Karthik | |
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.jpg) Karthik at an event | |
| Born | Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman (1960-09-13)13 September 1960 (age 65) Udhagamandalam,Tamil Nadu State, India |
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| Alma mater | The New College, Chennai |
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| Years active |
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| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingGautham Karthik |
| Father | R. Muthuraman |
Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman (born 13 September 1960), better known by his stage nameKarthik, is an Indian actor, playback singer and politician who works inTamil cinema. He is the son of veteran actorR. Muthuraman. Known asNavarasa Nayagan, Karthik was one of the biggest stars in the industry in the 80s and 90s. He was first introduced byBharathiraja in the Tamil filmAlaigal Oivathillai (1981) and became a lead actor inTamil films eventually. He has also appeared in someTelugu films where he was initially credited as Murali.[2] Karthik is often appreciated for his ability to emote all forms of actions and emotions.[3] He has acted in more than 125 films. He has been the recipient of fourTamil Nadu State Film Awards, aNandi Award and fourFilmfare Awards South.[4]
Karthik was born as Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman on 13 September 1960 inOoty to veteran actorR. Muthuraman and Sulochana.[5] He has two sons,Gautham and Ghayn, from his first marriage with Ragini, and another son, Thiran, from his second marriage with Rathi.[6]
Karthik was first introduced in cinema byBharathiraja in the Tamil filmAlaigal Oivathillai (1981). Bharathiraja gave him the Tamil stage name , Karthik . He received theBest New Face Award from the Tamil Nadu Government in 1981. He starred in the Telugu version of the filmSeethakoka Chilaka that same year under the stage name Murali.[2] He collaborated with leading film directors such asMani Ratnam,Bharathiraja,Visu,R. Sundarrajan,Ameerjan,R. V. Udayakumar,Priyadarshan,Fazil,Vikraman,Agathiyan,Sundar C,K. S. Ravikumar,P. Vasu andK. V. Anand.
During the earlier stages of his career, Karthik worked three times with R. V. Udaya Kumar. Later, he formed a partnership withGoundamani in many comedy films. He was also well received by the Tamil audience for his performance inNallavanukku Nallavan (1984) in a role againstRajinikanth. During the early to mid '80s he did many films of whichBhagavathipuram Railway Gate (1983),Pei Veedu (1984) andRaja Thanthiram (1984) were typical low budget masala films and failed to make a mark. His onscreen pairing withRadha was appreciated in the early '80s.[7] He garnered acclaim for his role in the Telugu thrillerAnveshana by Vamsy[8] and his cameo inMouna Ragam (1986) was very well received by the audience.[9]
Post his rivetting performance in Mani Ratnam's, 1986 classic Mouna Ragam Karthik, acted in numerous performance-oriented films. To begin withVanna Kanavugal (1987) was a super hit and marked beginnings of Karthik as an amazing performance artist . He captured the soul of the audience with his subtle yet powerful acting style. He collaborated with several leading directors since 1987 and gave several successful films. He acted in the Telugu filmAbhinandana (1988) for which he won theNandi Special Jury Award. He pursued strong performance-oriented characters in commercial successes likeAgni Natchathiram (1988),Varusham Padhinaaru (1989),Idhaya Thamarai (1990),Kizhakku Vaasal (1990) and culminated with the black comedyGopura Vasalile (1991).[10]
In short, the golden years birthed a great performance artist in Karthik. He is considered a single take artist . A star was also born.
This was period when Karthik took considerable risks in choosing scripts.Amaran (1992) was an action film where Karthik plays an orphan who eventually becomes a don. When it released, it performed below expectations; however, the song sung by Karthik became a huge rage: 'Vethala Potta Sokkula', one of the super hit songs thatAdithyan tuned was sung in his signature style very similar to his dialogue delivery. The song is a 'love at first sight' kind and its simplicity and very hummable lyrics is what endeared it to many when it was first released.[11]Nadodi Thendral (1992) was a period film helmed byBharathiraja.Ponnumani (1993) was a village-based melodrama, which was a super hit at the box office and fetched Karthik his fourth Filmfare award. Karthik also spent a considerable amount of time shooting for a Telugu film co-starringVijayashanti inMaga Rayudu (1994). This period also witnessed films likeMarumagan (1995),Chakravarthy (1995),Nandhavana Theru (1995) and an average successThotta Chinungi (1995).
