“Boys”-fame Bharath turns 42 today.
Bharath made his debut to films in Shankar’s Boys before his 20th birthday. He was born in Kumbakonam on 21 July 1983. He showed an early interest in dance and joined a professional dance club when he was 11. He was noticed by Shankar when he was performing on stage and this led to his […]
Remembering Indian Cinema’s Irreplaceable Gem: Sivaji Ganesan
Today (21 July 2025) marks the 24th death anniversary of Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan. To truly appreciate Sivaji Ganesan’s spectacular acting range, one must look more to his later films. His earlier films saw him greatly influenced by the stage and the film sensibilities of that time which were largely determined by film directors who […]
SJ Suryah – A writer and director with a “Killer” attitude.
Selvaraj Justin Pandian is better known by his screen name, S.K. Suryah. He was born on 20 July 1968 in Tenkasi district. After pursuing a tertiary qualification in Loyola College, Chennai, he tried to get into the film industry as an actor. He was taken in as an apprentice by K. Bhagyaraj. He then joined […]
Poornima Bhagyaraj (formerly Poornima Jayaram) turns 65 today.
Poornima Jayaram (now Poornima Bhagyaraj) made her debut to the Tamil screen in the 1981 film Nenjil oru Mull opposite Prathap. Although the film failed at the box-office, her second signing – Durai’s Kilanjalgal opposite Mohan – released just three weeks later and went on to become a blockbuster hit. The success of this second […]
Remembering Soundarya, the star of “Padaiyappa” and “Arunachallam” on her birth anniversary
Soundarya was the daughter of Kannada film producer and director, K.S. Sathyaranarayan. She made her debut to Kannada films in 1992 and her debut to Tamil a year later through the Karthik starrer, Ponnumani. He role in Ponnumani brought her huge fame and accolades. Her subsequent Tamil films – Muthu Kaalai, Dear Son Marudhu and […]
“Ratchasan” Vishnu Vishal turns 41 today
Vishal Kudawla is better known by his screen name, Vishnu Vishal. After completing his MA degree, he was showing great promise as a cricket player but a serious injury brought a halt to his plans. When he landed his first acting job in Suseendiran’s sports drama Vennilaa Kabadi Kuzhu, he spent months getting himself in […]
Bharathiraja – The man who permanently changed the face of Indian Cinema
Introduction. Bharathiraja has been credited with revolutionising the Indian film industry. When he made his debut in 1977 with the Kamalhaasan-Sri Devi-Rajinikanth starrer, Pathinaaru Vayathinley, it marked a major shift in the approach to filmmaking. In addition, Bharathiraja introduced a host of new talent behind and in front of the camera, many of whom carved […]
Stuntman Mohan Raj killed on the sets of “Vettuvam:”
Tragedy has struck on the sets of Pa. Ranjith’s Arya starrer, Vettuvam when stuntman Mohan Raj was killed during the filming of a car stunt that went horribly wrong. Mohan Raj had driven on a built ramp a fraction to the left, causing the vehicle to lose control and somersault. The crew rushed Mohan Raj […]
R Sarathkumar turns 71 today.
R. Sarathkumar turns 71 today. The star of over 150 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, Sarathkumar has won two Tamil Nadu State awards and two Filfare Awards south in a career that spans 39 years. After graduating from college where he represented his college in football, cricket and hockey, he took up […]
Talented but controversial Lyricist Vairamuthu turns 72 today.
Vairamuthu Ramasamy was born on 13 July 1953. He was introduced to films as a lyricist by Illaiyaraja in the 1980 film Nizhalgal directed by Bharathiraja. In a career spanning 45 years, he has written more than 7500 songs and poems and is the winner of seven national awards for Best Lyricist – the most […]