Shane was born as eldest among three children, to actor Abi and Sunila, in Elamakkara, Kochi, Kerala. He did his schooling from Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara. He was pursuing engineering at Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology, Kochi. He has two younger sisters, Ahana and Aleena.[2]Abi was an actor and also a popular mimicry artist.[3]
Nigam played a central character alongside veteran actors Amala and Manju Warrier in the 2017 film C/O Saira Banu.[6] The following year, he appeared in the romantic film Eeda which was also praised by critics.[7]
Nigam starred in two films in 2019; the comedy-drama Kumbalangi Nights, which was highly successful on box office and received rave reviews from film critics and the romantic thriller Ishq.[8]
Controversies
Interruptions in production
Veyil
By the end of 2019, Shane received a death threat from Malayalam film producer Joby George, which the actor shared through Facebook live, causing controversy.[9] The issue seemed to have been resolved through mediation from AMMA. However, he affected the continuity of the movie Veyil, by getting a haircut, leading to producers calling for a ban on the actor.
RDX
During the filming of the movie RDX, Shane Nigam reportedly walked off the set of the movie "RDX" mid-shoot, alleging that his character was not given enough importance in the film, leading to a major disruption in production and subsequent backlash from the producers and film industry associations against him; this incident involved accusations of unprofessional behavior and demands for greater prominence in the movie by Nigam.[10]
Political/religious leaning
He supported the 'All Eyes on Rafa' campaign and claimed in his Instagram story that he is a ‘Sudapi from India,’ a term used in Kerala to represent someone who is an Islamist. He has been criticized for not taking a similar humanitarian stand for the Hindus of Bangladesh. [11][12]
Unni Mukundan
He mocked Unni Mukundan and his fans by referring to them as ‘UMFI’ (an informal word referring to people engaging in fellatio in Malayalam) (Unni Mukundan Fans Association of India) at the end of 2024, without any provocation. [13][14][15]
