A. V. M. Rajan

Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is an Indian preacher and former actor who was active in Tamil cinema during the 1960s and 1970s.

A.V.M. Rajan
Born	Shanmugasundaram (1935-07-26) 26 July 1935 (age 89) Pudukottai
Other names	A.V.M Rajan
Occupation(s)	Preacher, actor, film producer
Spouses	Meenakshi (m.1957) Pushpalatha (m.1964-present)
Children	Rajan Rathnavel Rajan Amuthan Saraswathi (Sachu Venkat) Ganesh Rajan Sis.Rachel (Formerly Mahalakshmi) Dr. Catherine (Formerly Abhirami)

Early life

Born in Pudukottai, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Madras University.^[1] 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 fit 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.^[2]

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 was an actress between the 80s–90s. On 19 January 1984,^[3] through a personal encounter with God, Rajan converted and there after became a full-time Christian preacher since 1988^[4] 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.^[5]

Filmography

Actor

Year	Film	Role	Language	Director	Co-stars	Notes
1959	Sivagangai Seemai		Tamil	K. Shankar	S. S. Rajendran	His first signed movie but his scenes were chopped off.
1963	Naanum Oru Penn	Balu	Tamil	A. C. Tirulokchandar	S. S. Rajendran, C. R. Vijayakumari, Pushpalatha
	Aayiram Kalathu Payir	Ratnam	Tamil	T.S. Durairaj	T.S. Durairaj, Balaji, Devika	First Movie but Naanum Oru Penn got released first
	Paar Magale Paar	Sundaram	Tamil	A. Bhimsingh	Sivaji Ganesan, R. Muthuraman, Pushpalatha
	Thulasi Maadam	Gopal	Tamil	K. B. Srinivasan	Gemini Chandrakantha, S. N. Lakshmi, Sharadha, M. S. Sundari Bai
1964	Alli	Babu	Tamil	S. S. Rajendran	S. S. Rajendran, R. Vijayakumari, Sowcar Janaki, Pushpalatha
	Chitrangi	Jeyveeran	Tamil	R. S. Mani	Pushpalatha
	Pachchai Vilakku	Mani	Tamil	A. Bhim Singh	Sivaji Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran, Pushpalatha
	Andavan Kattalai	Ramu	Tamil	K. Shankar	Sivaji Ganesan, Devika, Pushpalatha
	Main Bhi Ladki Hoon		Hindi	A. C. Tirulokchandar	Dharmendra, Pushpalatha	Remake of Naanum Oru Penn
1965	Ennathan Mudivu	Kumaran	Tamil	K.S. Gopalakrishnan	T.S Balaiah, V.S. Ragavan, Anjali Devi	In This Film He has got the title 'Nadippu Sudar'
	Veera Abhimanyu	Abhimanyu	Tamil	V. Madhusudhana Rao	Gemini Ganesan, Kanchana, Anjali Devi
	Enga Veetu Penn	Chandran	Tamil	Tapi Chanakya	Jaishankar, Vijaya Nirmala
1966	Kodimalar	Thambi Durai	Tamil	C. V. Sridhar	R. Muthuraman, C. R. Vijayakumari, Kanchana
	Thattungal Thirakkappadum	Doctor	Tamil	J. P. Chandrababu	R. S. Manohar, Savithri, J. P. Chandrababu, K. R. Vijaya, Cho Ramaswamy
	Namma Veettu Lakshmi	Chandru	Tamil	B.R. Panthulu	R. Muthuraman, Vanisri
	Major Chandrakanth	Rajinikanth	Tamil	K. Balachander	Major Sundarrajan, Nagesh, R. Muthuraman, Jayalalitha	Remake of Hindi film Oonche Log
1967	Manam Oru Kurangu	Gopinath	Tamil	A. T. Krishnaswamy	R. Muthuraman, K.R. Vijaya, Cho
	Pandhayam	Somu	Tamil	A. Kasilingam	Gemini Ganesan, Vijaya Nirmala	Remade into Hindi as Sachaai
	Karpooram		Tamil	C. N. Shanmugam	Pushpalatha, Manorama, T.S Balaiah, S.A. Asokan, Sri Kanth
1968	Poovum Pottum	Prakash	Tamil	Dada Mirasi	S. V. Ranga Rao, P. Bhanumathi, R. Muthuraman, Pandari Bai, Bharathi, Nagesh
	Galatta Kalyanam	Mohan	Tamil	C. V. Rajendran	Sivaji Ganesan, Nagesh, Cho Ramaswamy, Jayalalitha
