Raghuvaran Velayutham (11 December 1958 – 19 March 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in films made in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. He has acted in more than 200
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
films. According to the ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'', "The actor had carved a niche for himself with his special style and voice modulation."
He played the protagonist of a Tamil soap opera, ''Oru Manidhanin Kadhai'', about a well-to-do man who becomes an alcoholic. He received critical acclaim for his role as Father Alphonso in the Malayalam movie ''
Daivathinte Vikruthikal'', directed by
Lenin Rajendran
Lenin Rajendran ( ml, ലെനിൻ രാജേന്ദ്രൻ) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam cinema. He served as the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation from 2016 to January 2019 ...
and based on
M. Mukundan's novel of the same name.
Raghuvaran's six-song music album, composed and sung by him, were officially released by actor
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
and the album was received by actress
Rohini and Raghuvaran's son Rishi Varan.
Personal life
He was born as the eldest among four children in 1958
at
Kollengode in Palakkad district in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. He was the grandson of Mr. N. Radhakrishnan Nair and son of Chunkamannathu N. R. Velayudhan Nair and Kasthuri Chakkungal.
When his father moved his hotel business from
Mathur to
Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
, the family shifted to Coimbatore. He had his primary education from Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore. He also learned piano from
Trinity College London
Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...
.
He discontinued his Bachelor of Arts in history from Coimbatore (Government Arts College) to pursue a career in acting. He landed a minor role in the Kannada film ''Swapna Thingalgal''. He began acting in minor roles in Telugu and Kannada films.
From 1979 to 1983, he was part of an acting drama troupe in Chennai, Chennai Kings, which also included the Tamil actor,
Nassar
Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...
. He was spotted and cast as the lead actor in ''
Ezhavathu Manithan
''Ezhavathu Manithan'' () is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language film co-written and directed by K. Hariharan. Inspired by a real-life incident, the film focuses on environmental pollution and exploitation of industrial workers. Starring Raghuvaran in ...
'', which was his biggest role to date.
He married
Rohini in 1996 and their son Rishi Varan was born in 2000. The couple later separated and divorced in 2004.
Career
Following his beginnings on the stage, and a diploma in acting from
M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute in Chennai, Raghuvaran approached many Kollywood studios aiming for performance oriented roles and finally got selected as hero. The offbeat film named ''
Ezhavathu Manithan
''Ezhavathu Manithan'' () is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language film co-written and directed by K. Hariharan. Inspired by a real-life incident, the film focuses on environmental pollution and exploitation of industrial workers. Starring Raghuvaran in ...
'' (Seventh Man),
directed by Hariharan won many awards, but not many offers for him. A few more films followed with him as hero, like ''
Oru Odai Nadhiyagirathu
''Oru Odai Nadhiyagirathu'' () is a 1983 Indian Tamil-language film, written, produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar and starring Raghuvaran. The female leads were Sumalatha and Manochitra (daughter of T. S. Balaiah).
Plot
Raghuvaran visits ...
'' and ''Nee Thodumbothu'' released, but did not become successes. The villain role in ''
Silk Silk Silk'' was noticed and the film's success opened the gate of offers for him. The villain act continued in films like ''
Kutravaaligal
''Kutravaaligal'' is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Rama Narayanan, starring Raveendran in lead role.
Cast
*Raveendran
*Viji
*Raghuvaran
*Jayamalini
*Radha Ravi
Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan Ravi (born 29 July 1952) is a ...
'', ''
Mr. Bharath
''Mr. Bharath'' is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by S. P. Muthuraman. The film stars Rajinikanth, Sathyaraj and Ambika. A remake of the Hindi film '' Trishul'', it revolves around a son's revenge against his father for cheat ...
'', "
Poo vizhi vasalile", ''Mandhira Punnagai'' and ''
Oorkavalan
''Oorkavalan'' () is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Manobala, starring Rajinikanth and Raadhika. The film did average business in box-office.
Plot
The story describes the struggle of a young villager Kangeyan to ...
