic designer, film producer and film director who primarily works in the Tamil cinema. She is the founder and owner of Ocher Picture Productions. Soundarya began her career in films as a graphic designer. For those starring her father Rajinikanth, she designed the title sequences. She became a film producer with Goa (2010). She made her debut as a film director with the film Kochadaiyaan (2014).

Soundarya Rajinikanth
Soundarya in 2017
Born
Shaku Bai Rao Gaikwad

(1984-09-20) 20 September 1984 (age 40)
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India (present-day Chennai)
Occupation(s)Graphic designer, Film producer, Film director
Years active2002–present
Spouses
  • Ashwin Ramkumar
    (m. 2010; div. 2017)
  • Vishagan Vanangamudi
    (m. 2019)
Children2
Parents
Relativessee Rajinikanth family

Career

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Soundarya Rajinikanth, born as Shaku Bai Rao Gaikwad[1] did her childhood education in the Ashram Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Velachery, Chennai.

In 2007, Ocher Studios signed an agreement with Warner Bros Entertainment to partner up in producing and distributing Tamil films.[2] Her directorial debut was supposed to be Sultan: The Warrior, a 3D animated film featuring her father Rajinikanth. Despite heavy pre-production promotion, including a teaser of the film and an interactive website, the film was dropped.[3] She instead directed Kochadaiiyaan, India's first motion capture film, with Rajinikanth in the lead role.[4] Through Kochadaiiyaan, Soundarya earned the distinction of becoming the first woman to direct her father in a feature film.[5] At the NDTV Indian of the Year awards 2014, she was honoured for "Technical Innovation In Film".[6]

In 2016, she worked on the pre-production of a film titled Nilavukku En Mel Ennadi Kobam with Dhanush, Kajal Aggarwal and Manjima Mohan, but the film was later dropped.[7] It was revived in 2023 without Soundarya's involvement.[8] Her next directorial venture was Velaiilla Pattadhari 2, shot in Tamil and Telugu languages.[9][10]

In 2019, She started a production company called May 6 Entertainment.[11] She founded Hoote, a social media platform that is based on voice messages.

Personal life

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Soundarya is the younger daughter of actor Rajinikanth and his wife Latha. She has one elder sister, Aishwarya Rajinikanth.

Soundarya married Ashwin Ramkumar, an industrialist, on 3 September 2010 at Rani Meyyammai Hall in Chennai.[12] The couple has a son born on 6 May 2015.[13] In September 2016, Soundarya revealed that she and her husband had filed for divorce by mutual consent due to irreconcilable differences.[14] In July 2017, the couple officially divorced.[15]

She married Vishagan Vanangamudi, an actor and businessman, on 11 February 2019 at Leela Palace in Chennai.[16][17][18][19][20] Their son Veer was born in 2022.[21]

Filmography

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Year Film Notes
1999 Padayappa Graphic designer (Title sketch only)
2002 Baba Graphic designer (Title sequence only)
2005 Chandramukhi
Anbe Aaruyire Graphic designer
Sivakasi
Majaa
Sandakozhi
2007 Chennai 600028
Sivaji Graphic designer (Title sequence only)
2008 Kuselan Actor; cameo appearance in song "Cinema Cinema"
2010 Goa Producer
2014 Kochadaiiyaan Director, graphic designer; special appearance in "Engae Pogutho Vaanam"
2017 Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 Director

References

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  1. ^ Gupta, Priya (12 September 2013). "My mom is the boss: Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Soundarya ties up with Warner Brothers!". Smubla. 8 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Soundarya and Aishwarya – the sisters sort it out". The Times of India. 2 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  4. ^ Ronamai, Raymond (24 May 2014). "'Kochadaiiyaan' Box Office Collection: Rajinikanth-Deepika Starrer Rocks on Opening Day". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Soundarya Rajnikanth is the first daughter to direct her father". The Times of India. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  6. ^ "NDTV Indian Of The Year: Soundarya Rajinikanth honoured for Technical Innovation In Film - NDTV Movies". NDTV. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Kajal Aggarwal & Manjima Mohan in Talks to Join Soundarya Rajinikanth's Next". 4 November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Did you know Soundarya Rajinikanth was supposed to direct Dhanush's 'Nilavuku...'?". India Today. 25 December 2023. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  9. ^ "'Kabali' producer to bankroll Soundarya Rajinikanth's next directorial project". The New Indian Express. Indo-Asian News Service. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth to direct Dhanush in VIP 2". The Hindu. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth's exciting announcment [sic] on Thalaivar birthday eve - Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth wedding : Rajinikanth daughter Soundarya marriage pictures". Allvoices.com. 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Its a boy for Soundarya Rajinikanth". India Today. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth confirms divorce". The Times of India. 17 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  15. ^ Goyal, Divya (5 July 2017). "Soundarya Rajinikanth And Ashwin Are Officially Divorced". NDTV. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth to marry Vishagan Vanangamudi on February 11 - details here". Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth set for second marriage in January". The Times of India. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  18. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth gears up for second wedding in January 2019". India Today. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth to wed again". Anupama Subramanian. Deccan Chronicle. 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  20. ^ "സൗന്ദര്യ രജനീകാന്ത് വിവാഹിതയായി; ചിത്രങ്ങളും വിഡിയോയും". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Soundarya Rajinikanth blessed with a baby boy". Times of India. 12 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
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