Mar 19, 2008

Rest in Peace, Raghuvaran!


The last few months have been pretty bad for Tamil cine industry.. After Jeeva, Pandian and recently writer Sujatha, one of the most versatile actors of our time, Raghuvaran, has passed away. More than 20 years ago, I have heard high about him during my school days when one of my friends raved his performance in 'Oru mNidhanin kadhai', a teleserial in DD. My first sighting of him was in 'Samsaaram adhu minsaram', in which he effortlessly played the grayish role of a money-minded son. After that, he mostly acted as villain in Rajini's movies like 'Oor kaavalan', 'Manithan' and 'Shiva'. He was deadly as Bhavani in super-hit 'Udhayam'. A turning point in his career was KS Ravikumar's debut 'Puriyadha pudhir' in which his famous 'I know' dialogue firmly established him as a psychotic deadly villain.
But, IMHO, his best performance so far was as a calm, loving father and a tender, caring husband in 'Anjali'. Though the kids stole all the fame, his role was a stellar one, and, as usual, Maniratnam was very good in extracting the best from his protagonist. Later, he did some unforgettable roles like the ones in Kadhalan, Baasha, Aahaa and Mudhalvan. In the last few years, he started doing character-roles in movies like Roja Koottam, Thirumalai, Run, and recently, Sivaji.
One thing that was known about him for the past 2 decades is his addiction to alcohol and some disturbances that it caused to his professional commiotment. He married actress Rohini and that seemed to change him for good. Apparently, the hope was short-lived; he returned back to his addiction, and that caused their divorce. Recently, his movie appearances have dwindled due to his problems. It is sadly ironic that, his life turned out to be similar to the role he played as an alcoholic in 'Oru manidhanin kadhai'. He will surely be missed. May his soul rest in peace.

12 comments:

Me too said...

Sad! He was good in 'Mugavari' too.

Anonymous said...

I am shocked and distressed at his sudden death. He was probably one of the most stylish and cool villain in the tamil film. Will miss him.
RIP

Pappuli

Anonymous said...

truly sad, he doesn't even look like he is 60, but he always had this addiction to drugs and alcohol it seems. very shocking, i have always wanted to see a movie with kamal and raghuvaran. they have never acted together.my feelings goes to rohini and their son.

J said...

I felt veryyy sad when I read this news today morning..neengha post poduveenghanu therinjae vanthen. He is one of my fav actors too. very sad to see his son and Rohini in the pictures posted in Indiaglitz.

Nitin, he is only 49 yrs old.

Anonymous said...

they have different ages for him on different sites its either 49 or 60. They also have him as he acted with kamal but I dont remember seeing any.

Anonymous said...

He looks more of 49 than 60. I liked his acting in Aaha too. RIP

Raju said...

Aparna, yeah true.. I forgot Mugavari.. Even in some waste movies, his performance was mostly good.
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Pappuli, yeah very stylish villain indeed. Remember "Baasha, nee romba chinna puLLe"?
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Nitin, I also think that Wiki got his age wrong. If we have to believe that, he must have been 37 in 'Samsaram adhu minsaram'.. He definitely looked more like 27. Also I am certainly sure that he and Kamal haven't acted together. Unfortunate lifestyle for a great actor.
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J, I certainly dont want to write 'RIP' post for another 2 years at least. Hope that happens.

Anonymous said...

I didn't like his acting in Captain - exaggerated one. Do u know what's the movie in which he would be baby Shalini's caretaker to hunt down her dad?

Pappuli

mitr_bayarea said...

Raju-

really a sad ending for an actor with lots of potential, was looking at some of the pics on indiaglitz and felt really sorry for the son.

Raju said...

Pappuli, like in Captain, his role was monotonous in 'Bheema' too..

I dont know the movie you've asked..
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Mitr, yeah.. though they are separated, both Rohini and their son will definitely miss him.

Ramya said...

I read in 'Kumudam' 2 months back that he was involved in composing music for his debut album and that his son visited him often and was quiet close to him.. poor guy.. n poor rohini.. And a big loss to cine industry ofcoz.. Prakash raj wud probably act for raghuvaran-suited roles in future..

Raju said...

Ramya, yeah me too saw that he has cleared Level 2 in music from Trinity college, London and he was looking forward to clear Level 3 this summer. I didnt know about his musical talent.