C. L. Anandan

C. L. Anandan Biography

C. L. Anandan was a famous actor of yesterdays associated with the classic era of Tamil cinema. He was active in Malayalam industry also, and is known for his role as producer too. Anandan debuted in a supporting role in the Tamil movie Thandhai, and later played lead role in Vijayapuri Veeran. He marked his debut in Malayalam films with Kaattumaina, and the movie was re-shot in Tamil also. Prior to his lead hero roles in Tamil movies, he has appeared in a song sequence for Bollywood classic, Chori Chori in 1956. He was seen as a fisherman in the song sequence of "Us Paar Saajan". Anandan played lead, supporting and villain roles in his career.

Anandan was born in Salem, Tamil Nadu on 15 June 1933. Anandan got married to Lakshmi and the couple has 7 children. Film actresses Disco Shanti and Lalitha Kumari are his daughters. Lalitha Kumari was married to actor Prakash Raj, but now legally separated. Anandan started his career as a supporting actor in the 1950s, and worked in different language films, predominantly in Tamil. Vijayapuri Veeran, released in the year 1960 introduced Anandan in a lead role, and the movie gave him a big break to the industry. His sword fighting and horse-riding scenes were wellappreciated by audience. The film was a box office hit, and dubbed into Telugu and Hindi. Anandan started receiving more films in lead role.

He was frequently paired with actress Rajasree, and they shared screen space for the movies, Kalyana Mandapam, Kubera Theevu, Magaley Un Samathu, Sengamala Theevu and Yanai Valartha Vanampadi Magan. He acted in around 60 movies belonging to Tamil and Malayalam languages. After playing lead roles in 1960s, his roles got shortened in the 1960s, and with 1980s he moved to character roles. He was active in the industry till his death in 1989, aged only 55. He died of jaundice.

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Updated: June 20, 2018