A. Karunanidhi (Tamil : கருணாநிதி) was an Indian actor and comedian who featured mainly in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language films.

Career

He was active in the field from 1948 till 1978. Though he was a comedian, the roles he played in some of the films were so imperative to the story. A case in point is his role in the award-winning film ''

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. He fought the British East India Company and was captured by the British with the help of the ruler of the kingdom of Pu ...

''. He featured as "Sundaralingam", a servant in Kattabomman's court. The role was developed into a spy and he played it brilliantly. In some of the films, he will not talk much, but his body language itself will make the audience laugh, as in ''

Missiamma ''Missiamma'' () is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. Produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the script was adapted by Chakrapani from the Bengali play ''Manmoyee Girls ...

''. He has also appeared in women's attire in some films. The turning and twisting of his body was well appreciated even by women. In '' Adhey Kangal'' (1967 film), he did the role of a

Malayalee The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

cook and spoke Malayalee Tamil, making the audience laugh to their hilt. Apart from acting, at times he gave ideas for comedy scenes in films.

T. P. Muthulakshmi T. P. Muthulakshmi (Native name: தமிழ்: டி. பி. முத்துலட்சுமி) was an Indian actress who was active from the 1950 to 1969. She was a prominent lead comedy actress during the early 1950s in Tamil films ...

was his co-star in many films. While he was acting in films, he ran a non-vegetarian hotel called ''Maamiya Hotel'' at Thiyagaraya Nagar in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. He died in 1981, affected by

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Partial filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karunanidhi, A. 1923 births 1981 deaths Male actors from Chennai Tamil comedians Male actors in Tamil cinema Indian male film actors 20th-century Indian male actors Indian male comedians 20th-century Indian comedians