In 1996, Karthik acted inKizhakku Mugam. In the same year, he acted in his biggest commercial success: the full-length comedySundar C'sUllathai Allitha, alongsideRambha andGoundamani. Due to the success, he collaborated with the director again in another profitable venture,Mettukudi. He went on to win critical acclaim for his role inGokulathil Seethai. The film went on to win the Tamil Nadu State Film award for showcasing women in good light, crediting actors for their empathetic performance. Karthik may not have won an award for his performance, but his ability to play a drunk, ruthless playboy and with relative ease segueing in to a role that respects women. He appeared inK. S. Ravikumar'sPistha (1997), which also received good reviews. Karthik carried on his good streak at the box office in 1998, while also winning accolades for his performances inVikraman'sUnnidathil Ennai Koduthen (1998) (100th film), Cheyyar Ravi'sHarichandra (1998) andSelva'sPooveli (1998), and won aTamil Nadu State Award for Best Actor for both Pooveli and Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen[12][13] In 1999, he appeared in drama films likeChinna Raja,Nilave Mugam Kaattu,Anandha Poongatre,Suyamvaram andRojavanam. He acted in medium-budget comedy films, notably in four furtherSundar C ventures including the successful blockbuster film,Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga (1999). His pairing withRambha was a hit with the audience as the pair provided good hits in the late 1990s.
During the early 2000s, Karthik experienced a difficult period as he began to lose his popularity at the box office and new actors began to emerge in the Tamil film industry. H.[14] Many family films came but nothing different were noticed or not one performance was talked about. Such films includeThai Poranthachu (2000),Sandhitha Velai (2000),Kannan Varuvaan (2000),Kuberan (2000) andSeenu (2000). Films including Prabhu Nepal'sKadhale Swasam alongsideMeena,Sundar C'sKadhal Solla Vandhen withIsha Koppikar and Gowri Manohar'sKashmir withPriyanka Trivedi had audio release events but failed to have a theatrical release.[15][16]Likewise, other ventures including Mahesh'sManathil alongsideKausalya, Soundarrajan'sClick co-starringPrabhu, andSelva'sKai Korthu Vaa progressed before being halted.[17][18] Similarly, other projects in the early 2000s, such asGurudeva with Rimjim,Muthalaam Santhippil with Kausalya again andEnrum Unnai Naesippaen were dropped soon after filming had begun.[19][20][21] Potential home productions such asTension andAvan Appadithaan under his banner Aalamara Films also did not materialise.[22] In 2001, his films wereUllam Kollai Poguthae,Lovely andAzhagana Naatkal.
He starred in an action film,Devan withVijayakanth andArun Pandian, followed byGame. During the nadir of 2002, Karthik was signed on by producerKeyaar to make a film titledEnna Peyar Veikalaam directed byVincent Selva. Despite travelling to Pollachi for the shoot, the actor refused to emerge from his hotel room, and following an extended period of confusion, the film was called off and theNadigar Sangam began legal proceedings against the actor.[23][24] He acted in the crime film,Indru (2003). The film was a disaster.
