| VTV Ganesh | |
| Birth Name: | Ganesh Janardhanan |
| Birth Date: | 1961 6, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Yearsactive: | 2002present |
| Spouse: | Rajeswari Ganesh |
| Children: | Aishwarya Ganesh |
Ganesh Janardhanan, also known by his stage name VTV Ganesh, is an Indian actor, comedian and film producer who is known for his work in Tamil cinema apart from some Telugu films. He is best known for his appearances in films featuring Silambarasan. He made his debut in the Tamil movie Red (2002) directed by Singampuli. He is well-known for his movie Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2011) directed by Gautham Menon, which is the reason that he got 'VTV' (short form of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) prior to his name.
Prior to VTV, he played small roles in films like Red (2002), Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006), Pachaikili Muthucharam (2007) and Vaaranam Aayiram (2008).
Ganesh made his breakthrough with a role in his home production Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (2010) directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon starring Silambarasan and Trisha Krishnan. His portrayal of Ganesh, the fictional cinematographer of Vinaithaandi Varuvaiya (2010) won plaudits from critics and eventually led to him changing his name by adding a prefix with the initials of the film (VTV). He went on to play a comic role in the anthology film, Vaanam (2011) which he also produced, portraying the character of "Bajanai" Ganesh who assists Cable Raja played Silambarasan.[1] [2] Ganesh also acted in Osthe (2011) featuring Silambarasan in a role as the heroine's father. In 2012, Ganesh played the role of Silambaran’s uncle in Vignesh Shivan’s romantic musical film, Podaa Podi. He was one of the lead characters in Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham (2013).[3] In 2014, he starred, penned, and produced Vincent Selva’s comedy film, Inga Enna Solluthu.[4] He was later cast in few more films including Kappal (2014), Romeo Juliet (2015), Vaalu (2015), Vaaliba Raja (2016), Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva (2017), Sakka Podu Podu Raja (2017) and Kalakalappu 2 (2018). He has also acted in Vijay's films such as Beast (2022), Varisu (2023) and The Greatest of All Time (2024).[5] [6] [7]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Red | District Collector | Uncredited role |
| 2006 | Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu | Dharma | credited as Sudhakar |
| 2007 | Pachaikili Muthucharam | Sundar | |
| 2008 | Vaaranam Aayiram | Anthony | credited as Neelakandan Ganesh |
| 2010 | Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya | Ganesh | Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2011 | Vaanam | "Bajna" Ganesh | |
| Osthe | Neduvaali's Father | ||
| 2012 | Podaa Podi | Arjun's uncle | Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Comedian Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Comedian |
| Neethane En Ponvasantham | Ganesh | Guest appearance | |
| 2013 | Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya | Krishnamoorthy | |
| Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham | Ganesh | ||
| 2014 | Inga Enna Solluthu | Ganesh | |
| Thalaivan | |||
| Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham | Deergadarsi | ||
| Kappal | Nelson | ||
| 2015 | JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai | Wedding Guest | Guest appearance |
| Inimey Ippadithaan | Chandra | ||
| Romeo Juliet | VTV Ganesh | ||
| Vaalu | Kutti Paiya | ||
| Trisha Illana Nayanthara | Vishu | ||
| 2016 | Vaaliba Raja | Prabhakaran Sethji | |
| Hello Naan Pei Pesuren | Kavitha's brother | ||
| Pencil | Anthony Gonsalves | ||
| Enakku Innoru Per Irukku | Benjamin | ||
| Muthina Kathirika | Marudhu | ||
| Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum | AC Shakthivel | ||
| Veera Sivaji | Security Officer | ||
| 2017 | Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva | Shaktivel | |
| Shivalinga | N.Murali | ||
| Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan | Somu | ||
| Yaanum Theeyavan | Sundaramurthi | ||
| Sakka Podu Podu Raja | J. Neelakandan, Santa's father | ||
| 2018 | Kalakalappu 2 | Sait, Aishwarya's father | |
| 2019 | Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven | Roshan | |
| Iruttu | Head Constable | ||
| 2020 | Naanga Romba Busy | Oorandai Govindan | Television film |
| 2021 | Iruvar Ullam | Kuralarasan | |
| Tamil Rockers | |||
| 2022 | Beast | Domnic Irudhayaraj | |
| Prince | Doctor | ||
| Coffee with Kadhal | Pilot | Cameo | |
| Varalaru Mukkiyam | Adaikalam | ||
| 2023 | Varisu | Velraj | |
| Dada | Gokul | ||
| Kasethan Kadavulada | Dr. Elangeeran | ||
| Let's Get Married | Forest officer | ||
| Jailer | Dr. S Dhandapani | ||
| Conjuring Kannappan | Anjanenjan | ||
| 2024 | Romeo | Arivazhagan and Janani's uncle | |
| Rathnam | Inspector Muthupandi | Cameo | |
| Aranmanai 4 | Carpenter | ||
| The Greatest of All Time | Raghavan | ||
| Brother | Caretaker Keshav | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Ye Maaya Chesave | Film crew member | Special appearance in "Manasaa" song |
| 2023 | Bhagavanth Kesari | Minister | |
| 2024 | The Family Star | Ramesh | |
| Aay | Manager Kishore | ||
| Bhale Unnade | Darabont | ||
| Viswam | Ticket Collector |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Bandra | Goswamy | ||
| 2024 | Turbo | Minister Arivazhagan Chella Durai |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa | |
| 2011 | Vaanam | |
| 2014 | Inga Enna Solluthu | |
| 2017 | Sakka Podu Podu Raja | |
| Year | Title | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Inga Enna Solluthu | "Butterfly" | also lyrics |
| 2014 | Kappal | "Friendship" | film version only |
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jawan | Naresh Gossain | Agriculture Minister | Tamil dubbed version | [8] |
| 2024 | Young Rafiki | Tamil dubbed version | [9] | ||