Ganja Karuppu is an Indian actor who has predominantly appeared in comedy roles in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

. After making his debut in Bala's '' Pithamagan'' (2003), Ganja Karuppu experienced success in the late 2000s with his roles in '' Raam'' (2005), ''

Sivakasi Sivakasi () is a city and Municipal Corporation in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This city is known for its fireworks, firecracker, matchbox and printing industries. Sivakasi city alone meets about 90% fire cracker ...

'' (2005), ''

Paruthiveeran ''Paruthiveeran'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Ameer. The film stars Karthi in his feature film debut as the title character, with Priyamani as the female lead and Ponvannan, Saravanan, Ganja ...

'' (2007), ''

Subramaniyapuram ''Subramaniapuram'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language period action film produced, written, and directed by Sasikumar. The low-budget film received critical acclaim for its original script, expert direction, screenplay, editing, fresh music, acc ...

'' (2008) and ''

Naadodigal ''Naadodigal'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Samuthirakani and produced by S. Michael Rayappan under banner of Global Infotainment. The film stars Sasikumar along with Vijay Vasanth and Bharani, w ...

'' (2009).

Career

Karuppu was introduced as an actor by director Bala in '' Pithamagan'' (2003) as a person who works in the

ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: �aːɲd� ...

plantations. As a result of the role, he was thereafter credited in films as Ganja Karuppu. In the 2000s, he subsequently was regularly cast in rural films by directors, working on notable films including Ameer's '' Raam'' (2005) and ''

'' (2007), Sasikumar's '' Subramaniapuram'' (2008),

Samuthirakani Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who predominantly works in Tamil films and Telugu films besides appearing in a number of Malayalam films Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-la ...

's ''

'' (2009) and Sargunam's ''

Kalavani ''Kalavani'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by newcomer A. Sarkunam. It stars Vimal and debutante Oviya, with Saranya Ponvannan, Ganja Karuppu and Ilavarasu in supporting roles. The film was made ...

'' (2010). During the period, he was also cast in the second lead role in Chimbudevan's ''

Arai En 305-il Kadavul ''Arai En 305-il Kadavul'' () is a 2008 Tamil-language fantasy comedy film directed by Chimbu Deven, who earlier directed ''Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei'', starring Vadivelu. A remake of the 2003 Hollywood film '' Bruce Almighty'', the film stars ...

'' (2008) alongside

Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to: People * K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician * Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician * Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...

, produced by

S Pictures S Pictures is a film production company owned by film director S. Shankar. Many of the films produced by S Pictures are commercial hits with moderate budget. Filmography Films produced Films distributed In addition to the films produced by ...

. The period of success meant that he was cast in the lead role of a film titled '' Mannar Valaikuda'' by Dhanasekaran. Despite making progress, the film about the plight of the fishermen community did not have a theatrical release. In 2012, Karuppu was set to enter

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

with a role in the Hindi remake of

's ''

Poraali ''Poraali'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil language action thriller film written and directed by Samuthirakani, starring Sasikumar in the lead role. The film also featuring Telugu actor Naresh and Swati alongside Niveda Thomas, Vasundhara, Soori ...

'' (2011), but the film eventually did not materialise. He had revealed that he would change his name to "Ganja Khan" for his stint in the Hindi film industry. Karuppu chose to turn film producer with ''

Velmurugan Borewells ''Velmurugan Borewells'' is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Gopi M P and starring Mahesh, Ganja Karuppu, Aarushi and Ragasya. Cast * Mahesh as Ramesh * Ganja Karuppu *Aarushi *Ragasya as Dhanam *IT Arasan * T ...

'' (2014) but the film went through production delays and had a low profile theatrical release, losing him a significant amount of money. Director Bala later criticised Karuppu for unnecessarily putting his acting career in jeopardy with the move. Following a period away from notable films, Karuppu made a comeback with significant roles in

S. J. Surya S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...

's as ''

Isai ''Isai'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language musical psychological thriller film co-produced, written, directed and composed by S. J. Suryah, making his comeback as a director after a 10-year hiatus since 2005. The film stars himself in the lead ...

'' (2015) and '' Dharma Durai'' (2016). In 2017, he participated in the first season of the Tamil reality television show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

'' hosted by

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

. After regularly clashing with fellow actor

Bharani Bharani (Devanagari: भरणी) is the second nakshatra in Hindu astronomy, corresponding to 35, 39, and 41 Arietis all together. In Jyotiṣa, Bharani is ruled by Shukra (the planet Venus). Also, it is classified as a Cruel or Active naks ...

, he was evicted on day 14.

Personal life

He married Sangeetha, a physiotherapist, in January 2010 in a ceremony held in his home town of

Nattarasankottai Nattarasankottai is a village in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Geography Nattarasankottai is located at . It has an average elevation of 75 metres (246 feet). Demographics As of 2001 India census, Nattarasank ...

. His first son was born in April 2011 in Madurai. In 2013, he chose to adopt the expenses of five mentally ill people in Trichy. Later in 2016, he announced his intentions of becoming a politician.

Filmography

;Television *'' Bigg Boss Tamil 1'' – Evicted Day 14 (2017) (Contestant)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karuppu, Ganja Tamil male actors Indian male film actors Living people Tamil comedians People from Sivaganga district Male actors in Tamil cinema Indian male comedians Male actors from Tamil Nadu Bigg Boss (Tamil TV series) contestants 1976 births