A.V.M. Rajan | |
---|---|
Born | Shanmugasundaram 26 July 1935 |
Other names | A.V.M Rajan |
Occupation(s) | Indian film actor, Film Producer |
Spouses | Meenakshi (m.1957) Pushpalatha (m.1964-present) |
Children | Rajan Rathnavel Rajan Amuthan Saraswathi (Sachu Venkat) Ganesh Rajan Sis.Rachel (Formerly Mahalakshmi) Dr. Catherine (Formerly Abhirami) |
Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is a former Indian actor in Tamil cinema who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Pudukottai, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Madras University. [1] His higher secondary was at Christian Sweden Mission High School. His parents wanted to see him as a police officer. He came to Madras to write the examination, but didn't fit for the exam. He was not confident as he couldn't straighten his left hand fractured at the age of 14. Instead, while working at Raj Bhavan Guindy Chennai, he tried his luck in cinema knocking on the doors of every film company to earn a better income. At long last, his relentless efforts yielded result by getting him the opportunity to enter cinema through the film Aayiram Kaalathu Payiru in which he was introduced as "Raja B.A.". Soon after, he was signed to act in the AVM's film Naanum Oru Penn also. [2]
Rajan acted in a movie produced by AVM Productions called Naanum Oru Penn, a film that starred S.S.Rajendran in the lead role. Hence he became 'A.V.M.' Rajan. Tamil actress Pushpalatha appeared in the same picture, and they became a couple and later married. They subsequently acted as a pair in many films, including Karppooram (1967) which he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. AVM Rajan has two daughters, the elder daughter Mahalakshmi was an actress between the 80s–90s. On 19 January 1984, [3] through a personal encounter with God, Rajan converted and there after became a full-time Christian preacher since 1988 [4] and since then has stopped acting in movies and dramas. His wife Pushpalatha is a Catholic by birth. She hails from Coimbatore. Following Rajan's conversion, his family too is serving full-time Ministry. [5] [6]
Jaishankar was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of Makkal Kalaingnar or Makkal Thamizhan in most films starring him. He was also referred to as Thennakathu James Bond because of his roles in films such as Vallavan Oruvan and CID Shankar.
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Saravanan Surya Mani or M. Saravanan, also known as AVM Saravanan or Meiyappa Saravanan, is an Indian producer of Tamil films. His production company is AVM Productions, which was founded in 1945 by his father, the famed director-producer A. V. Meiyappan, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Tamil cinema. He has been involved in hits such as Naanum Oru Penn, Samsaram Adhu Minsaram,Sivaji: The Boss, Vettaikaran, Minsara Kanavu, Leader and Ayan. He is the father of M. S. Guhan, another producer of movies. He owns the AVM Studios in Chennai. As a producer he won two Filmfare Awards South.
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AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. AVM has introduced numerous actors in Southern industries, some of the prominent actors are Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, S. S. Rajendran, Vyjayanthimala, Kamal Haasan and many more. The AVM Studios besides the shooting floors, has recording, dubbing and a preview theatre. The complex also houses facilities for production and post production processing.
Main Bhi Ladki Hoon is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language film. Directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar, the film stars Dharmendra and Meena Kumari. It is a remake of the Tamil film Naanum Oru Penn which itself was an adaptation on Sri Shailash Dey's Bengali play Bodhu.
Gurusala Krishnadas Venkatesh was an Indian film score composer who primarily worked in Kannada cinema during the 1960s, 1970s and until the late-1980s. He also composed music for Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. He produced numerous master pieces of Kannada film music and also brought in Western background score into Kannada films and scored music for all Bond movies of Rajkumar in the 1960s to 1970s.
Sakalakala Vallavan is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Ambika, Raveendran and Tulasi. Produced by AVM Productions, it revolves around a villager whose sister is raped by the village head's son when the former refuses to abide by his dictatorship. The villager vows to seek revenge and get his sister married to her rapist.
Andha Naal is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language mystery-thriller film, produced by A. V. Meiyappan and directed by S. Balachander. It is the first film noir in Tamil cinema, and the first Tamil film to be made without songs, dance, or stunt sequences. Set in the milieu of World War II, the story is about the killing of a radio engineer Rajan. The suspects are Rajan's wife Usha, the neighbour Chinnaiya Pillai, Rajan's brother Pattabi, Rajan's sister-in-law Hema (Menaka), and Rajan's mistress Ambujam. Each one's account of the incident points to a new suspect.
Devika Devadoss was an Indian actress who worked in Tamil, Telugu with few Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi film industry. She was a popular lead actress in the 1960s.
Srinivasan Sundarrajan, popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and urbane way of delivering dialogues, often mixing English and Tamil sentences.
Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR, was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema.
Thillana Mohanambal is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language period musical drama film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and T. S. Balaiah, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh and Manorama in supporting roles. It tells the story of Shanmugasundaram, a nadaswaram player who falls in love with Mohanambal, a Bharatanatyam dancer who reciprocates his feelings, but unfortunate circumstances and their egoistic nature prevents them from confessing their love for one another. How they overcome their self-created obstacles and those created by the people around them forms the rest of the story.
S. A. Ashokan, born as Antony and often spelled Asokan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and theatre. He was popular mainly for playing negative roles but was also a successful character actor.
Pachhai Vilakku is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by A. Bhimsingh and produced by Rama. Arangannal, A. R. Hassan Khan and T. S. Aadhi Narayanan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, C. R. Vijayakumari, S. S. Rajendran and S. V. Ranga Rao. It was released on 3 April 1964, and become a box-office success, running for over 100 days in theaters.
C. R. Vijayakumari is an Indian actress in the Tamil film industry from 1953 to 2003.
Naanum Oru Penn is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film stars S. S. Rajendran and R. Vijayakumari, with S. V. Ranga Rao, M. R. Radha, S. V. Subbaiah, C. K. Nagesh, Rajan and C. S. Pushpalatha in supporting roles. It revolves around a dark complexioned and uneducated girl and how she convinces everyone that more than appearance and education, it is the character which is important for a woman.
V. C. Guhanathan is a film screenwriter, director and producer who has worked on Indian Tamil films. He made his directorial debut in the 1970s, before proceeding to make successful films like Thanikattu Raja (1982) and Michael Raj (1987).
Kaakum Karangal is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. Inspired by British writer W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel The Painted Veil, it was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of AVM Productions. The film stars S. S. Rajendran and C. R. Vijayakumari, with Nagesh, L. Vijayalakshmi, S. V. Subbaiah, Sivakumar and Revathi playing supporting roles. It was released on 19 June 1965, and failed at the box office.
Pushpalatha is an Indian actress, who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. She has acted as heroine and character roles in more than 100 films. Her debut film was Sengottai Singam, released in 1958. When Pushpalatha co-starred with A. V. M. Rajan in Naanum Oru Penn, the two fell in love and got married. In 1964, she was a model for Lux soap