Saran Shakthi is an Indian actor who has made his name by acting in several Tamil movies. He has been working in the Tamil films since his childhood and was also a contestant in a Tamil based reality TV show called Survivor. Saran has also acted in the movie, KGF: Chapter 2, where he played a very prominent role. He is also well-known for playing the lead role in the Tamil movie, Sagaa.
Wiki/Biography
Saran Shakthi was born on Monday, 5 May 1997 (age 24 years; as of 2021) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He started his career at a very young age by working as a child artist in several well-known Tamil movies.
Saran as a baby with his mother
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark brown
Family
Parents
Not much information is available about his parents’ names or professions.
Saran Shakthi with his father and mother
Career
Beginning of his cinematic career
Saran Shakthi made his debut in 2012. He was a part of a Tamil serial called Amudha Oru Aacharyakuri. This serial was produced by a famous Tamil director, K. Balachander. The TV serial was aired on Kalaignar TV.
Saran Shakthi with the producer of the serial, K Balachander
Later on, from the TV serial, Saran, in 2013, went on to debut in his first film, Kadal, as a child artist.
Saran Shakthi in his debut movie, Kadal
The movie was directed by a renowned director, Mani Ratnam. Saran played the role of a child, who goes by the name Young Thomas. After his first movie, Saran began receiving offers to act as a child artist. In 2014, he acted in R. T. Nesan’s movie Jilla, where he portrayed the younger version of the actor in the main lead, Thalapaty Vijay. In 2014, he was a part of 2 more films. These were Rummy and Sigaram Thodu. His acting in the movies in 2013 and 2014, landed him another role in the movie Vai Raja Vai, a comedy thriller, where he played the role of a Young Karthik.
A breakthrough to the big leagues
In 2018, Saran got a breakthrough in his career; when he was offered the supporting role in a gangster movie titled Vada Chennai, where Saran played the role of the main lead actress, Aishwarya Rajesh’s younger brother. The movie was starred by the well-known actor, Dhanush.
Saran Shakthi with Dhanush in the film Vada Chennai
Saran’s role in the film catapulted his career and brought him into the vision of several well-known movie producers. In an interview, Saran exclaimed,
My dream was to work with Vetrimaaran and Dhanush and it happened with Vada Chennai.”
The first lead role
In 2019, Saran Shakthi got his first lead role in the movie Sagaa; as a character known as Sathya. Saga is a crime action movie whose song Yaayum became an instant hit among Saran’s fans. Although the movie could not touch the box office but gave Saran the much-awaited break in his acting career.
Saran Shakthi in the poster of the movie Sagaa
Saran Shakthi’s first negative role
In 2020, Saran was selected and offered to play the role of Nithin, in the film Etharkkum Thunindhavan. In the film, Saran was given the role of a henchman of the main villain. The movie was released on 10 March 2022.
Offered a role in the film Netrikann
In 2021, Saran was offered a film, titled Netrikann. The film is about a blind woman who tries to solve a criminal case by herself. Saran played the role of a delivery boy, who happens to be a witness to a crime that had taken place. Saran played the supporting role in the film Netrikann, and the film was released on the OTT platform, Disney+ Hotstar.
Saran Shakthi in the film, Netrikann as Gowtham
Selected to play a vital role in KGF: Chapter 2
In 2019, the Director of the film, Prashanth Neel, KGF contacted and offered a role in the film to Saran Shakthi. While giving an interview, Saran said,
The director was looking to cast someone in the film, for the past three to four months. He considered a lot of Telugu and Kannada actors, but couldn’t find anyone to suit this role. He later saw Vada Chennai and was impressed by my performance and then called me five days before the shoot. I was super kicked, considering KGF is a huge hit. To get a call from another industry was an absolute surprise!”
Saran Shakthi with Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt during the shoot of KGF: Chapter 2
Leaving a mark on the reality TV show
In 2021, Saran Shakthi was a part of a Tamil reality TV show, Survivor (Season 1). In the show, Saran was one of the viewer’s favourite contestants. Saran made his way through to the season finale and ended up being the first runner up in the Season 1 of the show.
Saran Shakthi as a contestant in the Tamil reality TV show, Survivor (Season 1)
Controversy
As a participant in the Tamil TV reality show, Survivor, Saran Shakthi was accused of using a cellphone, which he had borrowed from a crew member and was against the rules of the show. Saran was reprimanded for breaking the rules, but he was not disqualified from the show. Saran even accused the winner of the show, Vijayalakshmi Feroz, of using a phone as well, which could not be proved to this date.
Achievements
Saran Shakthi became the first runner-up in the Tamil reality TV show, Survivor (Season 1).
Facts/Trivia
- Saran Shakthi’s father supports him unconditionally in his acting career. In an interview, Saran said,
Everyone around me is excited that I’ve signed KGF. My dad and I have always been into cinema, my mom, not so much, but now, she has no other choice!”
- Saran Shakthi’s role in Vada Chennai was commended by the KGF’s main lead actor, Yash. Saran in an interview said,
He’s the sweetest person ever. He took me for a walk, put his hand on my shoulder, motivated me a lot and told me that my character was very important. After a few days, when I went to his caravan, he told me that he had seen half of the movie just for me and that I’d done a good job.”
- Saran Shakthi does not come from a family with a theatrical background, and he had to start and achieve everything on his own from a scratch. While giving an interview, Saran recalled,
For someone who has no Godfather in the film industry, I had to do the usual photoshoots, go to different film producers’ offices, and show them my pictures, etc in order to get a good break in the film industry.
