Mahanadi Shankar is an Indian actor and stuntman who has appeared in Tamil language films and television serials, playing mostly supporting and negative roles. He has starred in films such as Mahanadhi (1994), Baashha (1995), Ratchagan (1997), Amarkalam (1999), and Dheena (2001). The success of the former film meant that he used the title as a prefix to his stage name.^[1][2]

Shankar was introduced to the film industry initially as a stuntman and action choreographer in 1986. He focused on fight sequences in film portions while working as a stuntman from 1986 to 1993.^[3] He worked as an assistant to established stunt masters. including FEFSI Vijayan, Vikram Dharma. and Raju Sundaram during this time.^[4]

Shankar received the opportunity to act in the film titled Mahanadhi (1994) through his stunt master guru Vikram Dharma, who pushed Shankar to the core. It was Vikram Dharma who convinced Shankar to gain weight in order to make a noteworthy appearance in the film. By this time, Shankar weighed only 66 kilograms (143 pounds), and within three months, he had pushed it to 82 kilograms (180 pounds) in order to cash in on the opportunity to act in the film.^[4] During the film's shooting, filmmakers planned to rope in a dubbing artist to give a voiceover to the role to be played by Shankar, but the film's lead actor Kamal Haasan insisted that there was no need for a dubbing artist and recommended that Shankar himself has a fine slang and urged filmmakers to utilize Shankar's voice throughout the film for Shankar's portions.^[4]

Shankar eventually made his fully-fledged acting debut in Mahanadhi.^[5] Following his notable performance, he has worked in several Tamil films in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s as a supporting actor, often as an antagonist or a comic villain.^[6][7]

In the film Dheena (2001), Shankar referred to the film's lead actor Ajith Kumar as "Thala" in a song. Subsequently, Ajith was called "Thala" by all his fans.^[8][9] He made a reunion with Ajith after a gap of 22 years with the film Thunivu (2023), in which he played a police constable.^[10]