Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 240 films predominantly in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, Telugu and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films.

Early life

Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthulakshmi in Chennai

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He joined the Auditor General's Office as a Junior Division Clerk in 1976 and worked part-time as a theatre artist and a stage artist due to his desire to act and perform. He was friendly with

Delhi Ganesh Ganesan Mahadevan (1 August 1944 – 9 November 2024), known by his stage name Delhi Ganesh, was an Indian actor who mostly acted in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He was well known for the versatility of roles he played during h ...

, another AGS employee who remains his closest friend to date. Janagaraj joined Director Bharathiraja as his unofficial assistant. After seeing his talent during the shooting of '' Kizhake Pogum Rail'', Bharathiraja gave him the chance to act as a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

in the same movie. Later in Puthiya Vaarpugal, Bharathiraja gave Janagaraj another sensational character as a minor boy of the villain (G. Srinivasan). Janagaraj had acted with a trouser and baniyan for that movie. Janagaraj found his break in 1980 in

Bharathiraja Bharathiraja ( born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with ''16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of ...

's '' Nizhalgal'' and was among the most wanted comedians, having shared roles with major film stars like

Sivakumar Palaniswamy Gounder (born 27 October 1941), better known by his stage name Sivakumar, is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has appeared in Tamil cinema and television. He made his acting debut in '' Kaakum Karangal'' (1965) and has ...

, Rajinikanth,

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

, Ramki,

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

and with major film directors like

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

, K. Balachander and Suresh Krishna.

Film career

Beginning

In 1978, he was introduced by director

in '' Kizhake Pogum Rail'' and he continued to give chance to him in his films '' Puthiya Vaarpugal'' (1979), '' Kaadhal Oviyam'' (1982) and '' Oru Kaidhiyin Diary'' (1985). Janagaraj's career however spun to silver in the 1980s. Starting with '' Nizhalgal'' (1980), continuing in '' Sindhu Bhairavi'' (1985), '' Palaivana Rojakkal'' (1986), '' Muthal Vasantham'' (1986), '' Agni Natchathiram'' (1988), '' Rajadhi Raja'' (1989) and '' Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1989). Janagaraj became a popular comedian in Tamil films. He is known for his peculiar voice and face expression. He has also acted in supporting roles in films like '' Nayakan'' (1987), '' Kizhakku Vasal'' (1990), '' Annamalai'' (1992) and '' Baashha'' (1995). He was main sidekick for

and Rajinikanth in 80s and early 90s films. Suruli Rajan's untimely death pushed him to forefront for roles that demanded comedy as well as character support.

Later years

His latest roles were in ''

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

'' (2002), '' Aayutha Ezhuthu'' (2004) and '' M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi'' (2004) as supporting roles. He acted a negative role in '' Aayudham'' (2005). After a hiatus, Janagaraj made his acting comeback with '' 96'' (2018) and '' Dha Dha 87'' (2019).

Award

* Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Male) for – ''

'' (2002)

Filmography

Tamil films

Other language films

References

External links

*{{IMDb name, id=0417301, name=janagaraj Living people Tamil male actors Male actors in Tamil cinema Tamil comedians Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners 1955 births