Rishikanth

Rishikanth
Born (1992-09-21) September 21, 1992 (age 34)
Thanjavur
OccupationActor
Years active2015–present

Rishikanth (born 21 September 1992) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. His career began with the YouTube group Temple Monkeys, and he played minor supporting roles in various films and TV series. Modha Rathri (2026) is his first starring film.

His notable works include films such as Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal (2022), Sevappi (2024), Coolie (2025), Made in Korea (2026), and Dorothy (2026), as well as the TV series Local Times (2026).

Career

Before entering the film industry, Rishikanth was a member of the YouTube group Temple Monkeys. He claimed that he came to Chennai seeking opportunities after learning that the Tamil film industry was largely based there. He has been in the film industry for many years, consistently playing minor supporting roles in numerous films. He has appeared in the films Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal (2022), Hero (2019), Indian 2 (2024) and Coolie (2025), as well as the streaming series Mathagam (2023). In 2024, he played a significant supporting role in the film Sevappi, starring Poornima Ravi and Shravan Athvethan.

It was not until 2026 that he appeared in Modha Rathri, the first film in which he played the lead role. Upon its release, the film received widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences. Commenting on this, Rishikanth noted that it took him so many years to land a lead role in a film: "But I would say, these [...] years were needed. Every year, when I wouldn't get an opportunity, I would concur that I wasn't ready yet, so I would analyse on how to get ready to grow." That same year, he also appeared in the Netflix original film Made in Korea and the Amazon Prime Video original series Local Times. Subsequently, he starred in the film Dorothy, directed by Karthik Subbaraj, which was also released in 2026.

Personal life

Rishikanth drew comparisons to Rajinikanth due to the resemblance in both his appearance and his name. He explained that "Rishikanth" was the name given to him by his parents—not a stage name—and he was unsure if they had been influenced by Rajinikanth, adding, "Back in the '90s, names ending with '-kanth' were famous, so that might have been the reason."

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Bench Talkies The wounded man Segment: "Puzhu"
2018 Irumbu Thirai Kesavan
2019 K-13 Opposite flat tenant
Magamuni Gothandapani's friend
Hero Sekhar
Igloo Appala Reddy
2021 Rocky Udhai
2022 Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal Murali
O2 Rafiq
2023 Pallu Padama Paathuka Bruno
Neymar Venkat Malayalam film
2024 Sevappi Karnan
Rasavathi
Indian 2 Harish
2025 Niram Marum Ulagil Kannan
Coolie Rishi
2026 Couple Friendly Karthik Telugu film
Made in Korea Mani
Modha Rathri Maruthanayagam Debut as Lead Actor
Dorothy Karthi
TBA Indian 3: War Mode Harish

Television

Year Title Role Platform Notes Ref.
2020 Locked Sagar Aha 7 episodes
2021 Kalyanam to Kadhal YouTube Web series
2023 Mathagam Nathan Disney+ Hotstar 7 episodes
2026 Local Times Veera Amazon Prime Video 7 episodes

Short films

Year Title Role Ref.
2020 Ponnira Malai
Modi & A Beer
2022 Couple Friendly
Nenjam Nenjam
2023 Marakkave Ninaikiren
Oodal
2024 Paathi Nee Paathi Naan

References

  1. ↑ "மொத ராத்திரி பட நாயகனுக்கு குவியும் வாழ்த்து!". Dinamani (in Tamil). 2026-09-21. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rajendran, Gopinath (2 February 2022). "Actor Rishikanth: The depth and duration of my characters are increasing gradually". Indulge Express. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Modha Rathiri's Rishikanth on growing in cinema: 'Getting into cinema is easy but sustaining here is difficult'". Cinema Express. 20 September 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Karuppasamy Recalls Rishikanth Bringing His Own Costume For Unpaid Role, Arguing With Him Before Modha Rathri Release". ETV Bharat. 21 September 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hashmi, Areeba (20 September 2026). "It took Rishikanth 15 years to get a lead role: 'Because I am not from Chennai'". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 21 September 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  6. ↑ "Bigg Boss Tamil Fame Poornima Ravi Shines In Sevappi Poster, Promises A Heartwarming Tale". News18. 27 December 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Anishma Anilkumar-starrer Modha Rathri cleared for release with U/A certificate". DT Next. 20 August 2026. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Rishikanth-Anishma Anilkumar's Modha Rathiri locks release date; First look poster out". The New Indian Express. 30 July 2026. Archived from the original on 9 August 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  9. ↑ "Dhanush urges families to watch 'Modha Rathiri,' joining Silambarasan and RJ Balaji in praising the Rishikanth and Anishma Anilkumar starrer". The Times of India. 9 September 2026. Archived from the original on 10 September 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Netflix Tamil originals: Priyanka Mohan and Ra Karthik come together for Made In Korea". Cinema Express. 13 October 2025. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Local Times Season 1 Review: Relatability Keeps This Silly Drama Engaging". The Times of India. 14 March 2026. Archived from the original on 22 September 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Karthik Subbaraj-Ilaiyaraaja project titled Dorothy; film gets world premiere at Toronto Film Festival". Cinema Express. 4 August 2026. Archived from the original on 5 August 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Cross, Christopher (11 September 2026). "TIFF 2026: 'Dorothy' Review". Asynchronous Media. Archived from the original on 12 September 2026. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "Rishikanth on similarities with Rajinikanth: 'I have continuously been made aware of...'". Cinema Express. 22 September 2026. Archived from the original on 24 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  15. ↑ "Bench Talkies (2015) Cast & Crew". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 22 September 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Rishikanth". TV Guide. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Rishikanth". Plex.tv. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Manu, Hridyambika A (8 January 2024). "Sevappi OTT release date - Aha Tamil's original film to be out on THIS date; check out new teaser". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "Santhakumar's film starring Arjun Das titled 'Rasavathi - The Alchemist'". The Hindu. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  20. ↑ "Niram Marum Ulagil Glimpse: Four chapters of dreams and struggles". Cinema Express. 22 April 2024. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  21. ↑ "Couple Friendly (2026) Full Cast & Crew". Plex.tv. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "Satyadev Kancharana says he chose to star in web series Locked as he did not want to be bound to one type of role". Firstpost. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "Kalyanam to Kadhal | Ep 1 | Mini Webseries in Tamil | Ft. Rj Saru|Rishikanth|Abdool Lee | JFW". April 22, 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "Ponnira Malai | Tamil Short Film | Awesome Machi". 27 May 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  25. ↑ "Modi & A Beer | Kadhai kelu short film 04 | Dhinah Chandra Mohan | Pa Ranjith | Neelam". 1 June 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ "Couple Friendly | Tamil Short Film | English Subs | 4K". 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  27. ↑ "Nenjam Nenjam | Tamil Short Film | Rishikanth | Simran | Love Story | 4K | JFW". 25 August 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  28. ↑ "Marakkave Ninaikiren | Tamil short film with English subs | Rishikanth, Rohini | Idly Upma Originals". 23 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  29. ↑ "Oodal | Tamil Short Film | ft. Rishikanth, Theerthana Pillai | JFW | 4K". 15 December 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.
  30. ↑ "Paathi Nee Paathi Naan | Tamil Short Film | Ellistopp cinemas". 11 June 2024. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2026 – via YouTube.