Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963),credited as S. Shankar or his mononym Shankar, is an Indian filmmaker who 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. He is one of the highest paid film directors of India, particularly known for extensive use of visual effects, prosthetic makeup and state-of-art technology in songs.Shankar's films typically deal with the contemporary social issues and vigilante themes. 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 (2018) is the fourth highest-grossing film in India and is the sixth highest-grossing Indian film worldwide.Shankar was born on 17 August 1963 in Kumbakon.