Karthik (actor)

Karthik
Born	Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman (1957-09-13) 13 September 1957 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma mater	The New College, Chennai
Occupation	Film actor, playback singer, politician
Years active	1981–present
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Children	Gautham Karthik (born 1989) Ghayn Karthik (b.1991) Thiran Karthik (b.1993)
Parent(s)	R. Muthuraman Sulochana

Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman known by screen name Karthik, is an Indian film actor, playback singer and politician. He is the son of actor R. Muthuraman. He was first introduced by Bharathiraja in the film Alaigal Oivathillai. He has primarily appeared in lead roles in Tamil films.

Karthik has won four Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil. He is also the recipient of Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and a Nandi Award.

Early life and background

Karthik was born in Chennai to R. Muthuraman, a popular Tamil actor. He is the fourth and youngest child of "Navarasa Thilagam" R.Muthuraman. He studied in St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Chennai and at New College, Chennai and received a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Film career

Karthik was first introduced by Bharathiraja in the film Alaigal Oivathillai. He received the Best New Face Award from the Tamil Nadu Government in 1980. His film "Vanna Kanavugal" was a super hit at the box office and K.Balachander praised his performance in the film. He collaborated with leading film directors like Mani Ratnam, K. Balachander, Bharathiraja, Visu, R. Sundarrajan, Ameerjan, R. V. Udayakumar, Priyadarshan, Fazil, Vikraman, Agathiyan, Sundar C., K. S. Ravikumar, P. Vasu and K. V. Anand.

During earlier stages of his career, Karthik worked three times with R. V. Udaya Kumar and enjoyed great success in all their ventures. Later, he formed a partnership with Goundamani in many comedy movies. He was also well received by Tamil audience for his performance in "Nallavanukku Nallavan" in a challenging role against Rajinikanth. His pairing with Rambha was a hit with audience as the pair provided good hits in the 1990s.

Karthik received another breakthrough in his career by portraying a full-length comedy role in Sundar C's Ullathai Allitha (1996) alongside Rambha and Goundamani, then collaborated with the director again in another profitable venture, Mettukudi. He went on to win critical acclaim for his role in Gokulathil Seethai, and turned appeared in K. S. Ravikumar's Pistha, which also won good reviews. Karthik carried on his good streak at the box office in 1998, while also winning accolades for his performances in Vikraman's Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen, Cheyyar Ravi's Harichandra and Selva's Pooveli, and won a Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Actor. He became one of the busiest actors in the industry during the turn of the decade by featuring in several medium-budget comedy films, notably in four further Sundar C ventures including the successful Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga (1999). His career as a lead actor subsequently began to peter out in the early 2000s, with several of his ventures opening with little publicity or being delayed after financial troubles. Towards the nadir in 2005, he signed on to appear in a negative role in Sathyaraj's Sivalingam IPS, but the film was shelved.

Karthik opted to make a comeback into acting in 2010 and chose to appear in supporting rather than leading roles, much like his contemporaries Prabhu and Sathyaraj. He was first seen portraying a caring police officer in Maanja Velu, before winning positive reviews for his small role as a forest guard in Mani Ratnam's Raavanan. He subsequently went on to play roles in P. Vasu's Puli Vesham (2011) and the Telugu film Om 3D, both of which failed at the box office. He also acted in a negative role in K. V. Anand's Anegan, where he appears alongside Dhanush.

Political career

Karthik entered politics ahead of the 2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. He joined the All India Forward Bloc, and was appointed as the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu state unit of the party. He led the party during its electoral campaign on 24 September 2006. He later started his own party Ahila India Naadalum Makkal Katchi in 2009 before the Lok Sabha Elections. He contested from Virudhunagar constituency and got only 15000 votes.

