Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly 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 ...

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

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

films.

Early life

Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthulakshmi in Chennai

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

. 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 Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Nat ...

, 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 (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

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 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 rural life in his films. ...

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

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

, Ramki,

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

and with major film directors like

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

, 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 The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

'' (1985), '' Palaivana Rojakkal'' (1986), '' Muthal Vasantham'' (1986), ''

Agni Natchathiram ''Agni Natchathiram'' () is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language masala film that was written and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Prabhu, Karthik, Amala and newcomer Nirosha, with Vijayakumar, Jayachitra, Sumithra, Tara, S. N. Lakshmi ...

'' (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 ''Baashha'' is a 1995 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language gangster action film written and directed by Suresh Krissna. The film stars Rajinikanth, Nagma and Raghuvaran, with Janagaraj, Devan (actor), Devan, Shashi Kumar, Vijayakumar (Tamil ac ...

'' (1995). He was main sidekick for

and

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 the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

'' (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) The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Male) is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil ( Kollywood) films. The award was first given in 1968 and stopped after 1970. The awar ...

for – ''

'' (2002)

Filmography

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