Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is a former Indian actor in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in

Pudukottai Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...

, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachelor's degree in mathematics from

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. His higher secondary was at Christian Sweden Mission High School. His parents wanted to see him as a police officer. He came to Madras to write the examination, but didn't sit for the exam. He was not confident as he couldn't straighten his left hand fractured at the age of 14. Instead, while working at Raj Bhavan Guindy Chennai, he tried his luck in cinema knocking on the doors of every film company to earn a better income. At long last, his relentless efforts yielded result by getting him the opportunity to enter cinema through the film ''Aayiram Kaalathu Payiru'' in which he was introduced as "Raja B.A.". Soon after, he was signed to act in the AVM's film '' Naanum Oru Penn'' also. Rajan acted in a movie produced by AVM Productions called ''Naanum Oru Penn'', a film that starred S.S.Rajendran in the lead role. Hence he became 'A.V.M.' Rajan. Tamil actress Pushpalatha appeared in the same picture, and they became a couple and later married. They subsequently acted as a pair in many films, including ''Karppooram'' (1967) which he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. AVM Rajan has two daughters, the elder daughter

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

was an actress between the 80s–90s. On 19 January 1984, through a personal encounter with God, Rajan converted and there after became a full-time Christian preacher since 1988 and since then has stopped acting in movies and dramas. His wife Pushpalatha is a Catholic by birth. She hails from Coimbatore. Following Rajan's conversion, his family too is serving full-time Ministry.

Filmography

;Actor ;Producer *Oorum Uravum *Lorry Driver Rajakannu *Nandri

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajan, A. V. M. 1935 births 20th-century Indian Christian clergy Indian male film actors Tamil male actors Living people Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners People from Pudukkottai Converts to Christianity