2011 Assembly elections

Karthik's party tried alliance with AIADMK for the 2011 Assembly elections but AIADMK supremo denied tickets for his party. Karthik announced his party will contest alone in 25 to 40 seats after it was not allotted any seat in the AIADMK coalition. Karthik sat on a fast in Madurai demanding Madurai Airport be renamed as Pasumpon Thevar Airport. His party with sizeable Thevar votes in southern Tamil Nadu is believed to eat into the AIADMK votebank. In 2006, former AIADMK minister Nainar Nagendran lost by 2,000 votes in Tirunelveli, where Karthik's party polled more than the margin. Two weeks later he split from ADMK and announced his party will contest independently in 19 constituencies and support DMK in 213 constituencies.

Awards

Filmfare Awards South

• 1988 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil - Agni Natchathiram
• 1989 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil - Varusham Padhinaaru
• 1990 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil - Kizhakku Vasal
• 1993 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil - Ponnumani

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

• 1981 – Best Male Debut Award - Alaigal Oivathillai
• 1988 – Special Prize for Best Actor - Agni Natchathiram
• 1990 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor - Kizhakku Vasal
• 1998 – Special Prize for Best Actor - Pooveli and Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen
• Kalaimamani

Cinema Express Awards

• 1998 – Cinema Express Award for Best Actor – Tamil - Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen

Nandi Awards

• 1988 – Nandi Special Jury Award - Abhinandana

Personal life

Relationships

Karthik married actress Ragini his co-star in the film Solaikuyil in 1988 and the couple has two sons, actor Gautham Karthik and Ghayn Karthik. Later he also married Ragini's sister, Rathi, in 1992 and the couple have a son, Thiran Karthik.

Break from films

During the early 2000s, Karthik experienced a difficult period as he began to lose his popularity at the box office and new actors began to emerge in the Tamil film industry. He subsequently signed on to appear in several films, which were either dropped, shelved or indefinitely postponed during the period. Films including Prabhu Nepal's Kadhale Swasam alongside Meena, Sundar C's Kadhal Solla Vandhen with Isha Koppikar and Gowri Manohar's Kashmir with Priyanka Trivedi, had audio release events but failed to have a theatrical release. Likewise, other ventures including Mahesh's Manathil alongside Kausalya, Soundarrajan's Click co-starring Prabhu and Selva's Kai Korthu Vaa progressed before being halted. Similarly, other projects in the early 2000s such as Gurudeva with Rimjim, Muthalaam Santhippil with Kausalya again and Enrum Unnai Naesippaen were dropped soon after filming had began. During the nadir in 2002, Karthik was signed on by producer Keyaar to make a film titled Enna Peyar Veikalaam directed by Vincent Selva. Despite travelling to Pollachi for the shoot, the actor refused to emerge from his hotel room, and following an extended period of confusion, the film was called off and the Nadigar Sangam began legal proceedings against the actor.

In 2004, Karthik suggested that "his acts and habits" had landed him in trouble and was looking to make a comeback. He subsequently appeared in "comeback" films such as Kushti (2006) and Kalakkura Chandru (2007), both of which had delayed releases and went unnoticed at the box office. Other ventures that the actor described as "comeback projects" such as Kicha's Unnidathil and Raj Kapoor's Sivalingam IPS, were shelved midst production. Later in 2006, he revealed that he had quit taking drugs and was keen to make another attempt at returning to the film industry.

