R. Sarathkumar

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R. Sarathkumar (born Ramanathan Sarathkumar, 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, politician and former bodybuilder who works mainly in Tamil cinema, with films in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi as well. He has acted in more than 150 films and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South, and is known in Tamil cinema by the titles “Super Hero” and “Supreme Star”. His screen career began in Telugu, with Samajamlo Sthree in 1986, and he played Chiranjeevi‘s brother in the Telugu hit Gang Leader.

Early life

Sarathkumar was born in New Delhi to Ramanathan, who worked at All India Radio and later the Press Information Bureau, and Pushpaleela, and is the youngest of three children. After the family moved to Chennai he attended Raja Muthiah High School, the Central School at IIT Madras and St. Patrick’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. A keen sportsman, he played football, cricket and hockey, joined the NCC as an Air Wing cadet and marched in the 1970 Republic Day Parade. He graduated in mathematics from The New College.

Bodybuilder and journalist

He took up bodybuilding and won the “Mr. Madras University” title in 1974. He then moved to Bangalore to work for the new Tamil newspaper Dinakaran, starting as a cycle boy delivering papers and rising to reporter. Back in Chennai he ran a travel agency, and a meeting with Kannadasan led him into film production. He speaks all the major South Indian languages and is proficient in Russian.

Villain and supporting roles

His acting debut came in the Telugu film Samajamlo Sthree (1986), at a producer friend’s request. In 1988 he acted in and produced the Tamil film Kan Simittum Neram. His role as the villain in the 1989 blockbuster Pulan Visaranai won him a Cinema Express Award for Best Villain and brought many more offers. He played antagonists in Tamil films and in Telugu films such as Vishnu, Magaadu and Balachandrudu.

In 1991 alone he acted in twelve Tamil and three Telugu films. In Telugu he played a negative role in Stuartpuram Police Station, starring Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti, Chiranjeevi’s brother in the successful Gang Leader, and a small part in Surya IPS. In Tamil he had the second lead in the blockbuster Captain Prabhakaran and began taking leads in films such as K. S. Ravikumar’s Cheran Pandiyan.

Stardom

Pavithran’s action film Suriyan (1992), for which he shaved his head, was his first big break and a major hit. In 1992 he also acted in the Telugu film Agreement, directed by Manivannan. After the Telugu film Captain (1994), directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, failed, and K. S. Ravikumar’s Nattamai (1994), in which he played a dual role, became a blockbuster, he decided to focus on Tamil cinema. Nattamai won him the Tamil Nadu State Film Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Vikraman’s Suryavamsam (1997), another dual role, was a blockbuster and brought a second Filmfare Award, and Ravikumar’s Natpukkaga brought a third Filmfare Award and a second State Award. He later returned to Telugu for Preminchanu Nene.

Later career

In the 2000s he had successes with Maayi, Arasu and Aai, in which he also sang, and in 2005 starred in Hari’s Ayya alongside newcomer Nayanthara. That year he also made a guest appearance in the Telugu film Bunny. His 100th film, Thalaimagan (2006), which he also directed, was produced by his wife, Raadhika, under Radaan Mediaworks.

Politics and public roles

In 2007 he founded the All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi in Tamil Nadu, saying it would carry forward the ideals of K. Kamaraj, and he has served as MLA for Tenkasi. He was president of the Nadigar Sangam for three consecutive terms from 2006 to 2015. His daughter Varalaxmi Sarathkumar is also an actress.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.