Shanmugasundaram was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil films. He began his career as an actor in Ratha Thilagam (1963) had acted for nearly six decades in several roles characters in films like Karnan (1964), Karakattakkaran (1989) Kizhakku Vaasal (1990). He is also a dubbing artist. He has acted in over 500 films in Tamil cinema industry. He died on 15 August 2017.
Career Shanmugasundaram was born in Chennai to a family of businesspeople. When he was studying in college, he had accompanied one of his actor friends to a drama performance, and as one of the junior artists did not perform well, he was brought in spontaneously. To the surprise of many, he had done that role with efficiency, which earned him appreciation spontaneously. He then moved on to work in Tamil theatre, notably appearing as Adolf Hitler in a play also featuring Kannadasan. Sivaji Ganesan was impressed by his performances and recruited him to make film acting debut with Ratha Thilagam (1963), where he portrayed a Chinese army major.
Shanmugasundaram had performed a wide range of roles and was especially famous for playing the nattamai or village chieftain. However, he will always be remembered for playing Salliya Chakravarthy in the iconic Sivaji Ganesan starrer Karnan (1964). He was acting in negative roles in the films of Black and white era. In the 1980s he emerged as a character artist. Over the course of his career, he appeared in more than 500 Tamil films and became a well-known dubbing artist as well.
One of Shanmugasundaram’s standout roles came in the 1989 Tamil film Karagattakaran, directed by Gangai Amaran. His portrayal in the film, especially a poignant scene where he pleads for innocence to his on-screen sister, earned him critical acclaim and made him a popular figure among mimicry artists. In addition to his film work, he transitioned to television serials in the late 1990s and early 2000s, collaborating with actress Radhika in series like Annamalai, Selvi and its sequel, Arasi. In the 2010s, he continued to feature in films directed by Gangai Amaran’s son, Venkat Prabhu.
Death Shanmugasundaram died on August 15, 2017, due to age related ailments at the age of 78.
Filmography This is a partial filmography. You can expand it.
As an actor +YearFilmRoleNotes1963Ratha ThilagamChinese Military OfficerDebut movie1964Karuppu PanamSundaramKarnan Salliyan1968Lakshmi KalyanamBalu's mother1970Kalam VellumNarasingam1971Aathi Parasakthi1972Shakthi LeelaiBrinkki MunivarMappillai AzhaippuVazhaiyadi VazhaiVelli VizhaRajaKurathi Magan1973Baghdad Perazhagi Thalapathi SikanderNathaiyil Muthu1974Avalukku Nigar Avale1975IdhayakkaniNattamai's sonPattampoochi1976Uzhaikkum KarangalPublic prosecutorDasavatharamPrince Namachi1977Unnai Suttrum UlagamThaliya Salangaiya1978Madhuraiyai Meetta SundharapandiyanSon of Minister1980Ellam Un KairasiEllappan1982Deviyin Thiruvilayadal1984Pozhuthu VidinchachuVellai Pura Ondru1985Padikatha PannaiyarNavagraha NayagiMangalapuri King1988Shenbagamae ShenbagamaeSurulivelu1989Annanukku JaiKaragattakaranKamakshi's fatherAnnakili Sonna KathaiMeenakshi ThiruvilayadalLord Indra1990Mounam SammadhamKizhakku VasalSelvi's father "Valliooran"1991Thangamana ThangachiKaaval NilayamNaan Pogum Paadhai1992SingaravelanCameo Ponnuketha PurushanTheatre ownerPangaliVillu Pattukaran1993Koyil KaalaiMurugesanAadhityanPannayarManikuyilRamasamyUdan PirappuThiruda ThirudaChengalvarayan1994Subramaniya SwamyEn RajangamShanmugamSevatha PonnuSethupathiManju VirattuSethupathi1995En Pondatti NallavaPonnusamy1996Vaikarai PookkalVellaisamy GounderTake It Easy UrvashiSubramani's fatherNattupura PattuEn Aasai ThangachiSenthamizh Selvan ShanmugasundaramVetri VinayagarGoundalya MuniNamma Ooru RaasaSathyamoorthy1997Kaalamellam Kadhal VaazhgaJeeva's fatherPongalo PongalPichandi1998Maru MalarchiLand Broker1999Unnai ThediRaghupathiEthirum PudhirumNee Varuvai EnaRajaduraiJayamNattamai2000En SakhiyeShanmugam2001Ninaikkatha NaalillaiPrabhukanth's fatherShahjahanAisha's fatherPonnana Neram2007Chennai 600028Sports ministerAchacho NattamaiNiramChurch fatherVasantham Vanthachu Chettiar2008SarojaSpecial appearance2010PugaippadamGoaKaragattakkararTamizh PadamCBI officer ShanmugasundaramMandabam2011Mankatha Suchitra's father2012Nanban Education ministerKalakalappuMinister Sundaram2013Onbadhule GuruChinna Gounder Mouna Mazhai Kayal's father https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2013/Sep/21/mouna-mazhai-a-routine-love-story-518631.htmlBiriyani Sugan's father2014 Thalakonam Sethupathy's close aide Nenjirukkumvarai Ninaivirukkum2015Massu Engira MasilamaniGhostTrisha Illana NayantharaTicket Collector2016Jackson DuraiKadavul Irukaan KumaruKumar's grandfatherChennai 600028 II: Second InningsSports ministerAchamindriVaraprasadam2017VeruliAnbanavan Asaradhavan AdangadhavanNattamai2018Bodha father-in-lawPosthumous release2019Kadhal Munnetra Kazhagam President PanchayatNaan Avalai Sandhitha Pothu 2021Appathava Aattaya PottutangaSokkalingam 2023 Kabadi Bro
As dubbing artist Year Film ArtistCharacterNotes1984Kai Kodukkum KaiRanganath 1985Naan Sigappu ManithanBanerjee1989Ammavasai IravilOduvil UnnikrishnanVettri VizhaaSudheer1990Kaadhal DevathaiTiger PrabhakarVaalibanKota Srinivasa Rao1992Dharma BhoomiKota Srinivasa Rao1993Police AttackKota Srinivasa RaoMechanic MappillaiAkkineni Nageswara Rao1994Manidha ManidhaKrishnam RajuAnbalayamAnupam KherMr. MaharaniKota Srinivasa Rao1995Maanbumigu MesthriSharat SaxenaChutti KuzhandhaiGiri Babu1996Aranmanai VaasalMuraliNakkeeranGirish KarnadJurassic ParkDNAIdhayame IdhayameChalapathi Rao1997Makkal ThilagamRajan P. DevTime BombKrishnam RajuAkkaLokesh1999Kaaki Sattaiya Karuppu SattaiyaCostumes KrishnaShanmuga PandiyanKaikala Satyanarayana2000MoothavanKota Srinivasa Rao2001Kadhal GalattaCommissioner Eeswara PandiyanRajan P. Dev2003Thaaye BhuvaneswariSrinivasa Murthy
Television
Annamalai as Pattalathar Raja Rajeshwari Sorgam My dear bootham Ketti Melam Megala as Megala’s grandfather Vasantham Vamsam
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