Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 169 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled lines and idiosyncrasies in films, he has a huge fan base internationally and has a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2019 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Prabhu Ganesan, known professionally as Prabhu, is an Indian actor, businessman and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan. Prabhu was one of the leading actors in Tamil cinema in the later 1980s and 90s. He is popularly known as Ilaya Thilagam. He has worked in more than 220 films in lead and supporting roles in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.
Rangaraj Subbiah, professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who predominantly appears in Tamil films. His 240 films also include works in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian actor, politician, filmmaker and former bodybuilder who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He has acted in more than 145 films and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.
Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman, better known by his stage name Karthik, is an Indian actor, playback singer and politician who works in Tamil cinema. He is the son of veteran actor R. Muthuraman. In the 1980s and 90s, Karthik was one of the biggest stars in the industry. He was first introduced by Bharathiraja in the Tamil film Alaigal Oivathillai (1981) and became a lead actor in Tamil films by his own. He has also appeared in some Telugu films where he was initially credited as Murali. Karthik is popularly known as Navarasa Nayagan for his "ability to emote all forms of actions and emotions". He has acted in more than 125 films. He has been the recipient of four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Nandi Award and four Filmfare Awards South.
S.S. Manivannan, better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a career spanning three decades, he went from being a story and dialogue writer for director Bharathiraja from 1980–82 to a successful director who thrived in experimenting with different genres, before becoming an actor. With over 400 films to his name, Manivannan was one of the most experienced actors in the field and directed exactly 50 films. Manivannan was mainly a supporting actor in films and often played the comedian, supporting character and villainous roles.
Panchaksharam Rangasamy Pillai, known professionally as Vijayakumar, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He started his film career in the Tamil film Sri Valli (1961) as a child actor and started playing a lead role from the movie Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974) then he worked in Madhura Geetham (1977) and Azhage Unnai Aarathikkiren (1979). He has also acted in Telugu and Malayalam movies. He also worked in television serials like Thangam, Vamsam, Talambralu, Nandini and Rasaathi. His son is actor Arun Vijay.
The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil film lead actors. The Filmfare Awards South Awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972. The year indicates the year of release of the film.
Uzhaippali is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language action drama film, written and directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Rajinikanth and Roja. It was released on 24 June 1993 and became a hit at the box office.
Yajaman is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by R. V. Udayakumar. It stars Rajinikanth and Meena. The film was produced by M. Saravanan, M. S. Guhan and M. Subrahmaniam of AVM Productions. It was released on 18 February 1993. The film was commercially successful and had a 175-day theatrical run.
Pandian is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language action film produced and directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Rajinikanth, Khushbu, Janagaraj and Prabhakar. It is a remake of the 1991 Kannada film Bombay Dada which starred Prabhakar, who portrayed the antagonist of this film. The film was released on 25 October 1992 during Diwali to average reviews and failed at the box office.
Raja Chinna Roja is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language children's film, directed by S. P. Muthuraman, and produced by AVM Productions. The plot revolves around Raja (Rajinikanth), who arrives in the city to become an actor. In the process he meets his childhood friend (Raghuvaran) and is forced to take care of his nieces and nephews.
Un Kannil Neer Vazhinthal... is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Balu Mahendra. It stars Rajinikanth and Madhavi, with Y. G. Mahendran in a prominent role. V. K. Ramasamy and Senthamarai play other pivotal roles. The film, released on 20 June 1985, was an average grosser at the box office and had a theatrical run of 75 days.
Bairavi is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language film directed by M. Bhaskar, and produced by Kalaignanam, who also wrote the story and dialogues. It stars Srikanth, Rajinikanth and Sripriya. Geetha was introduced in this film and plays the title character. Srikanth played the antagonist. Sudheer, Manorama and Suruli Rajan played other major roles. The film was released on 8 June 1978.
Kizhakku Vaasal is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed and co-written by R. V. Udayakumar. The film stars Karthik, Revathi and Khushbu. It was released on 12 July 1990 and ran for over 175 days in theatres. In 1992, the film was remade in Hindi as Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana and in Kannada as Sindhoora Thilaka. In 1995, it was remade in Telugu as Chilakapachcha Kaapuram.
Aan Paavam is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Pandiarajan. It was his second directorial venture and first as actor. The film also stars Pandiyan, Revathi and Seetha. It was released on 7 December 1985, and became a box office success. The film was remade into Telugu as Naku Pellam Kavali (1987) and in Kannada as Ramakrishna (2004).
Ponnumani is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by R. V. Udayakumar, starring Karthik, Soundarya and Sivakumar. It was released on 16 April 1993.
S. P. Muthuraman, also referred to as SPM, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He has directed 72 films in Tamil. He was one of the most successful commercial directors in Tamil cinema. Initially he worked mainly with R. Muthuraman, Jaishankar, Sivaji Ganesan and went on to direct successful films with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film, directed by Manivannan. The film stars Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Nadhiya and Sudha Chandran. It was released on 27 February 1987. The film was remade in Telugu as Chinnodu Peddodu and in Kannada as Ramanna Shamanna.
Vijayakumar is an Indian actor and politician. Along with predominant work in Tamil cinema since 1973, he has acted in some Telugu films. He also works in television serials.
