Sivakumar Palakrishnan

Sivakumar Palakrishnan is a Singaporean actor, producer, and director. He is known for his lead role in A Yellow Bird (2016), which premiered at Cannes Critics' Week, and for his performances in Mediacorp television dramas including Tanglin and Sunny Side Up. He won the ASEAN Film Award for Best Actor in 2017 and was a National Winner at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2025.

Sivakumar Palakrishnan
Born	Singapore
Occupation(s)	Actor, producer, director
Years active	2005–present
Known for	A Yellow Bird, Tanglin, Sunny Side Up

Career

Palakrishnan has appeared in numerous productions across film, television, and theatre in Singapore.

In film, he starred as **Siva** in A Yellow Bird (2016), a Singapore–French co-production directed by K. Rajagopal that premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week.^[1][2][3] His performance was recognised with the ASEAN Film Award for Best Actor in 2017.^[4] He later appeared in the psychological drama Repossession (2019),^[5] and in the comedy-drama #LookAtMe (2022).^[6]

On television, Palakrishnan was part of the long-running Channel 5 drama Tanglin,^[7] and appeared in Vasantham and Channel 5 programmes such as Sunny Side Up (2022–2024),^[8] Reunion (2021),^[9] Naam (2022),^[10] and Folklore (2018) on HBO Asia.^[11]

In addition to acting, Palakrishnan has directed programmes for Mediacorp and independent platforms. He directed the short film Fiona, My Friend (2020) for Viddsee Originals,^[12] and was credited as director for the Vasantham television comedy series Thiru Valluvan (2011).^[13]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	A Yellow Bird	Siva	Lead role; screened at Cannes Critics’ Week
2019	Repossession	Vinod
2022	#LookAtMe	The Warden

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2017–2018	Tanglin	–	Channel 5 drama
2022–2024	Sunny Side Up	–	Mediacorp Vasantham
2021	Reunion	–	Vasantham mini-series
2022	Naam	–	Vasantham drama
2018	Folklore (ep. "Nobody")	Arup	HBO Asia series

Directing

• Fiona, My Friend (2020) – short film, Viddsee Originals^[14]
• Thiru Valluvan (2011) – Vasantham comedy series (credited as director)^[15]

Awards and nominations

• ASEAN Film Awards (2017, Da Nang, Vietnam) – Best Actor for A Yellow Bird (Won)^[16]
• Asian Academy Creative Awards (2025) – National Winner, Best Actor in a Comedy Role for Kaathu Karuppu^[17]
• Pradhana Vizha (2022) – Best Supporting Actor (Limited Drama Series) for Kalaiyarasi Vayadhu 47, Vaagana Ottunar (Won)^[18]
• Pradhana Vizha – Best Actor for Veethi Varai (Won)^[19]