Karthi, the younger son of veteran actor Sivakumar and Lakshmi Sivakumar, is a renowned Indian actor in the Tamil film industry. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Crescent Engineering College in Chennai and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Binghamton University in New York.
During his time in New York, Karthi took film-related courses at New York State University, which sparked his interest in filmmaking. Although he was offered a role in Mani Ratnam's film Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004),he declined the opportunity.
Karthi made his acting debut with the Tamil film Paruthiveeran (2007),starring Priyamani and Saravanan. He won several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, the Vijay Award for Best Male Debut, and the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Prize for his outstanding performance.
Karthi received Best Actor nominations at the 58th Filmfare Awards South for his roles in Ayirathil Oruvan (2010) and Paiyaa (2010). He also starred in Naan Mahaan Alla (2010),a successful thriller directed by Suseenthiran, and Siruthai (2011),an action-masala film remake of the Telugu film Vikramarkudu (2006).
Between 2011 and 2016, many of Karthi's films received mixed reviews. However, some notable exceptions include Biriyani (2013),Madras (2014),and Komban (2015),which were critically acclaimed and box office hits.
Karthi partnered with Mani Ratnam again for Kaatru Veliyidai (2017) and received a Filmfare Award South for Best Actor - Critics for his performance in Theeran Adhigaram Ondru (2017). He then starred in Pandiraj's successful film Kadaikutty Singam (2018),produced by his brother Suriya, and Dev (2019),directed by Rajath Ravishankar.
Karthi's subsequent films, Kaithi (2019) and Sulthan (2021),were commercially successful. He also starred in the box-office hit Viruman (2022),directed by M. Muthaiah, and Ponniyin Selvan: Part I (2022),where he played Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan in his first Pan-Indian film.
Karthi married Ranjani Chinnasamy on July 3, 2011, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The couple has two children, a daughter named Umayaal (born in 2013) and a son named Kandhan (born in 2020).
