#UnforgettableOnes: Late actor Raghuvaran

Becoming a movie star is a dream many wants to pursue, however only a few get successful. After their debut in movies, the stars grow into popular faces by delivering a series of hits and winning the hearts of the audience for their on-screen and off-screen personality. There are stars, who disappeared, even after giving their best. There are also stars who have passed away amidst their successful journey in cinema.
ETimes presents, #UnforgettableOnes, a weekly segment, wherein we will reacquaint you with one such talent and celebrate their work.
In the latest episode of #UnforgettableOnes, let's take a look at late actor Raghuvaran’s journey in cinema.
Raghuvaran started his cinema journey with the Malayalam movies, and then made his debut in Tamil with the film 'Ezhavathu Manithan' in 1982. Then the talented actor developed a place for himself with his immense skills and acted in back-to-back Tamil films. He also took up the challenges and acted in hero, villain, and supporting roles.

Raghuvaran's roles in 'Baasha', 'Arunachalam', 'Anjali', 'Kadhalan', 'Mudhalvan', 'Mugavaree', 'Run', and 'Amarkalam', are examples of his diverse acting skills. Raghuvaran was also considered a leading villain of Tamil cinema during the 1990s as all the negative characters he played are equally powerful to the protagonist. It's the powerful villains who make powerful heroes! Raghuvaran has also shared screen space with the actors of the younger generation including Ajith, Vijay, Suriya, Vikram, and Dhanush among others.
Raghuvaran bagged the Tamil Nadu state award for best villain for his role in Shankar's directorial 'Mudhalvan'. Raghuvaran played the role of a Chief Minister, who loses his chair by throwing up a challenge to a youngster and taking the parallel route to get back to his post. Raghuvaran's role in the film continues to receive praise whenever the film is aired on television, and we can see memes of the same on social media.
Raghuvaran married his co-star Rohini in 1996 and had a son two years later. The couple got separated in 2004. Raghuvaran passed away at the age of 49 due to organ failure, and he was working for Vikram starrer 'Kanthaswamy' at the time. But his portions were later replaced with Ashish Vidyarthi, and the film was delayed to release because of it. Raghuvaran's Telugu film 'Aatadista' was released posthumously, and his performance was undoubtedly lauded.