| 3 | | One of the first major Tamil singing stars, introduced in [[K. Subramanyam]]’s mythological Pavalakkodi (as Arjuna). Born into a family of goldsmiths in Tiruchi; joined the theatre as a child in F.G. Natesa Iyer’s troupe and went on to become the biggest Tamil stage star, sporting shoulder-length hair, diamond ear-rings and kohl around his eyes. After a successful film début, became briefly the highest-paid actor in South India, despite appearing in only 11 films, with classic performances in [[ |
| | 3 | One of the first major Tamil singing stars, introduced in [[K. Subramanyam]]’s mythological Pavalakkodi (as Arjuna). Born into a family of goldsmiths in Tiruchi; joined the theatre as a child in F.G. Natesa Iyer’s troupe and went on to become the biggest Tamil stage star, sporting shoulder-length hair, diamond ear-rings and kohl around his eyes. After a successful film début, became briefly the highest-paid actor in South India, despite appearing in only 11 films, with classic performances in [[Ellis R. Duncan|Duncan]]’s [[Ambikapathy]], [[Y.V. Rao]]’s Chintamani and [[Raja Chandrasekhar]]’s [[Ashok Kumar]], and the folk legend of the reformed saint Haridas, a major commercial hit. Helped launch the mainstream Newtone Studio (1937). As a musician, he adhered to the Tamizhisai movement, emphasising Tamil traditions as opposed to the Carnatic idiom dominated by Telugu, Kannada and Sanskrit. Arrested with [[N.S. Krishnan]] and jailed in 1945 for two years for the infamous Lakshmikantan murder (in which the two stars allegedly had a film gossip columnist, C.N. Lakshmikantan, killed). Made a high-profile comeback with two of his own productions: Chandrasekhar’s Raja Mukthi failed but is remembered as the debut of playback singer M.L. Vasanthakumari. Turned to direction with his last film Pudhu Vazhvu. Biography by Vindhan (1983). |