''. He appeared as hero as well as supporting actor in between releases as well. The major ones are ''
Mudivalla Arambam
''Mudivalla Arambam'' () is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language film directed by N. M. Mohideen, starring Rajesh and Jyothi. It was released on 30 March 1984.
Plot
Cast
*Rajesh
* Jyothi
* Raghuvaran
* Sarath Babu
* Kumarimuthu
* Master Haja Sha ...
'' and ''
Samsaram Adhu Minsaram
''Samsaram Adhu Minsaram'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced by AVM Productions, and written and directed by Visu. He also stars as part of an ensemble cast including Lakshmi, Chandrasekhar, Kishmu, Raghuvaran, Delhi Ga ...
''.
In a leading role
In the mid 1980s, Raghuvaran did many films as hero and most of them did good business as well. The films ''
Michael Raj
''Michael Raj'' is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by V. C. Guhanathan and produced by D. Ramanaidu, starring Raghuvaran in lead role, supported by Madhuri, Sarath Babu and Baby Shalini. It was released on 5 December ...
'', ''
Megam Karuththirukku
''Megam Karuththirukku'' () is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Rama Narayanan, starring Prabhu and Raghuvaran. It was released on 6 March 1987.
Plot
Cast
* Prabhu
*Raghuvaran
* Senthil
*Rekha
* Madhuri
* Charle
*Venn ...
'', ''
Koottu Puzhukkal
''Koottu Puzhukkal'' () is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by R. C. Sakthi. The film stars Raghuvaran and Amala, supported by Chandrasekhar and Y. Vijaya. It is based on the novel of the same name by Anuradha Ramanan. The ...
'' and ''
Kavithai Paada Neramillai
''Kavithai Paada Neramillai'' () is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Yuhi Sethu, starring Raghuvaran, Amala, Yuhi Sethu and Nassar in lead roles. The film was a remake of the Hindi film ''Ankush''.
Cast
*Raghuvaran
*Amala
* N ...
'' helped to stabilize his career. The lawyer in ''
Kaliyugam
''Kaliyugam'' is a 1973 Indian Malayalam film, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by M. O. Joseph. The film stars Sudheer, Bahadoor, Jayabharathi, KPAC Lalitha, Adoor Bhasi and Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai in the lead roles. The fil ...
'', the police officer in ''
Thaimel Aanai'', the rowdy with a golden heart in ''
Kai Naattu
''Kai Naattu'' is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language film directed by V.C.Guhanathan and produced by D. Ramanaidu, starring Raghuvaran in lead role, supported by Shantipriya and Mucherla Aruna.
Plot
''Kai Naattu'' is the story of a goonda who alw ...
'', the honest Medical student turned Goonda in ''
Kuttravali'' and the common man in ''
En Vazhi Thani Vazhi'' helped Raghuvaran's market value as hero to reach greater heights. But his desire to try all types of roles, like supporting actor as well as villain simultaneously halted the progress as hero, even though he played hero roles in ''
Vyooham
''Vyooham'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language action film, directed by Sangeeth Sivan, starring Raghuvaran, Sukumaran, Captain Raju, Babu Antony, Urvashi, Rajan P. Dev and Parvathy Jayaram. It was the debut directorial of Sangeeth Sivan.
T ...
'', ''
Kavacham'' and ''
Anjali'' later. His supporting roles in ''
Annanagar Mudhal Theru
''Annanagar Mudhal Theru'' () is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Balu Anand. The film stars Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Ambika, Radha. It a remake of the 1986 Malayalam film ''Gandhinagar 2nd Street''.
Plot
Sivaraman, una ...
'' and ''
Siva'' were well received too.
Experimentation
Raghuvaran was pitted against
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
in his
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 ...
debut ''
Izzatdaar
''Izzatdaar'' is a 1990 Indian Hindi-language film starring Dilip Kumar, Govinda, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Shafi Inamdar and South Indian actor Raghuvaran in his Bollywood film debut.
Synopsis
Dilip Kumar plays the role of a man set up and ...
