Yugendran (born Yugendran Vasudevan on 20 December 1976)[1] is an Indian actor and playback singer who has sung several songs in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.[2] He is also an occasional music director and television host.
Yugendran performed in the Launch of a Tamil radio station in Sri Lanka called Swarna Oli in 1999, where he met his wife, Hayma Malini, a popular RJ host. His wife Hayma Malini who was born and raised in Singapore, holds an Singapore citizenship. Together they have three children, Visashan Naarayan(21 yrs), Kishan Naarayan (20 yrs) and Darshan Naarayan Nair (11 yrs). He, his wife and children had previously resided in India, Malaysia and Singapore. They currently reside in Auckland, New Zealand and he runs his own events company Rambutan Media Works NZ Limited and Aroha NZ Charitable Trust.
Music career
Yugendran started out in the music industry as a Mridangamist and made his debut solo performance at the age of 10. His Mridangam Arangetram had M. Balamuralikrishna accompanying him on the viola and was attended by Ilaiyaraaja himself. His first song was for the movie Uzhavan Magan, where he sang the shepherd boy's voice. He went on to sing in stage shows with his father in India as well as overseas. Till the age of 14, he used to sing the female portion of the duets his father rendered on stage. After his voice broke, he went on to do solo performances in countries such as Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and United States, even before becoming a playback singer.
Yugendran's debut as a playback singer was with the song "Pollaachi Santhaiyile" in the film Rojavanam. He has sung in the music of the Ilaiyaraaja and also the Oscar award winner A. R. Rahman and the younger music directors such Yuvan Shankar Raja, Srikanth Deva, Sirpy and Adithyan.
His latest hit with Anirudh Ravichander for the movie Vettaiyyan topped the charts for several weeks. In this track, he lent his voice to bring back his father, the late Sri Malaysia Vasudevan’s iconic voice, through the power of AI technology. This groundbreaking collaboration blended nostalgia with innovation, creating a mesmerizing experience that resonated deeply with audiences and showcased the timeless legacy of Malaysia Vasudevan.
Yugendran was initially supposed to make his acting debut through Raja Kantheeban's Mouname in 1998, but the project was shelved.[5] His debut was in the movie Poovellam Un Vasam (2001) opposite Ajith Kumar and Jyothika. He went on to doing more movies with Vijay. He has acted in TV serials such Kolangal, Megala and Idhayam. He has acted in TV Dramas in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. He has acted as a hero in Kaiyodu Kai (2003), Ulla Kadathal (2005), Pachai Nirame (2008) and Kaazh (2024). His recent movie The Greatest of All Timemarked his reunion with Thalapathy Vijayafter 16 years since their last collaboration in Thirupachi. Prior to GOAT, he had acted in four movies with Vijay: Youth, BagavathiMadhurey and Thirupaachi. GOAT became their fifth collaboration.
Host
Yugendran started out hosting Musical programs on Jaya TV and went on to hosting more musical shows on Sun TV and VJ TV. He then was also roped in to host other genre programs, especially reality programs such as Treasure Hunt on Jaya TV and a couples contest show on the same Channel. Recently he has organised online 8 hours music tribute to his father Thiru. Malaysia Vasudevan on 75th Birthday with all renowned singers
TV Producer
Yugendran started a company called Rambutan Productions in India and Rambutan Media Works in Singapore. He is currently producing programs for India, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. He runs the company with his wife, Hayma Malini. He did TV shows in Singapore under Rambutan Media Works, which includes Endrendrum Punnagai (Film Based), Sollathaan Ninaikirain (Talk show), Vidumurai Vasantham (Holiday Variety), Kondaattam (info-ed) and Achamillai Achamillai (Talk show for women by women). Rambutan Media Works is now changed to 23 Frames Pte Ltd. and is currently producing the children's variety series "Vilaiyaattu Pasanga" (https://www.facebook.com/VilayaattuPasanga). He also directed a Reality Game Show on Starhub Varnam Television. He acted in a Singapore Tele-movie Sathurangam, which was telecasted in Singapore on Father's Day 2016 on Vasantham (MediaCorp).
