Ranjan (born as Ramanarayana Venkataramana Sarma; 2 March 1918 – 12 September 1983) was an Indian actor, singer, journalist and writer. He debuted in the 1941 movie ''

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

'', but gained fame in

S. S. Vasan Subramaniam Srinivasan (4 January 1904 – 26 August 1969), popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon. He is the founder of the Tamil-language maga ...

's 1948 magnum opus '' Chandralekha''.

Early life

Ranjan was born Ramanarayana Venkataramana Sarma in

Mylapore Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...

, Madras in 1918. His family hailed from the town of

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...

. Ranjan had his schooling in Madras and received an M. Lit degree from Madras University. While studying in college, he participated in a number of stage plays. Coincidentally, an employee of

Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Sub ...

, Veppattur Kittu was present at one of his plays. Impressed by Ranjan's performance, Kittu suggested his name to P. G. Raghavachari, who cast him in the

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor, producer and Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actors in Tamil cine ...

-starrer ''

'', in which he played the role of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

. However, Ranjan did not have any dialogues in the film. Following the success of ''Ashok Kumar'', Ranjan was cast in '' Rishyasringar'', in which he played the title role of

Rishyasringa Rishyasringa ( sa, ऋष्यशृङ्ग; ; Pali: Isisiṅga) is a Rishi mentioned in Indian (Hindu and Buddhist) scriptures from the late first millennium BCE. According to the Hindu epics ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', he was a boy b ...

. In his early movies, Ranjan was credited as "R. Ramani, B. A." The screen name "Ranjan" was actually bestowed upon him by Jithen Banerjee of Newtone Studios. In the 1940s, Ranjan established a School of Music and Dancing, and edited an art journal entitled ''Natyam''. He was also awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship under the International Art Program sponsored by the Institute of International Education, New York, in 1950-51. Though Ranjan acted in a number of Bollywood movies, especially costume dramas and some social movies in the 1950s and 1960s, but his star faded by the end of 1967. His performances in blockbusters in Tamil - Mangamma Sabatham, Chandralekha, En Magal made him very famous. Due to his popularity he shifted to Hindi film industry from 1951 and was active till 1966 as hero. He is best known for his roles in Hindi films like ''Mangala'', ''Sindbad The Sailor'', ''Madari'', ''Bahut Din Huwe'', ''Suvarn Sundari'', ''Nishan'', ''Magic Carpet''. His come-back attempt in Tamil movies Neelamalai Thirudan (1957) was a box office hit. But his last film Captain Ranjan (1969) flopped. He did not much opportunity to showcase his talents especially after 1960 in Tamil films.

Family

His brother R.R. Sarma, an Architect, who graduated from the JJ School of Arts in Mumbai, designed several projects for the TVS and Murugappa Groups and collaborated his wife brother sivakumar with a UN expert for a housing project in Pallikkaranai. R.R. Sarma, whose firm did not continue after his lifetime, clearly articulated what ailed the industry. "Designing houses in Madras is back-breaking and frustrating," he'd said. He took all that in his stride and went on to create the grand Madras University centenary auditorium, the stately RBI office, Victoria Technical Institute on Anna Salai and Voluntary Health Services in Taramani.

Death

Ranjan died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

at a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

hotel on 12 September 1983. He was sixty-five years old at that time.

Partial Filmography

*(1943) '' Mangamma Sapatham'' *(1948) '' Chandralekha'' *(1949) ''Nishan'' / Hindi version of Apporva Sagodharargal *(1950) ''

Mangala Mangala (Sanskrit: मङ्गल, IAST: ) is the personification, as well as the name for the planet Mars, in Hindu literature. Also known as Lohita (), he is the celibate deity of anger, aggression, as well as war. According to Vaishnavism, ...

'' *(1952) ''Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo'' *(1954) ''Minnal Veeran'' *(1957) '' Neelamalai Thirudan'' *(1958) ''Hum Bhi Kuchh Kam Nahin'' *(1959) ''Madari'' *(1960) Air Mail *(1961) ''Sapera'' *(1961) ''Jadoo Nagri'' *(1961) ''Khiladi'' *(1962) " SAKHI ROBIN" *(1965) ''Accident'' *(1969) ''Captain Ranjan'' (Tamil - Produced in 1960 but released in 1969)

Notes

One of his Hindi movies of 1960 was Air Mail, which had a melodious song by Manna Day: "Tum Jo Aao To Bahar Aaye".

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranjan 1983 deaths Indian male film actors Journalists from Tamil Nadu Male actors from Tiruchirappalli 1918 births 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian journalists Writers from Tiruchirappalli