Towards the nadir of 2005, he signed on to appear in a negative role inSathyaraj'sSivalingam IPS, but the film was shelved.[25] In 2004, Karthik suggested that "his acts and habits" had landed him in trouble and was looking to make a comeback.[26] He subsequently appeared in "comeback" films such asKusthi (2006) andKalakkura Chandru (2007), both of which had delayed releases and went unnoticed at the box office.[26] Other ventures that the actor described as "comeback projects", such asKicha'sUnnidathil andRaj Kapoor'sSivalingam IPS, were shelved mid-production.[27][28] Later in 2006, he revealed that he had quit taking drugs and was keen to make another attempt at returning to the film industry.[29]
Karthik opted to make a comeback into acting in 2010 and chose to appear in supporting rather than leading roles, much like his contemporariesPrabhu andSathyaraj. He was first seen portraying a caring police officer inMaanja Velu, before winning positive reviews for his small role as a forest guard inMani Ratnam'sRaavanan.[30] He subsequently went on to play roles inP. Vasu'sPuli Vesham (2011) and the Telugu filmOm 3D (2013), both of which failed at the box office.
He acted in a negative role inK. V. Anand'sAnegan, where he appears alongsideDhanush.[31] He acted withSuriya inThaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018),[32] and his sonGautham Karthik inMr. Chandramouli (2018).[33] He made a guest appearance with actorKarthi in the film,Dev (2019).[34] He played a supporting role as veteran actor with his same name, old movie posters, songs, background montages and movie scenes in thePrashanth starrer movieAndhagan in 2024 and got good acclaims for his performance.
Karthik entered politics ahead of the 2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. He joined theAll India Forward Bloc and was appointed as the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu state unit of the party. He led the party during its electoral campaign on 24 September 2006. He later launched his own partyAhila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi in 2009 before the Lok Sabha elections. He contested fromVirudhunagar constituency and got only 15,000 votes. He started another party named Manitha Urimaigal Kaakkum Katchi on 15 December 2018 at Tirunelveli before the Lok Sabha elections and he voiced his support for AIADMK alliance.
Karthik's party tried an alliance with AIADMK for the 2011 Assembly elections,[35] but AIADMK supremo denied tickets for his party. Karthik announced his party will contest alone in 25 to 40 constituencies after it was not allotted any seat in the AIADMK coalition.[36] Karthik sat on a fast in Madurai demanding Madurai Airport be renamed as Pasumpon Thevar Airport.[37][38] His party with sizeable Thevar votes in southern Tamil Nadu is believed to eat into the AIADMK votebank. In 2006, former AIADMK minister Nainar Nagendran lost by 2,000 votes in Tirunelveli, where Karthik's party polled more than the margin. Two weeks later, he split from AIADMK and announced his party will contest independently in 19 constituencies and support DMK in 213 constituencies.[39]
He married actress Ragini in 1988, his co-star in the filmSolaikuyil and the couple has two sons, actorGautham Karthik and Ghayn Karthik. He married her sister, Rathi, in 1992 and the couple has a son, Thiran Karthik.[40][41][42]
| Year | Title | Role | Notess |
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| 1981 | Seethakoka Chiluka | Raghu | credited as Murali |
| 1984 | Veerabhadrudu | ||
| Anubandham | Satya Murthy | ||
| 1985 | Anveshana | Amar | credited as Murali |
| 1986 | Punyasthree | Bhaskar | |
| 1988 | Abhinandana | Raja | Nandi Special Jury Award |
| 1989 | Gopala Rao Gari Abbayi | Raghu | |
| 1994 | Maga Rayudu | Karthik | |
| 2013 | Om 3D | Harischandra Prasad |
| Year | Title | Song | Music director | Co-singer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Amaran | "Vethala Potta Sokkula", "Musthafa" | Adithyan | |
| 1992 | Suyamariyadhai | "Vanmedu Megham" | Shivajiraaja | Malaysia Vasudevan |
| 1993 | Chinna Jameen | "Onappu Thattu" | Ilaiyaraaja | Swarnalatha |
| 1997 | Sishya | "Apollo Apollo" | Deva | Swarnalatha |
| 1997 | Pistha | "Kozhi Curry Kondu Varatta" | S. A. Rajkumar | |
| 1998 | Pooveli | "Kathai Sollapporaen" | Bharadwaj | Nizhalgal Ravi,Charle,Manorama |
| 1998 | Harichandra | "Harichandran Varaan" | Gopal Rao, Shaleen Sharma, R. Anandh | Gopal Rao |
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