Manivannan (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, voice artist, playback singer and social activist who worked in Tamil cinema.

[5] He was born on 31 July 1953 to R S Maniam, a rice merchant, textile trader, and a well-known politician in Coimbatore and Maragatham who has contested in the elections and won a seat in the panchayat.

Inspired by the impact the film Kizhake Pogum Rail (1978) made on him, he wrote a fan mail to the film-maker Bharathiraja and the letter ran to more than a hundred pages.

He had acted alongside many stars including Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Sathyaraj, Karthik, Mohan, Madhavan, Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Surya and among others.

[12] The Hindu wrote that his film Amaidhi Padai (1994) "has set the standards for political satire in Tamil cinema".

[13] Certain directorial ventures which he had started including Aaruvathu Sinam featuring Sathyaraj and Prabhu, were delayed and then dropped.

[16] Manivannan directed his best friend Sathyaraj in a good 25 films[8] and gave 12 successive hits as the director of Tamil films with Sathyaraj as the lead hero – Jallikattu, Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi, Ganam Kortaar Avargale, Manidhan Marivittan, Ullathil Nalla Ullam, Vazhkkaichakkaram, Pudhu Manithan, Therku Theru Machan, Government Mapillai, Amaidhipadai.

[6] Manivannan was a Tamil patriot and joined the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) political party and campaigned for them during the 2006 Assembly elections.

[citation needed] Manivannan died shortly after the release of his 50th directorial venture Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA due to a cardiac arrest on 15 June 2013 at the age of 59 in his Nesapakkam residence at Chennai.