Filmography

As an actor Karthik has acted in almost 136 movies till Amaran- 2

As actor

Year	S.No;	Film	Role	Language	Notess
1981	1	Alaigal Oivathillai	Vichu	Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Debut
	2	Seethakoka Chiluka	Raghu	Telugu
1982	3	Ninaivellam Nithya	Chandru	Tamil
	4	Valibamey Vaa Vaa		Tamil
	5	Ilanjodigal		Tamil
	6	Kanne Radha		Tamil
	7	Kelviyum Naane Pathilum Naane	Nirmal, Babu	Tamil
	8	Neram Vandhachu		Tamil
	9	Pakkathu Veetu Roja		Tamil
	10	Thaai Mookaambikai		Tamil
	11	Agaya Gangai		Tamil
	12	Adhisayappiravigal		Tamil
1983	13	Aayiram Nilave Vaa		Tamil
	14	Bhagavathipuram Railway Gate		Tamil
	15	Dhooram Adhighamillai		Tamil
	16	Marupatta Konangal		Tamil
	17	Oru Kai Pappom		Tamil
	18	Apoorva Sahodarigal		Tamil
1984	19	Nallavanuku Nallavan	Vinod	Tamil
	20	Veera Bhadrudu		Telugu
	21	Nandri		Tamil
	22	Raja Thanthiram		Tamil
	23	Ninaivugal		Tamil
	24	Puyal Kadantha Bhoomi		Tamil
1985	25	Anveshana	Amar	Telugu
	26	Puthiya Sagaptham	Deepak	Tamil	Guest appearance
	27	Aval Sumangalithan	Bhaskaran	Tamil
	28	Nalla Thambi	Raju	Tamil
	29	Viswanathan Velai Venum		Tamil
	30	Mookanankayiru		Tamil
	31	Arthamulla Aasaigal		Tamil
	32	Ketti Melam		Tamil
1986	33	Punyastri		Telugu
	34	Natpu		Tamil
	35	Mouna Ragam	Manohar	Tamil
	36	Oomai Vizhigal	Ramesh	Tamil	Guest appearance
	37	Dharma Pathini		Tamil
	38	Thodarum Uravu		Tamil
1987	39	Vanna Kanavugal	Kannapan	Tamil
	40	Enga Veettu Ramayanan		Tamil
	41	Chinnamanikkuyile		Tamil
	42	Nalla Pambu		Tamil
	43	Ore Ratham		Tamil
	44	Thaye Neeye Thunai		Tamil
	45	Dhoorathu Pachai		Tamil
	46	Velicham		Tamil
	47	Paadu Nilave		Tamil
	48	Parisam Pottachu		Tamil
	49	Raja Mariyadhai		Tamil
1988	50	Agni Natchathiram	Ashok	Tamil	Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor
	51	Adimai Vilangu		Tamil
	52	Abhinandana	Raja	Telugu	Nandi Special Jury Award Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu
	53	En Jeevan Paduthu	Surendran	Tamil
	54	Kalicharan		Tamil
	55	Kan Simittum Neram	Raja, Kannan	Tamil
	56	Urimai Geetham	Chandru	Tamil
	57	Pei Veedu		Tamil
	58	Solla Thudikuthu Manasu	P.G Thilainathan	Tamil
1989	59	Thiruppu Munai	Rajaram, Vanchinathan	Tamil
	60	Varusham Padhinaaru	Kannan	Tamil	Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil
	61	Gopalrao Gari Abbayi		Telugu
	62	Solaikuyil		Tamil
	63	Paandi Nattu Thangam	Thangapandian	Tamil
	64	Sattathin Thirappu Vizha		Tamil
	65	Rettai Kuzhal Thuppakki		Tamil
1990	66	Idhaya Thamarai	Vijay	Tamil
	67	Mr. Karthick	Karthick	Tamil
	68	Unnai Solli Kutramillai	Balu	Tamil
	69	Kalyana Rasi		Tamil
	70	Periya Veetu Pannakkaran		Tamil
	71	Kizhakku Vasal	Ponnurangam	Tamil	Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
	72	Ethir Kaatru	Ram Narendran	Tamil
	73	Engal Swamy Ayyappan		Tamil	Guest appearance
1991	74	Vanakkam Vathiyare	Rajappa	Tamil
	75	Gopura Vasalile	Manohar	Tamil
	76	Vigneshwar	Vigneshwar	Tamil
	77	Irumbu Pookkal	Dharma	Tamil
