Shanmuga Raja, Film Actor & Theatre Director

Shanmugaraja is a popular Tamil film actor and the Founder - Director of NIGAZH Theatre Centre at Madurai. He has an MA in Tamil Literature and Theatre Arts and an MPhil in Tamil Literature. He joined the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 1999 and completed his Diploma in Design and Direction in 2002. After his stint at NSD, he formed the theatre group NIGAZH at Madurai involving the youth in the city. He is actively involved in it as an actor, director and design expert. He has been conducting acting workshops, festivals and seminars on theatre across the world. He has designed and directed several theatre productions.

Shanmugaraja made a successful film debut in Virumaandi (2004) with Kamal Haasan and has since acted in over 50 films. Apart from acting, he is actively involved in casting and training actors for cinema and tele-serials. He is also a columnist for several Tamil magazines and has written two books in Tamil on Theatre and Culture.