Goundamani | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (1939-05-25)25 May 1939 (age 86) Vallakundapuram,Udumalaipettai,Coimbatore,Madras Presidency, British India( Today:Udumalaipettai,Tiruppur,Tamil Nadu ,India ) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1964–2016 2024–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939[1]), known by his stage nameGoundamani,[2] is an Indian actor and comedian who works inTamil cinema.[3] He is known for hiscomic duo partnership inTamil films with fellow actorSenthil. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.[4]
He was called Goundamani as a misconception by actor/director K. Bhagyaraj which he himself stated in an interview and the pseudonym stuck with him forever.[5][2] He has the ability to give counter dialogues on the spot and off the script on stage and during shooting.[6] He was at his peak of his career as a comedian in Tamil cinema for nearly 40 years.[7] Despite his popularity, Goundamani is known for being a social recluse.[8]
Goundamani was born as Subramaniyan on 25 May 1939 in Vallakundapuram, a village nearUdumalaipettai inCoimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.[2] His father is Karuppaiya and his mother is Annammal. He married Shanthi in 1963 and has 2 daughters.[9][10]
On having interest in acting, he went toChennai and initially started acting in theatre dramas and then entered into theTamil film industry (Kollywood) due to his strong theatrical background.[2][11] He portrayed a role of Ramasamy Gounder in an play and many started to call him Gounder which led him to add it to his real name Mani and named himself Goundamani.[12]
He made his film acting debut inServer Sundaram where he featured in a minor and uncredited role as a driver. He made his full-fledged debut in 1977 film16 Vayathinile where he played the role ofRajinikanth's sidekick. His role in the 1977P. Bharathiraja directorial was also Goundamani's first credited role in his film career.
Goundamani has played lead roles in a few films during his career, but is predominantly a supporting actor playing comedy roles. While performing roles of a solo comedian in films, he often co-starred withSenthil to form acomedy duo.[13] The pair was described as "Tamil cinema'sLaurel and Hardy" and have performed slapstick humour in manyTamil films from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s.[14][15] Both of them are also remembered as partners-in-crime and also known for their chemistry.[16]
Both Goundamani and Senthil were critically acclaimed for their career defining performance in Gangai Amaren's directorialKarakattakkaran (1989). Karakattakaran also coincidentally marked Goundamani and Senthil's 100th film as comedians together.[17] Senthil and Goundamani both reportedly spent full 28 days on set during the shooting of the film.[18] Goundamani's phrases in one of the comedy scenes featured in Karakattakaran, "Adhu enda enna pathu andha kelvi ketta?" (transl. Why did you look at me and ask that question) when Senthil asked him "Intha cara vachiruntha Sopanasundhariya yaaru vaichiruka" (transl. If you had this car, who has Soppanasundari) became the highlight of the film and later became viral internet memes.[19]
Goundamani's comedy scene fromThangamana Raasa (1989) is also best remembered by critics for dreaming of singing under the music of Ilaiyaraja when he was spending a jail term for petty crime. His one line phrases "Start the music", "Arasiyal la ithellam saatharnamappa" (transl. This is all normal in politics) and "Kosu thollai thaanga mudiyala pa" (transl. Can't deal with mosquito's annoyance) which featured in the 1992 filmSuriyan also later became a viral meme and trendsetter in Internet.[19]
After recuperating fromdiabetes and respiratory illnesses during the late 2000s, he featured inVaaimai and also played the lead role in49-O, which began productions in 2013. It was directed by debutant Arokiadoss, a former assistant ofGautham Vasudev Menon.[20][21][9][10] In 2019, he was approached by film directorR. Kannan and actorSanthanam to cast him in a supporting role for their film project but Goundamani reportedly turned down the offer as he was sceptical about the role.[22][23]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Server Sundaram | Driver | Uncredited role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Raman Ethanai Ramanadi | School Van Driver | Uncredited role |
| 1971 | Thenum Paalum | Subramani | |
| 1977 | 16 Vayathinile | Subramani | |
| 1978 | Kizhake Pogum Rail | Ramaiya | |
| Sigappu Rojakal | Manager | ||
| 1979 | Anandam Enndru Arambam | ||
| Puthiya Vaarpugal | Ammavasai | ||
| Suvarilladha Chiththirangal | Kaliyannan |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Veeranadai | Ulagavaayan | |
| Kannan Varuvaan | Thannirmalai/Athiyapatham/Ezhumalai | [25] | |
| Kannaal Pesavaa | Clinton | ||
| 2001 | Kunguma Pottu Gounder | Chinnasamy | |
| Vedham | Govindsamy | ||
| Samuthiram | Ramanathan | ||
| Azhagana Naatkal | Ranjith | ||
| 2002 | Baba | Annamalai | |
| Samasthanam | Selvam | ||
| 2003 | Chokka Thangam | Muthu's uncle | |
| Yes Madam | Ganesh Kumar | ||
| Parasuram | Sub-Inspector Thangaraj | ||
| 2004 | Manmadhan | 'Puncture' Pandi | |
| 2006 | Suyetchai MLA | Visky | |
| 2008 | Thangam | Kalai |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jaggubhai | MIB alias Kalaniyappan | |
| Pollachi Mappillai | Chellapatta | ||
| 2015 | 49-O | Savuri | [26] |
| 2016 | Enakku Veru Engum Kilaigal Kidayathu | Caravan Krishnan | [27] |
| Vaaimai | Benny |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Otha Votu Muthaiya | Muthaiya |