Raghuvaran was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in movies made in South India. He became famous for his portrayal of villain and character roles in Tamil films. He has acted in more than 150 Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. According to the Hindustan Times, "the actor had carved a niche for himself with his special style and voice modulation.
He played the protagonist of a Tamil soap opera, Oru Manidhanin Kadhai, about a well-to-do man who becomes an alcoholic. He received critical acclaim for his role as Father Alphonso in the Malayalam movie Daivathinte Vikruthikal, directed by Lenin Rajendran and based on M. Mukundan's novel of the same name.
Following his beginnings on the stage, and a Diploma in acting from Adyar Film Institute in Chennai, Raghuvaran approached many Kollywood studios aiming for performance oriented roles and finally got selected one as hero. The offbeat film named Ezhavathu Manithan (Seventh Man). directed by Hariharan won many awards, but not many offers for him. A few more films followed as hero like Oru Odai Nadhiyagirathu and Nee Thodumbothu released, but did n't became a huge success. But the villain role in Silk Silk Silk was noticed and the film's success opened the gate of offers for him. The villain act continued in films like Kutravaaligal, Mr. Bharath, Mandhira Punnagai and Oorkavalan. He appeared as hero as well as supporting actor in between releases as well. The major ones are Mudivalla Arambam and Samsaram Adhu Minsaram.
In mid 80's Raghuvaran did many films as hero and most of them did good business as well. The films Michael Raj, Megam Karuththirukku, Kootu Puzhukkal and Kavithai Paada Neramillai helped to stabilize his career. The lawyer in Kaliyugam, the police officer in Thaimel Aanai, the rowdy with a golden heart in Kai Naattu, the honest Medical student turned Goonda in Kuttravali, the common man in En Vazhi Thani Vazhi helped Raghuvaran's market value as hero to reach greater heights. But his desire to try all types of roles, like supporting actor as well as villain simultaneously halted the progress as hero, eventhough he played hero roles in Vyooham, Kavacham and Anjali later. His supporting roles in Annanagar Mudhal Theru and Siva was well received too.
In a career span lasting for more than 26 years, Raghuvaran performed each roles with his trademark mannerisms, often stealing the thunder from more established stars and even heroes. His magnetic baritone voice was an advantage and he modulated it to suit his variety of roles. He also set his own style of mannerisms and brought a distinct dialogue delivery and even changed his gait in many films. All this dedication won him more fans and helped his popularity graph soaring more higher.
Raghuvaran died on 19 March 2008 cause of the death has been disclosed as organ failure caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
His death occurred during the filming stages of several films, including the Tamil film, Kanthaswamy wherein Raghuvaran's performances were left unused and were replaced with Ashish Vidyarthi, which resulted in the film's delayed release.
as Ashok Nair (Archive Footage)
as Surya's Father (Archive Footage)
as Jagadeeswaran IPS from CBI
as Vasu's Father
as Raghunath
as Huzoor
as Periyavar
as Dr. Chezhian
as Doctor (Cameo appearance)
as Bala Gangadhar
as Elango
as Gowtham
as Satya
as Udhayamoorthy
as Advocate Ashok Mehta
as Scientist
as Jayadev (JD)
as Jana's father
as Artist
as Manickavasagam
as Gangadhar
as Venketeaswaran
as Ravishankar Damle
as Krishnamurthy
as Jeyamani
as Rajkishore
as KR
as Tamilselvan
as Shiva's Brother in Law
as Sethupathy
as Gajapathy
as Dhanushkodi
as General Raana
as Raghu
as Tulasi
as Adv. Raghu Sinha
as Deva / CBI Officer Vishwanath / Harkat Ul Ansari Dawood
as Raghu
as Boss
as DGP Jagannathan
as Raghu
as Chandra Mohan
as Shiva
as Dr.Rajasekhar
as Aande
as Chief Minister Aranganathan
as Ranganathan
as Tulasi Das
as Shekher
as Vikram Singh / Vicky Baadshah
as Paneer
as Robert
as Raghuram
as Siva
as Ankush Roy
as Chidambaram
as Gnaneshwar
as Masilamani
as Raghu
as Raghu
as JK
as Vishwanath
as Police Officer Raghu
as Varatharajan
as Raghu
as Gopla
as Rajasekharan
as Bhavani
as Ramesh
as Dr. Abdul Rahman
as Usman
as Leo Fernandez
as Mark Anthony
as Vadivelu
as Mallikarjuna
as Kannappa Rao / Kannayiram
as Duraipandi
as A Terrorist
as Avinash
as Alphonso
as Raghuraman
as Bhavani
as Tony Lewis
as Shekar
as Indrajeet Sabharwal
as Thiyagu
as Bhavani
as Bhaskar
as John
as Raaja
as Alex
as Widowed Professor
as Advocate Raja
as Michael Raj
as Rajadurai
as Chakravarthy
as Ramesh
as Anand
as Dhairiyaraj
as Chidambaram
as Michael
as Joseph
as Anand
