Typist Gopu

Typist Gopu Biography

Gopalarathinam, popularly known as Typist Gopu is a popular character artist of Tamil cinema and theatre and this actor excels in comic roles most. In a career spanning to more than 60 years he has acted in over 600 stage plays and 400 movies, mostly portraying supporting roles. At present he is not active in the industry and was seen in movies like Periyar (2007). He earned the ‘Typist’ tag following the role he played in T. S. Seshadri's stage play, "Nenjae Nee Vazhga”. He has also played the role of a nurse in his guru, T. S. Seshadri's play, "Nenjukku Needhi." Since his college days he was determined that he would be a part of Tamil theatre.

He was born in Manakkal in Trichy district in the year 1933. Since college days he was active in college plays. He studied commerce in Vivekananda College, Chennai. In 1955 he was introduced to professional drama by actor Nagesh, who happened to be his friend as well. He shot to fame with the play Nenje Nee Vaazhga, where he acted as a typist and since then ’Typist’ tag got added to his name. T. S. Seshadri was his guru and mentor and Gopu was associated with his troupe for many years.

He made his film debut in the year 1965 with the movie, Naanal directed by K. Balachander and since then he is regularly associated with Tamil cinema as a character and comic actor. Though he became an active member of film industry and he never broke his relationship with theater and went on to appear in over 600 plays. In 2002, Tamil Nadu government honoured him with Kalaimamani award for his outstanding contributions to Tamil entertainment industry. He has also acted in television serials - Vasool Chakravarthy and Veetukku Veedu Looty.

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Updated: January 18, 2016