R. Sundarrajan

Career

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. He began his career as an actor in 1981, but he subsequently made his directorial debut a year after making his acting debut, with Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982). He collaborated with actor Mohan for his maiden directorial venture, Payanangal Mudivathillai and the film became a sleeper hit and ran for over 175 days in the box office. He furthered his collaboration with Mohan through films including Thoongatha Kannindru Ondru (1983), Saranalayam (1983), Naan Paadum Paadal (1984), Kunguma Chimil (1985) and Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu (1986). Apart from Thoongatha Kannindru Ondru, the other films were well received at the box office and became commercially successful.

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 from Coimbatore 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".

He made his maiden collaboration with Vijayakanth through Vaidehi Kathirunthal (1984), which eventually became a turning point in Vijayakanth's acting career. 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. 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 venture Naane Raja Naane Mandhiri (1985), which starred Vijayakanth in the main lead role.

He also join hands with Vijayakanth for his directorial venture Amman Kovil Kizhakale (1986) and the film also became a box office success. Vijayakanth also won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performances in Amman Kovil kizhakale and R. Sundarrajan once again brought out the soft lighter version of Vijayakanth through the film.

His handshake scene with Vadivelu in the film Kaalam Maari Pochu (1996), where Vadivelu was reportedly saying "kaiya kudu sagala" became a viral internet meme template and has been frequently used in social media platforms by users. He is also known for his humorous dialogue deliveries in films. One of his notable hilarious comedy scenes came in Surya 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.

He was also one of the 14 directors who helped to direct the film Suyamvaram (1999), which was shot and filmed within 24 hours. Suyamvaram set the Guinness 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 including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Ajith Kumar, Vijay and Suriya.

Sundarrajan's last movie as director came in 2013 with Chithirayil Nilachoru. He also regularly attends meetings of T. Nagar Humour Club which was launched in 2008.

Personal life

Sundarrajan is married to his wife Rajeshwari in 1974. He has three sons: Ashok, Karthik and Deepak. Karthik died in 2004 in a road accident. Deepak made his directorial debut in 2021 with Annabelle Sethupathi. Ashok acted in his father's directorial Chithirayil Nilachoru.

Filmography

As director

As actor

Films

Television

As writer only

As lyricist

As singer

References

References

1. "Successive hits - Who gave the most in Tamil cinema? {{!}} R Sundarrajan".
2. (12 February 2018). "From Visu to Samuthirakani: Kollywood's director turned actors".
3. S, Bala. (2023-08-21). "ஆர் சுந்தர்ராஜன் இத்தனை படங்கள் இயக்கியுள்ளாரா? அதில் ஒன்று ரஜினி படம்..!".
4. (2022-02-09). "#UnforgettableOnes: Multi-hyphenate R Sundarrajan". The Times of India.
5. "R. Sundarrajan".
6. Jayabalan, Suriyakumar. "R.Sundarrajan: விடாமுயற்சியால் வெள்ளிவிழா படங்களை கொடுத்த நாயகன்".
7. மலர், மாலை. (2016-06-01). "டைரக்டராக ஆர்.சுந்தர்ராஜன் அறிமுகம்".
8. (March 2023). "மைக் மோகனை வைத்து ஆர் சுந்தர்ராஜன் ஹிட் அடித்த 5 படங்கள்.. வெள்ளி விழா கண்ட பயணங்கள் முடிவதில்லை".
9. (2023-09-13). "Tamil Film Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu Completes 37 Years Of Its Release".
10. Shenoy, Sonali. (2016-06-04). "Hunger for good cinema was Balu's script for success".
11. Ramanujam, Srinivasa. (2018-05-31). "The Ilayaraaja interview: the maestro narrates how his songs inspired the story of Vaidehi Kaathirunthaal". The Hindu.
12. கண்ணன், சுரேஷ். (2023-05-04). "வைதேகி காத்திருந்தாள்: ஆக்ஷன் ஹீரோ விஜயகாந்த் 'வெள்ளைச்சாமி'யான கதை - ஒரு நாஸ்டால்ஜியா பார்வை!".
13. (19 September 2015). "Exclusive Interview with Film Director And Actor Balu Ananth".
14. "HBDVadivelu: Netizens soar social media with his memes".
15. (7 September 2018). "Sundarrajan Comedy".
16. (29 February 2020). "Shocking rumour about R. Sundarrajan clarified".
17. Swaminathan, T. S. Atul. (2017-07-21). "The roots go deeper". The Hindu.
18. (6 March 2004). "Film director's son killed in accident".
19. (6 March 2004). "Director's son dies in a road accident".
20. (23 September 2021). "Entertainment for everyone: 'Annabelle Sethupathi' director Deepak Sundarrajan's vision for future films".
21. "Chithirayil Nilachoru Movie Review". [[The Times of India]].