1992	78	Amaran	Amaran	Tamil
	79	Unna Nenachen Pattu Padichen	Muthurasu	Tamil
	80	Nadodi Thendral	Tangaraasu	Tamil
	81	Nadodi Pattukkaran	Sundaram	Tamil
	82	Idhu Namma Bhoomi	Gopi	Tamil
	83	Suyamariyadhai	Vijay	Tamil
	84	Deiva Vaakku	Thambi Durai	Tamil
1993	85	Chinna Kannamma	Aravind	Tamil
	86	Ponnumani	Ponnumani	Tamil	Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil
	87	Chinna Jameen	Raasaiyya	Tamil
	88	Kathirukka Neramillai	Raju, Somasekhar	Tamil
1994	89	Ilaignar Ani		Tamil	Guest appearance
	90	Seeman		Tamil
	91	Maga Rayudu	Karthik	Telugu
1995	92	Muthu Kaalai	Muthu Kaalai	Tamil
	93	Lucky Man	Gopi	Tamil
	94	Nandhavana Theru	Seenu	Tamil
	95	Marumagan	Thangarasu	Tamil
	96	Chakravarthy	Chakravarthy	Tamil
	97	Thotta Chinungi	Mano	Tamil
1996	98	Kizhakku Mugam	Venu	Tamil
	99	Ullathai Allitha	Raja	Tamil
	100	Katta Panchayathu	Rajadurai	Tamil
	101	Poovarasan	Poovarasan	Tamil
	102	Mettukudi	Raja	Tamil
	103	Gokulathil Seethai	Rishi	Tamil
1997	104	Sishya	Aravind	Tamil
	105	Pistha	Manikandan	Tamil
1998	106	Udhavikku Varalaamaa	Muthurasu	Tamil
	107	Sundara Pandian	Pandi, Sundar	Tamil
	108	Harichandra	Harichandra	Tamil
	109	Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen	Selvam	Tamil	Cinema Express Award for Best Actor – Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor
	110	Pooveli	Murali	Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor
1999	111	Chinna Raja	Raja, Dilip	Tamil
	112	Nilave Mugam Kaattu	Murthy (Govind)	Tamil
	113	Anandha Poongatre	Haridas	Tamil	Guest appearance
	114	Suyamvaram	Ram Kumar	Tamil
	115	Rojavanam	Muthu	Tamil
	116	Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga	Sakthivelu	Tamil
2000	117	Thai Poranthachu	Aravind	Tamil	Guest appearance
	118	Sandhitha Velai	Aadalarasu, Thirunaavukkarasu	Tamil
	119	Kannan Varuvaan	Kannan	Tamil
	120	Kuberan	Kuberan	Tamil
	121	Seenu	Seenu	Tamil
2001	122	Ullam Kollai Poguthae	Gautham	Tamil	Guest appearance
	123	Lovely	Chandru	Tamil
	124	Azhagana Naatkal	Chandru	Tamil
2002	125	Devan	Chakravarthy	Tamil
	126	Game	Raja	Tamil
2003	127	Indru	Gauthaman	Tamil
2006	128	Kusthi	Singam	Tamil
2007	129	Kalakkura Chandru	Chandru	Tamil
2010	130	Maanja Velu	Subash Chandra Bose	Tamil
	131	Raavanan	Gyanaprakasam	Tamil
2011	132	Puli Vesham	Easwaran Moorthy	Tamil
2013	133	Om 3D	Harischandra Prasad	Telugu
2015	134	Anegan	Ravikiran	Tamil
2016	135	Jindhaa		Tamil	Filming
	136	Amaran 2	Amaran	Tamil	Filming

As singer

Year	Film	Song	Music director	Notes
1991	Suya Mariyathai	"Vanmedu Megham"	Shivajiraaja
1992	Amaran	"Vethala Potta Sokkula" "Musthafa"	Adithyan
1993	Chinna Jameen	"Onappu Thattu"	Ilayaraja	Swarnalatha
1997	Sishya	"Abpallo Abpallo"	Deva
1997	Pistha	"Kozhi curry kondu varatta"	S. A. Rajkumar
1998	Pooveli	"Kathai Sollapporaen"	Bharathwaj
1998	Harichandra	"Harichandran "	Anand, Gopal, Shaleen

External links

• Karthik at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile of karthik at jointscene