Rishi (actor)

Rishi is an Indian film, theatre and television actor. He is known for his work on Sun TV's Deala No Deala, the Tamil-language version of Deal or No Deal. His second non-fiction show with Endemol India was Sun TV's Kaiyil Oru Kodi, the Tamil version of Million Dollar Money Drop).[1] Rishi has appeared in supporting roles in Tamil films most notably Anandha Thandavam and Payanam.

Not to be confused with Rishi Keshav, an actor who had acted in Devathaiyai Kanden and Chandralekha.

Rishi aka Rishi Raj
Born
Rishi Chandrasekaran

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
OccupationActor, television host
Years active2003-present

He is currently the brand ambassador for Vim Liquid for South India.

Early life

Rishi is the only child of Tamil father S. Chandrashekaran and Gujarathi mother Gayathri Chandrashekaran , with his father being a musician and his mother an amateur poet. His paternal grandfather is the ex-politician C.R. Subramaniam (aka 'Tamil' Mani), a member of the Kamaraj headed Congress in the 60s. At 17, Rishi quit engineering to do theatre.[2]

Career

Television

Rishi appeared in a few fiction and non-fiction shows on STAR Vijay before appearing on Sun TV with Endemol's Dealaa No Dealaa (Tamil version of Deal or No Deal). This was a runaway success with Rishi's anchoring style making him a household name among the Tamil people all over the world, with a special fan following in Malaysia and Canada.[3] Sun TV broke the norm of low-budget game shows by pumping in never-before-seen funds and resources making it a trendsetter not only in its success but also the way the TV business was done in Southern India. In 2012, Endemol South and Sun TV joined hands once again for Kaiyil Oru Kodi, Are you ready? (Tamil version of Million Dollar Money Drop) with Rishi as the anchor. It was one of the most successful shows of the year. And Sun TV received special praise for confidently choosing Rishi as the anchor over film-stars who were failing to keep audiences glued to the television anyway.[4] In 2009-10 Rishi played the lead in the hugely popular Telugu-language soap opera, Sundarakanda the first Indian TV show to be shot in the USA.

Films

Having idolized M.R. Radha and Raghuvaran through his childhood, Rishi has always wanted to play negative roles and made his debut in Ananda Thandavam. (The forgettable and very sparsely released Thodakkam came and went noiselessly with barely anybody being aware of its release). He then went on to do supporting roles in a few films like Mandhira Punnagai, Mirattal, Naan Sigappu Manithan etc. and then appeared in the ensemble cast of Payanam (Gaganam in telugu) that brought him a lot of attention.

He also played the lead role in Parithi opposite actress Kareenasha, but the film did not have a theatrical release.[5]

On the stage

Rishi started to direct and act in plays at 17. He did a series of Shakespeare readings in 2006. He has appeared in the Metroplus Theatre Festival with The Madras Players twice. Recently, Rishi received rave reviews for his performance in the play Honour.[6]

Filmography
  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.

Film
YearFilmRoleNotes
2008ThodakkamHabeeb
2009Ananda ThandavamRadhakrishnan
2010Mandhira PunnagaiShankar
2011GaganamVinodTelugu film
Payanam
2012MirattalGauthamCameo appearance
2014Naan Sigappu ManithanKarthik
YaanRam
2015JK Enum Nanbanin VaazhkaiK. AnandCameo appearance
2016Rajadhi RajaTelugu film; cameo appearance
2019SathruMahendran

Television
Actor
YearTitleRoleLanguageNotes
2005-2006Idhu Oru Kadhal KathaiAnanthuTamil
2009-2010AsoakavanamAjayTelugu and Tamil
2012-2013Padamatha GaliTelugu
Host
YearTitleLanguageNotes
2011Deala No DealaTamil
2012Kaiyil Oru Kodi - Are You Ready?Tamil
2014-2015Vendhar VeetukkalyanamTamil
2015–2016Super ChallengeTamil
2019Sun kudumbam viruthugal 2019Tamil
gollark: I really should actually learn to solder one of these nanomillenia.
gollark: Er, connectors.
gollark: How are you meant to solder HDMI ports? They have very small wires.
gollark: I'm sure there's some text-based version, which I'd much prefer.
gollark: I don't particularly care enough to do detailed study/note-taking of several hours of presentations on this.

References
  1. http://www.sunnetwork.in/1crore/tamil/
  2. http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/sep/24/slide-show-1-south-interview-with-rishi.htm
  3. http://www.veethi.com/india-people/rishi-profile-920-17.htm
  4. http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/
  5. http://www.indiaglitz.com/tamil-movies-parithi-gallery-13840.html
  6. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/a-matter-of-honour/article6142931.ece
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