	Thillana Mohanambal	Thangarathnam	Tamil	A. P. Nagarajan	Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini
	Jeevanamsam	Balu	Tamil	Malliyam Rajagopal	Jaishankar, Lakshmi, C. R. Vijayakumari, Pushpalatha, Sowkar Janaki, Nagesh
	Chakkaram	Jambu	Tamil	A. Kasilingam	Gemini Ganesan, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Sowkar Janaki, Nagesh
1969	Thulaabaram	Ramu	Tamil	A. Vincent	Kanchana, Sharada, Muthuraman	Remake of Malayalam film Thulabharam
	Thunaivan	Velayudham	Tamil	M. A. Thirumugam	Sowkar Janaki, Nagesh
	Annaiyum Pithavum	Bhaskar	Tamil	AVM Brothers	Vanisri, Lakshmi, Nagesh, Sivakumar
	Mannippu	Advocate Kumar	Tamil			25th Film
	Chellapen		Tamil	K. Krishnamurthy	Pushpalatha, Manorama, Cho	Sowkar Janaki was initially signed for the movie. Shooting had progressed to some extent, after which she was replaced by Pushpalatha
	Magizhampoo	Pasupathy	Tamil	V T Arasu	Pushpalatha
	Paal Kudam		Tamil	Pattu	Pushpalatha, Lakshmi
1970	Engal Thangam	Moorthy	Tamil	Krishnan–Panju	M. G. Ramachandran, Pushpalatha
	Dharisanam	Pandian/ Chandramohan	Tamil	V. T. Arasu	Pushpalatha, Srikanth, Cho, Manorama	Double Role
	Anadhai Anandhan	Selvam	Tamil	Krishnan–Panju	Jayalalithaa, R. S. Manohar, Anjali Devi, Master Sekhar	Hindi Version of Chanda Aur Bijli
	Noorandu Kaalam Vazhga	Rajan	Tamil	K. Sampath	Kanchana, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, L. Vijayalakshmi
	Yaen?	Ramu	Tamil	T. R. Ramanna	Ravichandran, Lakshmi, Vennira Aadai Nirmala
1971	Irulum Oliyum	Thyagarajan (Thyagu)	Tamil	Puttanna Kanagal	Vanisri, R. Muthuraman
	Pattondru Ketten		Tamil	S. Raghavan	Rajshree, Nagesh,
	Deivam Pesuma	Dr Sundaram	Tamil	Chinni-Sampath8	Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Sandhya Rani
	Thirumagal	Raju	Tamil	A. S. A. Sami	Gemini Ganesan, Sivakumar, Lakshmi
1972	Agathiyar	Lord Shiva	Tamil	A. P. Nagarajan	Sirkazhi Govindarajan, T. R. Mahalingam, Sivakumar, Lakshmi, C. R. Vijayakumari, Kumari Padmini, 'Baby' Sridevi
	Kandavarundo		Malayalam	Mallikarjuna Rao	Sadhana, Vincent
	Thangadurai	Rangen	Tamil	A. Kasilingam	Sowcar Janaki, Master Sekhar
	Thaikku Oru Pillai	Thiyagaraj	Tamil	Pattu	Jaishankar, Savitri, Vennira Aadai Nirmala
	Shakthi Leelai	Prohithar	Tamil	T. R. Ramanna	Gemini Ganesan, Jayalalithaa, K. R. Vijaya, Sivakumar, B. Saroja Devi, Ushanandini, Manjula
	Deiva Sankalpam	Ravi	Tamil	P. R. Somu	C. R. Vijayakumari, Cho
	Bathilukku Bathil	Kumaran	Tamil	C. P. Jambulingam	Muthuraman, C. R. Vijayakumari, Vennira Aadai Nirmala
	Aval		Tamil	A. C. Tirulokchandar	Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Shashikumar, Srikanth
	Puguntha Veedu	Bhaskar	Tamil	Pattu	Ravichandran, Savitri, Lakshmi, Chandrakala
	Akka Thamudu		Telugu	Krishnan–Panju	Jayalalithaa, R. Muthuraman, Anjali Devi, Master Sekhar	Dubbed movie of Anadhai Anandhan
	Dheivam	Kadhirvelu	Tamil	M. A. Thirumugam	Gemini Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Sowcar Janaki, R. Muthuraman, Sivakumar
1973	Manipayal	Arun	Tamil	A. Jagannathan	Jayanthi, Master Sekhar
	Engal Thaai	Ragunath	Tamil	Malliyam Rajagopal	Savitri, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Srikanth
	Nee Ullavarai		Tamil	C. V. Ramana	Kumari Padmini, Pandari Bai	50th Film
	Amman Arul		Tamil	Pattu	Jaishankar, Manjula
