03Career
Two decades,
told in order.
A chronological record of the professional career of Aishwarya Rajinikanth — the playback recordings, the years as an assistant director, the four features, the documentary, and the work that sits alongside them.
2003 – Present
01The Chronology
From a single
song to a unit
of her own.
Each entry below is drawn from published, verifiable records of her professional work — credits, release dates, appointments and announcements.
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2003First credit
A song before a film
Her professional debut in cinema is a playback recording: “Natpae Natpae” for D. Imman’s score to Whistle, sung alongside Silambarasan, D. Imman, Uma Mahesh and Roopa Venkat.
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2008Television
On the judging panel
She joined the third season of Jodi Number One, the dance competition on STAR Vijay, as a judge alongside Sangeetha and Jeeva.
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2010Apprenticeship
Three roles on one film
On Selvaraghavan’s Aayirathil Oruvan she worked as an assistant director, sang “Un Mela Aasadhan” with Dhanush and Andrea Jeremiah for G. V. Prakash Kumar’s soundtrack, and provided the dubbing voice for the actor Reema Sen. The song was nominated at the Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer.
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2012Debut feature
Directing 3
Released on 30 March 2012, 3 starred Dhanush and Shruti Haasan in a story about a marriage undone by an untreated psychiatric illness. It gave the composer Anirudh Ravichander his first film score and carried “Why This Kolaveri Di”, which became a global streaming phenomenon.
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2015Second feature
Vai Raja Vai
A crime thriller about a man whose premonitions pull him into high-stakes gambling, starring Gautham Karthik and Priya Anand, produced by AGS Entertainment with a score by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Released 1 May 2015.
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2016Page & platform
A memoir, and an appointment
HarperCollins India published Standing on an Apple Box: The Story of a Girl Among the Stars in December. Earlier the same year, in August, she was appointed UN Women’s Advocate for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in India. In July 2015 she had announced Ten Entertainment, a YouTube channel for original short-form work.
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2017Documentary
Cinema Veeran
A 51-minute documentary on the stunt artistes and fight choreographers of Tamil cinema, produced by Wunderbar Films with narration by Rajinikanth. Released 21 June 2017. In March of the same year she performed Bharatanatyam at the United Nations headquarters for International Women’s Day.
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2024Third feature
Lal Salaam
Released 9 February 2024 and produced by Lyca Productions, the film used a village cricket rivalry to examine communal tension, with a score by A. R. Rahman. Rajinikanth appeared in an extended cameo as Moideen Bhai — the first time he acted in a film directed by her.
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2026In production
Texla
Launched in Chennai in March 2026 and on the floors from June, Texla is a multilingual feature produced by the Kannan Ravi Group, led by Jai and Suraj Venjaramoodu, with Yuvan Shankar Raja returning as composer. It is planned for release in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
—On the Circuit
Festivals, panels
and the podium.
Alongside production work, she has taken part in film-festival programming and public conversation — including the 43rd International Film Festival of India at Goa in 2012, where she sat on the festival’s master-class platform, and appearances at the Jaipur Literature Festival following the publication of her memoir.
—Recognition
Honours along
the way.
The Kalaimamani honour from the Government of Tamil Nadu, a Filmfare Awards South nomination for playback singing, and an international advocacy appointment — set out in full on the achievements page.
→Enquiries
For career and
festival enquiries.
For press, festival, distribution and professional enquiries, please write or call. All correspondence is handled directly.