Raghuvaran

Raghuvaran Velayuthan Nair(11 December 1958 – 19 March 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in films made inSouth India. He has acted in more than 200Tamil,Telugu,Malayalam,KannadaandHindifilms. According to theHindustan 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 Manithanin Kathai, about a well-to-do man who becomes an alcoholic. He received critical acclaim for his role as Father Alphonso in the Malayalam movieDaivathinte Vikruthikal, directed byLenin Rajendranand based onM. Mukundan's novel of the same name.
Raghuvaran's six-song music album, composed and sung by him, were officially released by actorRajinikanthand the album was received by actressRohiniand Raghuvaran's son Rishi Varan.
Raghuvaran Velayuthan Nair was born on 11 December 1958 as the eldest among four childrenatKollengodein Palakkad district inKerala. He was the grandson of Mr. N. Radhakrishnan Nair and son of Chunkamannathu N. R. Velayudhan Nair and Kasthuri Chakkungal.When his father moved his hotel business fromMathurtoCoimbatore, the family shifted to Coimbatore. He had his primary education from Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore. He also learned piano fromTrinity College London.
He discontinued his Bachelor of Arts in history from Coimbatore (Government Arts College) to pursue a career in acting.He landed a minor role in the Kannada filmSwapna Thingalgal. He began acting in minor roles in Telugu and Kannada films.
From 1979 to 1983, he was part of an acting drama troupe in Chennai, Chennai Kings, which also included the Tamil actor,Nassar. He was spotted and cast as the lead actor inEzhavathu Manithan, which was his biggest role to date.
He marriedRohiniin 1996 and their son Rishi Varan was born in 2000. The couple later separated and divorced in 2004.
Following his beginnings on the stage, and a diploma in acting fromM.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institutein Chennai, Raghuvaran approached many Kollywood studios aiming for performance oriented roles and finally got selected as hero. The offbeat film namedEzhavathu Manithan(Seventh Man),directed by Hariharan won many awards, but not many offers for him. A few more films followed with him as hero, likeOru Odai NadhiyagirathuandNee Thodumbothureleased, but did not become successes. The villain role inSilk Silk Silkwas noticed and the film's success opened the gate of offers for him. The villain act continued in films likeKutravaaligal,Mr. Bharath,Manthira Punnagai,Poovizhi Vasalile,Makkal En Pakkam,OorkavalanandPuriyaadha Pudhir.
Raghuvaran did many films as hero and most of them did good business as well. The filmsKavithai Paada Neramillai,Koottu PuzhukkalandMichael Rajhelped to stabilize his career. The police officer inThaimel Aanai(1988), the rowdy with a golden heart inKai Naattu(1988), the lawyer inKaliyugam(1988), the common man inEn Vazhi Thani Vazhi(1988) and the honest Medical student turned Goonda inKuttravali(1989) 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, even though he played hero roles inAnjali(1990) and Malayalam moviesVyooham(1990) followed byKavacham(1992).Raghuvaran featured as the bad guy in big-ticket Tamil films likeShankar's filmsKadhalan(1994) andMudhalvan(1999).
Raghuvaran was pitted againstDilip Kumarin hisBollywooddebutIzzatdaar(1990) and his popularity further soared at the national level withRam Gopal Varma's gangster flickShiva(1990), where he played the dreaded gangsterBhawani. OtherBollywoodfilms includeRakshak(1996) oppositeSunil Shetty(1996),Hitler(1998) oppositeMithun Chakraborty,Lal Baadshah(1999) oppositeAmitabh Bachchan.  andGrahanalong withJackie Shroff, where he replaced a busyNana Patekarin 2001.
Known for playing the antagonist in a number of box office hits during the course of his career, he shared screen space with several big names in Tamil cinema, with his most memorable on-screen foe being none other than 'Superstar'Rajinikanth. The duo had appeared together inMr. Bharath(1986),Oorkavalan(1987),Manithan(1987),Siva(1989),Raja Chinna Roja(1989),Baashha(1995),Muthu(1995),Arunachalam(1997) andSivaji(2007).
He later returned to supporting roles – sometimes as a father or as a mentor in films such asRun(2002),Bala(2002),Alai(2003),Thirumalai(2003) andYaaradi Nee Mohini(2008).
Raghuvaran died on 19 March 2008, aged 49.The cause of death was due to organ failure because of excessive alcohol consumption.His death occurred during the filming stages of several films, includingKanthaswamy(2009), wherein Raghuvaran's portions were reshot withAshish Vidyarthi, which resulted in the film's delayed release. His posthumous film,Aatadista, released shortly after his death.