Aditi Shankar

Aditi Shankar (born 6 July 1997 ) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works in Tamil films. Aditi made her acting debut with Viruman (2022), which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. She has since appeared in Maaveeran (2023).

Early life
Aditi was born at Chennai, Tamil Nadu in India. She is the daughter of Indian filmmaker S. Shankar. She also has an elder sister, Aishwarya Shankar and a younger brother, Arjith Shankar. Aditi completed her medical degree at Sri Ramachandra University. After graduation she confessed to her parents about her long term passion for acting, following which she made her debut in Viruman.

Career
Aditi debuted as a playback singer for the song "Romeo and Juliet" from the Telugu film Ghani.

In 2021, she made her acting debut, as lead actress, in the masala film Viruman. She sang the song "Madura Veeran" in the film. The Outlook India wrote "Actress Aditi Shankar, the daughter of ace director Shankar who makes her debut with this film, is just a natural when it comes to acting. She looks very convincing as the character 'Thaen' and is absolutely at ease in front of the camera. She does a neat job of playing a hard-working, no-nonsense girl who believes in standing up for her rights." The Hindu wrote, "Aditi Shankar is definitely an upgrade from Muthaiya's previous films". The Times of India wrote, "Take the initial scenes with the female lead, Thaenu (Aditi Shankar, making a confident debut). She is shown as someone who is affectionate towards Muthupandi, even though he is a man who is hard to like. We think this equation between them would pose a challenge to Viruman, who has fallen for her and wants to marry her, but in just a couple of scenes, we see the character shifting her allegiance, thanks to a convenient plot development".

In 2022 she played in her second film, Maaveeran, released in July 2023. South First wrote, ’Aditi Shankar, the daughter of director Shankar, does a neat job of the task given to her. She comes up with a fine, measured performance as Nila, a sub-editor in love with the cartoonist.’

In 2023, she was approached by director Vishnuvardhan for the lead role in his new film alongside debutante actor Akash, who is the younger brother of actor Atharvaa. Aditi agreed to the film project and is currently filming in Lisbon. In June of 2024, The film was titled as Nesippaya and the first look of the film was revealed to public.

In 2024, Aditi paired up with actor Arjun Das for a romantic film directed by Vignesh Srikanth which marks his directional debut. Arjun Das, shared picture from the ceremony and wrote, "A beautiful musical love story directed by @isrikanthmv. Super happy for you Srikanth. Thank you for believing in us @yuvraj_ganesan @millionoffl (sic)." He added, "@aditishankarofficial wishing you the best as always. A #HeshamAbdulWahab Musical. Will surely need all your blessings, love and support as always (sic)." The film is currently under the process of filming and set to release in the early months of 2025.

Personal life
Aditi said about her debut film Viruman: "I can never deny my privilege and success" that has happened to her career.

Just before Viruman was released, actress and model Aathmika targeted Aditi on social media and stirred up controversy considering Aditi to be the main reason for nepotism in south Indian films stating "It's good to see privileged getting easy way through the ladder while the rest". Aathmika also stated saying "Aditi is privileged to be able to enter the film industry just because of her father". However, Aditi later lashed back at Aathmika for her words and later removed her social media status.

Filmography

 * Note: All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.