Aditi Shankar

Aditi Shankar (born 6 July 1997) is an Indian actress and singer known for her work majorly in Tamil cinema. She is the recipient of one Vikatan Award, one SIIMA Awards and one Filmfare Awards South.

Although Aditi aspired to become a doctor, she became an actress and made her film debut with the Tamil Super Hit film '' Viruman'' (2022) and continued her success with '' Maaveeran'' (2023).

Early life

Aditi was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in India. She is the daughter of Indian filmmaker S. Shankar. She has an elder sister, Aishwarya Shankar and a younger brother, Arjith Shankar. Aditi completed her medicine degree from Sri Ramachandra University. After graduation she confessed to her parents about her long term passion for acting, following which she made her debut in '' Viruman''.

Career

Early work (2022–2023)

Aditi debuted as a playback singer for the song "Romeo and Juliet" from the Telugu film '' Ghani''.

In 2022, she made her acting debut, as lead actress, in the masala film '' Viruman'' with actor Karthi. She sang the song "Madura Veeran" in the film. ''The Outlook India'' wrote "Actress Aditi Shankar, the daughter of ace director Shankar who makes her debut with this film, is just a natural when it comes to acting. She looks very convincing as the character 'Thaen' and is absolutely at ease in front of the camera. She does a neat job of playing a hard-working, no-nonsense girl who believes in standing up for her rights." ''The Hindu'' wrote, "Aditi Shankar is definitely an upgrade from Muthaiya's previous films". ''The Times of India'' wrote, "Take the initial scenes with the female lead, Thaenu (Aditi Shankar, making a confident debut). She is shown as someone who is affectionate towards Muthupandi, even though he is a man who is hard to like. We think this equation between them would pose a challenge to Viruman, who has fallen for her and wants to marry her, but in just a couple of scenes, we see the character shifting her allegiance, thanks to a convenient plot development".

In 2022, she was signed up by director Madonne Ashwin for her second film, '' Maaveeran,'' which was released in July 2023, where she paired up alongside Sivakarthikeyan and played the lead female role. Aditi was highly praised for her performance in the film and also won acclaim with a reviewer from ''South First'' wrote, ’Aditi Shankar, the daughter of director Shankar, does a neat job of the task given to her. She comes up with a fine, measured performance as Nila, a sub-editor in love with the cartoonist.’ A news reporter from ''Movie Crow'' stated, "No nonsense romantic scenes for Aditi Shankar, she plays a role which is valuable to the story". Sruthi Ganapathy Raman from ''Film Companion'' also stated, "While Aditi Shankar is a voice of reason in Sathya’s head, she could’ve done much more than just that in the film because she’s such an effortless presence on screen".

Commercial success in films (2023–2025)

In 2023, she was approached by director Vishnuvardhan for the lead role in his new film alongside debutante actor Akash, who is the younger brother of actor Atharvaa. Aditi agreed to the film project and was filmed in Lisbon. In June 2024, The film was titled as '' Nesippaya'' and the first look of the film was revealed to public. The filmed overall received decent and average reviews from audience and press reporters and was considered as an average grosser in Aditi's career. Bhuvanesh Chandar of ''The Hindu'' wrote "''Nesippaya'' could have become something more than ordinary; it only confuses you about the kind of film it wishes to be. The thriller that follows is trite, predictable and contrived, to put it straight." Janani K from India Today stated "Aditi Shankar is fun in the romantic portions but undersells her performance in a few emotional sequences".

In 2024, Aditi paired up with actor Arjun Das for a romantic film directed by Vignesh Shivan titled '' Once More''. Arjun Das, shared picture from the ceremony and wrote, "A beautiful musical love story directed by @isrikanthmv. Super happy for you Srikanth. Thank you for believing in us @yuvraj_ganesan @millionoffl (sic)." He added, "@aditishankarofficial wishing you the best as always. A #HeshamAbdulWahab Musical. Will surely need all your blessings, love and support as always (sic)." The film is currently under the process of filming and set to release in the early months of 2025.

In 2025, Aditi marked her first Telugu debut with the film '' Bhairavam'' opposite to Bellamkonda Sreenivas, directed by Vijay Kanakamedala where the film featured Aditi as the lead female role. Reviewers from Filmyscoops said "Aditi Shankar seems to be there just for the songs. Except for a few decent scenes, nothing really stands out". From M9 news, Siddartha Toleti also commented stating "When it comes to the female leads, they don’t have typical heroine roles. The actresses paired opposite the three heroes serve more as supporting characters, with the exception of Aditi Shankar, who appears opposite Bellamkonda Sreenivas mainly for the dance numbers. Overall, all three female characters come across more as part of the supporting cast rather than significant leads in the film". Other critics also agreeing that she did not have much to do in the film. Reporter Srivathsan Nadadhur from The Hindu newspaper stated, "Aditi Shankar, relegated to the typical song-and-dance routine, seems miscast as a village belle, except in a few scenes where her spunky presence injects some life into the proceedings".

Personal life

Aditi said about her debut film '' Viruman'': "I can never deny my privilege and success" that has helped her career.

Just before '' Viruman'' was released, actress and model Aathmika targeted Aditi on social media and stirred up controversy considering Aditi to be the main reason for nepotism in south Indian films stating "It's good to see privileged getting easy way through the ladder while the rest". Aathmika also stated saying "Aditi is privileged to be able to enter the film industry just because of her father". However, Aditi later lashed back at Aathmika for her words and later removed her social media status.

Filmography

*''Note: All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.''

Discography

Playback singer

* (D) indicates dubbing.

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Aditi
Living people
1997 births
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Indian film actresses
Actresses from Chennai
21st-century Indian actresses
Tamil playback singers
Telugu playback singers
Indian women playback singers