Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963), credited as S. Shankar and sometimes mononymously as Shankar, is an Indian filmmaker predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his debut as a director in the film Gentleman (1993), for which he won the Filmfare Best Director Award and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director.
Shankar's films typically deal with the contemporary social issues and vigilante themes. He is one of the highest paid, and innovative film directors of India, particularly known for extensive use of visual effects, prosthetic makeup, and state-of-art technology in songs.
He usually collaborates with composer A. R. Rahman, both having done over 10 films together. Two of his films, Indian (1996) and Jeans (1998), were submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by M. G. R. University.His movie 2.0 is the second highest-grossing film in India and is the sixth highest-grossing Indian film worldwide.
