R. Sundarrajan
R. Sundarrajan in 2015
Born	(1950-01-09)9 January 1950 (age 75) Dharapuram,Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)	Actor, director, writer
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Rajeshwari ​ (m. 1974)​ , Durga ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	3

R. Sundarrajan is an Indian film director, actor, comedian and writer forTamil language films. Active primarily in the 1980s and the 1990s as a filmmaker, he appeared more often as an actor thereafter.^[1][2][3] Sundarajan is known for his silver jubilee films such asPayanangal Mudivathillai (1982),Vaidehi Kathirunthal (1984),Rajadhi Raja (1989) andThirumathi Palanisamy (1992). He had directed over 25 films in his illustrious career and most of them became profitable ventures in the box office.^[4]

He has served as an actor, filmmaker and a renowned director. He is very well appreciated and a name of honor in Tamil film industry.^[5] He began his career as an actor in 1981, but he subsequently made his directorial debut a year after making his acting debut, withPayanangal Mudivathillai (1982). He collaborated with actorMohan for his maiden directorial venture,Payanangal Mudivathillai and the film became a sleeper hit and ran for over 175 days in the box office.^[6][7] He furthered his collaboration with Mohan through films includingThoongatha Kannindru Ondru (1983),Saranalayam (1983),Naan Paadum Paadal (1984),Kunguma Chimil (1985) andMella Thirandhathu Kadhavu (1986). Apart fromThoongatha Kannindru Ondru, the other films were well received at the box office and became commercially successful.^[8][9]

Balu Anand served as Sundarrajan's assistant director for 35 years and there is a backstory of how Balu Anand became an assistant director of Sundarrajan. During the 1970s, Balu Anand who hailed fromCoimbatore sought assistance by walking into R. Sundarrajan's office with the intention to secure a job for his livelihood. Sundarrajan initially hesitated to include Balu Anand with him as an assistant, but Balu Anand's determination literally impressed Sundarrajan. Balu Anand told Sundarrajan "Give me five rupees and I can eat for a day, give me a job in films and I can feed myself for a lifetime".^[10]

He made his maiden collaboration withVijayakanth throughVaidehi Kathirunthal (1984), which eventually became a turning point in Vijayakanth's acting career.^[11] R. Sundarrajan convinced Vijayakanth to act in romantic film in a soft role and Vijayakanth agreed to play a "soft role" at a time when he starred in many action films and was branded an action hero.^[12] It was through R. Sundarrajan, Vijayakanth changed his mind to commit to such a film genre, although it was not Vijayakanth's comfort zone. R. Sundarrajan then collaborated with his long-time assistant director Balu Anand to write screenplay for Balu Anand's debut directorial ventureNaane Raja Naane Mandhiri (1985), which starred Vijayakanth in the main lead role.^[13]

He also join hands with Vijayakanth for his directorial ventureAmman Kovil Kizhakale (1986) and the film also became a box office success. Vijayakanth also won theFilmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performances inAmman Kovil kizhakale and R. Sundarrajan once again brought out the soft lighter version of Vijayakanth through the film.^[6]

His handshake scene withVadivelu in the filmKaalam Maari Pochu (1996), where Vadivelu was reportedly saying "kaiya kudu sagala" became a viralinternet meme template and has been frequently used in social media platforms by users.^[14] He is also known for his humorous dialogue deliveries in films. One of his notable hilarious comedy scenes came inSurya Vamsam (1997), where he gives an empty paper to a trespasser and asks him to throw it as it is empty by saying there is nothing written on it.^[4][15]

He was also one of the 14 directors who helped to direct the filmSuyamvaram (1999), which was shot and filmed within 24 hours.Suyamvaram set theGuinness World Record for casting the most stars in a film and also for being the quickest ever feature-length film made in the world. R. Sundarrajan has shared screenspace with prominent actors includingRajinikanth,Kamal Haasan,Vijayakanth,Sathyaraj,Ajith Kumar,Vijay andSuriya.

Sundarrajan's last movie as director came in 2013 withChithirayil Nilachoru.^[16] He also regularly attends meetings of T. Nagar Humour Club which was launched in 2008.^[17]

Sundarrajan is married to his first wife Rajeshwari in 1974 and later married Durga. He has three sons: Ashok, Karthik and Deepak. Karthik died in 2004 in a road accident.^[18][19] Deepak made his directorial debut in 2021 withAnnabelle Sethupathi.^[20] Ashok acted in his father's directorialChithirayil Nilachoru.^[21]

• R. Sundarrajan atIMDb

• 1955 births
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• 21st-century Indian male actors
• Indian film directors
• Living people
• Male actors in Tamil cinema
• Tamil comedians
• Tamil film directors
• Tamil-language film directors

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