Suruli Rajan

Suruli Rajan Biography

Suruli Rajan was a popular comedian of Tamil cinema during 1960’s to early 1980’s. He died on 5th December 1980 at the peak of his career when he was only 42. Same year he created a record of acting more than 50 movies in a single year. Many of his films were released after his death and he received State Government’s Best Comedian’s award for 1981.

Suruli Rajan was born in January, 1938 in Periyakulam, near Theni. His father was an accountant. He was named Suruli Velappar by his parents and his full name is Sankaralingam Ponnaiya Pillai. He lost his parents at a younger age and couldn’t complete his school studies. Then he moved to his brother’s house in Madurai and worked as an apprentice mechanic in a nearby workshop. He was interested in acting and has been a part of amateur stage plays while his stay at Madurai with his brother. In 1959 he reached Chennai carrying dreams to appear in movies. Then he actively worked with many theatre groups before getting a role in movies in the year 1965. He appeared in a brief role in Iravum Pagalum directed by Joseph Thaliayath.

The breakthrough movie of his career was ‘Kaadhal Paduthum Paadu’ in 1966 in which his role as a comedian was well noticed. After that he received many comic roles in movies which proved to be successful. He was also offered old man roles in many of his movies, though he was very young. Naan and Moond Rezhuthu are his successful movies with T. R. Ramanna. Thirumalai Thenkumari and Aadhiparasakthi made him a popular star of 1970’s and a mandatory inclusion in most movies during the decade. Maanthoppu Kiliye was one of his memorable performances towards the end of his career.

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Updated: April 02, 2014