Subramaniyan Karuppaiya, known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.
Vivekanandan, known professionally as Vivek, was an Indian actor, comedian, television personality, playback singer and social activist who worked in the Tamil film industry. Introduced in films by director K. Balachander, he won three Filmfare Awards for Best Comedian in Tamil for his performances in the films, Run (2002), Saamy (2003) and Perazhagan (2004) and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, where five are Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Comedian for the films, Unnaruge Naan Irundhal (1999), Run (2002), Parthiban Kanavu (2003), Anniyan (2005) and Sivaji (2007) and Kalaivanar Award as Honorary Award. His comedy style consisted of one-liners and wordplay that featured social and political satire, which led to critics comparing him to N. S. Krishnan and earning him the nickname Chinna Kalaivanar.
Kumaravadivel Natarajan known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and occasional playback singer, having acted mainly in Tamil movies. He has at least 200 credits to his filmography and several awards including three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Comedian.
Gopishantha, better known by her stage name Manorama, also called Aachi, was an Indian actress, playback singer and comedian who had appeared in more than 1000 films and 5000 stage performances and several television series predomninantely in the Tamil language Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Sinhala until 2015. She was a recipient of the Kalaimamani award. In 2002, Government of India awarded Manorama the Padma Shri for her contribution to the arts. She received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Pudhiya Padhai (1989) and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (1995).
Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 films from 1958 to 2008, performing in a variety of roles as comedian, lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He has also acted in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. Nagesh's style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet the "Jerry Lewis of India". He was also nicknamed as the King of Comedy due to his impeccable comedy timing and body language. He featured regularly in the film projects of M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan even at a time when there was a massive rift between the two leading actors in Tamil cinema at that time.
Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, known mostly for his villain roles in an eight decade long career. He has also appeared in a few Malayalam films.
Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films.
Theni District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in India. Well protected by the scenic hill locks, the district is located besides Madurai district. The town of Theni is the district headquarters. The district is divided into two natural divisions: The hilly areas are constituted by parts of the five taluk's Theni, Bodinayakanur, Periyakulam, Uthamapalayam and Andipatti with thick vegetation and perennial streams from the hills on the western side and Cumbum valley which lies in Uthamapalayam taluk. As of 2011, Theni district had a population of 1,245,899 with a sex ratio of 980 females for every 1,000 males.
Ponnambala Thyaga Rajan Palanivel Rajan was an Indian politician.
Thai Meethu Sathiyam is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language Curry Western film directed by R. Thyagarajan and produced by Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar. The film stars Rajinikanth and Sripriya, with Mohan Babu, Prabhakar, Suruli Rajan, Sundararajan, A. V. M. Rajan, S. A. Ashokan, Nagesh, Ambareesh, Jayamalini and Sukumari in supporting roles. It focuses on a shepherd who vows to avenge his parents by killing the murderers. The film is notable for being the first masala action film in Rajinikanth's career.
Mayilsamy was an Indian actor and comedian who primarily played supporting roles. Appearing in many Tamil films, he was also a regular guest judge for Asathapovathu Yaaru on Sun TV in Chennai. He was well known for his comedy tracks in movies collaborating with veteran comedians Vivek and Vadivelu. He had featured in excess of 200 films in a career spanning nearly four decades.
Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, is an Indian preacher and former actor who was active in Tamil cinema 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. 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.
Virudhunagar Kanthan Ramasamy was an Indian actor, comedian and producer who was known for his versatility in various character roles, he played in Tamil films from 1947 to 2001.
Pudukkottai Ulaganathan Pillai Chinnappa was an Indian singer and film actor during the 30s era from Pudukottai, India. He is also credited as one of the first major influential actors of South Cinema. His notable movies include Uthama Puthiran, Aryamala, Kannagi, Manonmani, Kubera Kuchela and Jagathalapratapan.
Mynaa is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed and written by Prabu Solomon. Jointly distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram, it stars Vidharth, Amala Paul and Thambi Ramaiah. Featuring an acclaimed soundtrack by D. Imman, the film, which garnered much anticipation prior to release, released on 5 November 2010, coinciding with the Diwali festival, receiving critical acclaim and going on to win the Best Film Award at the 58th Filmfare Awards South. Actor Thambi Ramaiah went on to win the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2011. Mynaa became a major success and ended as a blockbuster among 2010 Deepavali releases and was released along with Dhanush's Uthamaputhiran. The core plot was reported to be loosely inspired by the 2006 Hong Kong movie Dog Bite Dog.
Saraswathi Sundaresan Iyer, professionally known as Kumari Sachu is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in five different languages and a few television serials. She is a character actress/comedienne who nonchalantly blended into the roles she has portrayed over five decades. She made her film début in 1953 in the film Rani at the age of 4, and has since then been a prominent face on the silver screen. She started acting in television serials in 1995.
S. Shivaram, popularly known simply as Shivaram or Shivaramanna, was an Indian actor, producer and director whose Kannada cinema career has spanned six decades. He has played roles including lead hero performances, character roles, comedic roles, as well as supporting parts. He teamed up with his elder brother, S. Ramanathan and produced several films under the name Rashi Brothers apart from directing Hrudaya Sangama in 1972. They together produced movies directed by Puttanna Kanagal like Gejje Pooje and Upasane. They also produced Dr. Rajkumar 's 175th movie Nanobba Kalla and the Tamil movie Dharma Durai starring Rajinikanth which was a remake of the 1989 Kannada movie Deva. The brothers together produced few Bollywood films as well including the 1985 movie Geraftaar which is known to be the only Indian movie to star three stalwarts - Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth - in a single movie. As an actor, Shivaram has the distinction of working with many stalwart directors out of which his association with Puttanna Kanagal is much remembered. He has acted in all the seven Kannada movies directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao starring Rajkumar.
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.
Pakoda Kadhar was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil films (Kollywood) in comedic and supportive roles. He acted in over 200 films in the Tamil language during the decades 1960s, 1970s, 1980s. He is notable for his comedian roles along with actors Nagesh, Suruli Rajan and Thengai Srinivasan. Some of his notable movies are Madras To Pondicherry, Raman Ethanai Ramanadi, Aalayam, Anbalippu, Deiveega Uravu, Kann Malar and Murugan Kaattiya Vazhi.
A. Veerappan was an Indian comedian, screenwriter, and film director. While having worked in more than 100 films. He is notable for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Nagesh in the 1960s.
