Udhayanidhi Stalin

Udhayanidhi Stalin (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer, actor, distributor, and politician who prominently works in Tamil cinema. He is a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency. He entered the film industry as a producer and distributor with his production studio, Red Giant Movies, and made films including Kuruvi (2008), Aadhavan (2009) and Manmadan Ambu (2010). He subsequently made his debut as an actor through the romantic comedy, Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012) and has since continued producing and starring in his own films.

Early life and family

Udhayanidhi Stalin is the son of M. K. Stalin, current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and the grandson of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. He attended Don Bosco school and has a degree in Visual Communications from Loyola College in Chennai. Several of his relatives have been actively involved in politics and Tamil cinema since the 1950s. His cousins Arulnithi and Dayanidhi Azhagiri are an actor and producer, respectively.

Film career

Udhayanidhi’s first film as a producer with Red Giant Movies was Kuruvi (2008), starring Vijay and Trisha. He also produced two films directed by K. S. Ravikumar, Aadhavan (2009) and Manmadan Ambu (2010). He produced AR Murugadoss’s science fiction film 7aum Arivu (2011), while also working as a distributor, achieving success through his four 2010 releases: Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, A. L. Vijay’s Madrasapattinam, M. Rajesh’s Boss Engira Bhaskaran and Prabhu Solomon’s Mynaa.

In 2012, he debuted as a lead actor in M. Rajesh’s romantic comedy Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012), co-starring with Hansika Motwani and Santhanam. Stalin received positive reviews for his performance of an unemployed youth. Behindwoods noted: “Udhay’s portrayal of Saravanan is neat and enjoyable. He scored well in his debut supported Santhanam well in the film”, while Sify.com added: “Udhay’s debut is promising and hats off to him to underplay his role”. Stalin won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance. The success of Oru Kal Oru Kannadi prompted Stalin to continue acting and he appeared in Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal (2014) and Nanbenda (2015), both films featuring him opposite Nayanthara. He worked on Gethu (2016), with Amy Jackson and then performed in the courtroom drama Manithan (2016), with Hansika Motwani, a remake of the Hindi film Jolly LLB.

In 2017, he has worked in the comedy entertainer Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen from director Ezhil, followed by Podhuvaga Emmanasu Thangam  and action thriller, Ippadai Vellum. Stalin has delivered a decent performance with his share of subtleness. The next project was the drama Nimir (2018), a remake of Malayalam film Maheshinte Prathikaaram directed by Priyadarshan then following the romantic drama, Kanne Kalaimaane.

In 2020, he appeared in Mysskin’s Psycho which is a dive into the psyche of a serial killer.

Political career

2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections

Udhayanidhi Stalin’s fierce campaign across Tamil Nadu has helped the DMK party secure a major win in the assembly elections. His AIIMS Brick remark changed the course of the Tamil Nadu election campaign.

Udhayanidhi Stalin contested and won in the Chepauk – Thiruvallikeni Assembly Constituency in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election.

Chepauk – Thiruvallikeni MLA

Udhayanidhi Stalin introduced a robotic sewer cleaner in his constituency of Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni for the first time in Tamil Nadu on 21 June 2021.

Udhayanidhi Stalin was nominated as a member of Anna University’s Syndicate for a period of three years. The announcement was made by Speaker M. Appavu in the Assembly on September 13, 2021.

Electoral performance

Personal life

Udhayanidhi is married to Kiruthiga in 2002 and the couple have a son and a daughter. Currently, Kiruthiga heads the lifestyle magazine Inbox 1305. She also directed the film Vanakkam Chennai (2013) for Red Giant Movies and Kaali (2018). His son Inban Udhayanidhi has signed for NEROCA FC football club which plays in the I-League. Udhayanidhi and Kiruthiga are atheists.

Filmography

As actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Aadhavan	Servant	Guest Appearance
2012	Oru Kal Oru Kannadi	Saravanan	Also producer SIIMA Award for Best Male Debutant Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South Norway Tamil Film Festival Award for Best Newcomer Actor
2013	Vanakkam Chennai	Flat Tenant	Guest Appearance
2014	Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal	Kathirvelan	Also producer
2015	Nannbenda	Sathya	Also producer
2016	Gethu	Sethu	Also producer
	Manithan	Sakthivel	Also producer
2017	Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen	Saravanan	Also producer
	Podhuvaga Emmanasu Thangam	Ganesh
	Ippadai Vellum	Madhusoodhanan
2018	Nimir	Selvam
2019	Kanne Kalaimaane	Kamala Kannan	Also producer
2020	Psycho	Gautham
2022	Nenjuku Needhi	S. Vijayaraghavan
	Kalaga Thalaivan	Thirumaaran
	Maamannan	TBA	Filming
TBA	#RKFI54	TBA	Filming

As producer

As distributor