Navarasa Nayagan Karthik, whose real name is Muralli Kathikeyan, is the son of yesteryear actor, R. Muthuraman, and made his acting debut in Bharathiraja’s 1981 romance drama Alaigal Oyvathillai. With a slow climb, Karthik soon saw himself working with the most acclaimed directors of the industry like Maniratnam, K. Balachander, Bharathiraja, Priyadharshan, Faasil, Vikraman, Sundhar C, K.S. Ravikumar, P. Vasu and K.V. Anand.
Even early on in his career, Karthik showed a willingness to adapt and played a cameo in Manirathinam’s Mouna Raagam, a role still regarded as the ultimate cameo of all Tamil films. He also played a negative role in Rajinikanth’s 1984 film Nallavanukku Nallavan and even appeared in the dark comedy Gopura Vasaliley.
He made his debut as a lyricist in Bharathiraja’s directorial Nadodi Thendral and as a singer in the film Amaran.
His 100th film, Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen, earned him the Cinema Express Award for Best Actor.
Karthik has the unfortunate record of having the most incomplete or unreleased film of any Tamil actor, some of which were through his own actions.
His return to film in KV Anand’s Anegan promised a successful bout but has not quite kicked off. He was in the cast of Kamalhassan’s Indian 2 where he plays the character originally written for the late Nedumudi Venu.
Karthik’s son, Gautham Karthik, is also a successful actor.
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