M. Manikandan is an Indian film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer who works in Tamil cinema. He began his career as an assistant cinematographer in Tamil films. He made his directorial debut with the short film Wind (2010) and got his breakthrough in feature films like Kaaka Muttai (2015), which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. In 2022, he produced the film Kadaisi Vivasayi, for which he received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Kaaka Muttai is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written, directed and filmed by M. Manikandan, in his directorial debut. Jointly produced by Dhanush's Wunderbar Films, Vetrimaaran's Grass Root Film Company and distributed by Fox Star Studios, it stars newcomers Vignesh and Ramesh, alongside Aishwarya Rajesh, Ramesh Thilak, Yogi Babu in supporting roles and Silambarasan in a cameo appearance. The film's storyline revolves around two slum children of Chennai, whose desire is to taste a pizza.