Director Shankar First Movie Direct

Before the larger-than-life sets of Enthiran , before the social commentary of Anniyan , and before the cinematic spectacle of Indian , there was a modestly budgeted 1993 action-comedy about a look-alike vigilante. That film, Gentleman , was the moment director Shankar first pressed the accelerator on a career that would redefine Indian commercial cinema.

Looking back, Gentleman feels less like a debut and more like a mission statement. It wasn’t a perfect film—the comedy track is dated, and some stunts are clunky by today’s standards—but its confidence is staggering. Here was a first-time director who refused to think small. director shankar first movie

Thirty years later, that “everything” is exactly why we still call him “Director Shankar.” And it all started with a Gentleman . Before the larger-than-life sets of Enthiran , before

The result was Gentleman , released in the summer of 1993. On the surface, Gentleman had a quintessentially ‘90s premise: a poor, honest college principal (played by the late, great Sarathkumar) leads a double life as a mysterious, hooded thief named "Gentleman," who steals from the corrupt rich to fund educational scholarships for the underprivileged. Meanwhile, a cunning cop (Goundamani in a rare serious-role-turned-comic-relief) tries to unmask him. It wasn’t a perfect film—the comedy track is

As Shankar himself later said, “I didn’t know what I couldn’t do. So I tried everything.”