	Anbu Sagodharargal	Durairaj	Tamil	Lakshmi Deepak	S. V. Ranga Rao, Jaishankar, Jamuna, Devika, Sivakumar, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Prameela	Remake of Telugu movie Pandanti Kapuram
	Dheiva Vamsam		Tamil	K. Vijayan	Chandrakala
	Veettu Mappillai		Tamil	A. K. Subramaniam	Savitri, Prameela
	Thirumalai Deivam	Narathan	Tamil	A. P. Nagarajan	Gemini Ganesan, K. B. Sundarambal, R. Muthuraman, Sivakumar, Lakshmi, Srividya
	Veettukku Vandha Marumagal		Tamil	R. Vittal	Ravichandran, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Latha
	Pasa Deepam	Rajarathna	Tamil	Pattu	Manjula, Sowcar Janaki
	Pennai Nambungal	Ramu	Tamil	B. V. Srinivasan	Jayanthi, Sivakumar, Jayachitra
	Manidharil Manikkam	Boopathy	Tamil	C. V. Rajendran	Sivaji Ganesan, Prameela
	Nyayam Ketkirom		Tamil	C. V. Rajendran	Vennira Aadai Nirmala, R. Muthuraman, Kanchana, Cho, Manorama, VK Ramasamy,
	Prarthanai		Tamil	Kousikan	Sowkar Janaki, Vennira Aadai Nirmala
1974	Sivagamiyin Selvan	Wing Commander Raghu	Tamil	C. V. Rajendran	Sivaji Ganesan, Vanisri, Latha
	Doctoramma	Raja	Tamil	Sornam	Manjula
	Ore Satchi	Madhavan	Tamil	K. Vijayan	P. R. Varalakshmi, Major Sundarrajan, M. N. Rajam
	Magalukkaga	Muruga	Tamil	M. Krishnan	Jaya	75th Film, Remake of Telugu film Drohi
	Murugan Kaattiya Vazhi	Muniyandi	Tamil	P. Madhavan	Nagesh, Srikanth, Vijayakumar, Vidhubala, Sripriya, Vijaya Chandrika
	Pathu Madha Bandham	Chandran	Tamil	Krishnan–Panju	P. Bhanumathi, B. Saroja Devi, R. Muthuraman, Ravichandran, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Rajasree
1975	Annadammula Anubandham	Venu Gopal Rao	Telugu	S. D. Lal	N. T. Rama Rao, Murali Mohan, Latha, Kanchana, Pushpalatha
	Enakkoru Magan Pirappan		Tamil	M. Krishnan	Shubha, Vidhubala
	Thiruvarul	Kumara Devan	Tamil	R. Thyagarajan	Jaya, Major Sundarrajan
1976	Rojavin Raja	Gopal	Tamil	K. Vijayan	Sivaji Ganesan, Vanisri
	Thayilla Kuzanthai		Tamil	R.Thiyagarajan	Vijayakumar jayachitra Asokan
1977	Murugan Adimai		Tamil	R.Thyagarajan	R.Muthuraman, K.R. Vijaya
	Navarathinam	Raja	Tamil	A. P. Nagarajan	M. G. Ramachandran, Pushpalatha
	Unnai Suttrum Ulagam		Tamil		Kamal Haasan, Jayalalithaa
1978	Thai Meethu Sathiyam	Babu's Father	Tamil		Rajnikanth, Ambareesh, Mohan Babu
1980	Billa	Inspector Varma	Tamil	R. Krishnamurthy	Rajinikanth
1981	Thee	Ramaiah	Tamil		Rajinikanth
1982	Oorum Uravum	Chandrasekhar	Tamil	Major Sunderarajan, PushpaRajan	Sivaji Ganesan, KR Vijaya, Nizhalgal Ravi, Major Sunderarajan
1984	Nandri	IGP	Tamil	AVM Rajan	Karthik, Nalini, Mahalakshmi (Daughter of AVM Rajan), Arjun Sarja
1987	Veeran Veluthambi	IG of Police	Tamil	Rama Narayanan	Vijayakanth, Radha Ravi

Producer

• Oorum Uravum
• Lorry Driver Rajakannu
• Nandri

References

1. "Tamil Supporting Actor Avm Rajan – Nettv4u".
2. Matrimony, Kalyanamalai – KM. "Kalyanamalai Magazine – Serial story, Thiraichuvai – Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema, AVM. Rajan". www.kalyanamalaimagazine.com.
3. "Tamil Movie Actor | Bro. A V M Rajan | Heavenly Testimony | English - Malayalam | TPM - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
4. "TAMIL CHRISTIAN- Bro - A V M RAJAN - 24 09 2017-SUNDAY". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
5. "Dinakaran". Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.

External links

• A. V. M. Rajan at IMDb