'' and his popularity further soared at the national level with
Ram Gopal Varma
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
's gangster flick ''
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
'', where he played the dreaded gangster ''Bhawani''. Other
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 ...
films include ''
Rakshak
''Rakshak'' () is 1996 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Ashok Honda, starring Sunil Shetty, Karisma Kapoor, Raghuvaran, Sonali Bendre, Alok Nath and Aruna Irani. It is a remake of the Tamil film ''Honest Raj''.
Plot
Raj a ...
'' opposite
Sunil Shetty (1996), ''
Lal Baadshah
''Lal Baadshah'' is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by K. C. Bokadia, starring Amitabh Bachchan in a dual role, Raghuvaran, Manisha Koirala, Shilpa Shetty and Amrish Puri. Nirupa Roy also appears in her last film playin ...
'' opposite
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
(1999), ''Hitler'' opposite
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...
(1998) and ''
Grahan
''Grahan'' (English: ''Eclipse'') is a 2001 film directed by Shashilal K. Nair, starring Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran. The film follows the story of Parvati, a rape victim who quests for justice, and learns that it is not su ...
'' along with
Jackie Shroff
Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), popularly known as Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model. He has been in the Bollywood industry for over four decades, and , has appeared in over 220 films in 13 languages namely Hi ...
, where he replaced a busy
Nana Patekar
Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film maker, and a former Indian Territorial Army officer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is regarded as one of the finest a ...
in 2001.
In a career span lasting for more than 26 years, Raghuvaran performed each role with his trademark mannerisms, often stealing the thunder from more established stars and even heroes. His magnetic baritone voice was an advantage and he modulated it to suit his variety of roles. He also set his own style of mannerisms and brought a distinct dialogue delivery and even changed his gait in many films. All this dedication won him more fans and helped his popularity soar ever higher.
He has received several state and Filmfare Awards for his performances in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. He began his career as a supporting actor in a number of films in Tamil including Mani Rathnam's ''
Anjali'' as the father of an autistic child. He later played villains in ''
Baasha'' as Mark Anthony, ''
Mudhalvan
''Mudhalvan'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film produced by R. Madhesh and S. Shankar, written and directed by Shankar. The film stars Arjun, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran while Vadivelu and Manivannan appear in ...
'' as Aranganathan (corrupt Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu), ''
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
'' and ''
Muthu'' as Ilaimaran. He later returned to supporting roles – sometimes as a father or as a mentor in films such as ''
Alai'', ''
Yaaradi Nee Mohini
''Yaaradi Nee Mohini'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Mithran Jawahar. It is a remake of the 2007 Telugu hit Selvaraghavan's ''Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule'' and stars Dhanush, Selvaraghavan's brother, ...
'', ''
Thirumalai
''Thirumalai'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Ramana. The film stars Vijay and Jyothika, with Manoj K. Jayan, Avinash (in his Tamil debut), Vivek, Raghuvaran, Kausalya and Karunas in supporting roles ...
'' and ''
Bala''.
Death
Raghuvaran died on 19 March 2008.
The cause of death was due to organ failure because of excessive alcohol consumption.
His death occurred during the filming stages of several films, including ''
Kanthaswamy
''Kanthaswamy'' is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language superhero film written and directed by Susi Ganesan, starring Vikram as the titular character, with Prabhu, Shriya Saran, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mukesh Tiwari, Krishna Ghattamaneni and Vadivelu fo ...
'' (2009),wherein Raghuvaran's portions were reshot with
Ashish Vidyarthi, which resulted in the film's delayed release. His posthumous film, ''
Aatadista'', released shortly after his death.
Filmography
1982–89
1990–99
2000–09
Singer
Awards
*Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain for ''
Mudhalvan
''Mudhalvan'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film produced by R. Madhesh and S. Shankar, written and directed by Shankar. The film stars Arjun, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran while Vadivelu and Manivannan appear in ...
'' (1999)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1958 births
2008 deaths
Male actors from Kerala
Male actors in Kannada cinema
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema
M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute alumni
People from Palakkad district
Alumni of Trinity College of Music
Male actors in Telugu cinema
21st-century Indian male actors
20th-century Indian male actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema