Robo Shankar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Robo Shankar

• Robo Shankar grew up in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

• His stage name ‘Robo Shankar’ came from his popular robot dance moves, which he often performed during local village shows.

• Shankar played various uncredited roles in the early 2000s, including Aditya’s henchman in ‘Joot: Are You Ready’ (2003), a police officer in ‘Uyirosai’ (2003), and an army man in ‘Aai’ (2004).

  

• In 2009, he appeared as a contestant on the reality show ‘Athu Ithu Ethu,’ which aired on Star Vijay.

• In 2011, Robo appeared in the film ‘Rowthiram.’ He was initially offered a significant role, but most of his scenes were edited in the final cut, except for a song appearance.

  

• His appearance as ‘Sound Shankar’ in the film ‘Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara’ (2013) earned him great recognition.

  

• Shankar made a special appearance in a song for a Malaysian Tamil-language film titled ‘Muthukumar Wanted’ (2015).

• He worked in many other films, such as Raghavan in ‘Ka Ka Ka Po’ (2016), Kuthala Sithambaram in ‘Mr. Local’ (2019), Samadhanam in ‘Partner’ (2023), and Vijay in ‘Desingu Raja 2’ (2025).

  

• In 2016, he played the role of ‘MLA Jacket Janakiraman’ in the film ‘Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran.’

• Robo appeared as a judge on many reality shows, including Star Vijay’s ‘Kings of Comedy Juniors’ (seasons 1 and 2) (2017-2018) and ‘Kalakka Povathu Yaaru? Champions’ (2017).

  

• Shankar voiced ‘Pumbaa’ in the Tamil dubbed version of ‘The Lion King’ in 2019. In 2024, he voiced the same character again for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King.’

• In 2020, he played the role of ‘Killi Vallavan’ (Killi) in the web series ‘Time Enna Boss!?’, which streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

  

• After achieving success in the industry, Shankar withdrew from the spotlight as his health declined due to alcohol addiction. He, however, later recovered and credited veteran journalist Nakkeeran Gopal for helping him emerge from that phase.

• In 2023, he underwent treatment for jaundice, which caused significant weight loss.

• Robo Shankar passed away on 18 September 2025 at the age of 46 after collapsing on the set of ‘GodsJilla’ in Chennai; he was admitted to a private hospital and moved to intensive care due to fluctuating blood pressure.