K. KarthikTamil Actor – Movies List & Song Lyrics

Karthik was born as Murali Karthikeyan Muthuraman on 13 September 1960. He was born into a Tamil Hindu family in Ooty to veteran actor R. Muthuraman and Sulochana. He has two sons, Gautham and Ghayn, from his first marriage with Ragini, and another son, Thiran, from his second marriage with Rathi.

Karthik was first introduced in Tamil cinema by Bharathiraja in the Tamil film Alaigal Oivathillai (1981). Bharathiraja gave him the stage name, Karthik. He received the Best New Face Award from the Tamil Nadu Government in 1981. He starred in the Telugu version of the film Seethakoka Chilaka that same year under the stage name Murali. He collaborated with leading film directors such as Mani Ratnam, Bharathiraja, Visu, R. Sundarrajan, Ameerjan, R. V. Udayakumar, Priyadarshan, Fazil, Vikraman, Agathiyan, Sundar C, K. S. Ravikumar, P. Vasu and K. V. Anand.

During the earlier stages of his career, Karthik worked three times with R. V. Udaya Kumar. Later, he formed a partnership with Goundamani in many comedy films. He was also well received by the Tamil audience for his performance in Nallavanukku Nallavan (1984) in a role against Rajinikanth. During the early to mid '80s he did many films of which Bhagavathipuram Railway Gate (1983), Pei Veedu (1984) and Raja Thanthiram (1984) were typical low budget masala films and failed to make a mark. His onscreen pairing with Radha was appreciated in the early '80s. He garnered acclaim for his role in the Telugu thriller Anveshana by Vamsy and his cameo in Mouna Ragam (1986) was well received by the audience.

Post his performance in Mani Ratnam's, 1986 classic Mouna Ragam, Karthik acted in numerous performance-oriented films. To begin with Vanna Kanavugal (1987) was a super hit and marked beginnings of Karthik as a performance artist. He's said to have captured the soul of the audience with his subtle yet powerful acting style. He collaborated with several leading directors since 1987 and created several successful films. He acted in the Telugu film Abhinandana (1988) for which he won the Nandi Special Jury Award. He pursued strong performance-oriented characters in commercial successes like Agni Natchathiram (1988), Varusham Padhinaaru (1989), Idhaya Thamarai (1990), Kizhakku Vaasal (1990) and culminated with the black comedy Gopura Vasalile (1991).

This was period when Karthik took considerable risks in choosing scripts. Amaran (1992) was an action film where Karthik plays an orphan who eventually becomes a don. When it released, it performed below expectations; however, the song sung by Karthik became a huge rage: 'Vethala Potta Sokkula', one of the super hit songs that Adithyan tuned was sung in his signature style very similar to his dialogue delivery. The song is a 'love at first sight' kind and its simplicity and very hummable lyrics is what endeared it to many when it was first released. Nadodi Thendral (1992) was a period film helmed by Bharathiraja. Ponnumani (1993) was a village-based melodrama, which was a super hit at the box office and fetched Karthik his fourth Filmfare award. Karthik also spent a considerable amount of time shooting for a Telugu film co-starring Vijayashanti in Maga Rayudu (1994). This period also witnessed films like Marumagan (1995), Chakravarthy (1995), Nandhavana Theru (1995) and an average success Thotta Chinungi (1995).

In 1996, Karthik appeared in Kizhakku Mugam. In the same year, he acted in his biggest commercial success: the full-length comedy Sundar C's Ullathai Allitha, alongside Rambha and Goundamani. Due to the success, he collaborated with the director again in another profitable venture, Mettukudi. He went on to win critical acclaim for his role in Gokulathil Seethai. The film went on to win the Tamil Nadu State Film award for showcasing women in good light, crediting actors for their empathetic performance. Karthik may not have won an award for his performance, but his ability to play a drunk, ruthless playboy and with relative ease segueing in to a role that respects women. He appeared in K. S. Ravikumar's Pistha (1997), which also received good reviews. Karthik carried on his good streak at the box office in 1998, while also winning accolades for his performances in Cheyyar Ravi's Harichandra (1998), Vikraman's Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen (1998) (his 100th film), and Selva's Pooveli (1998), and won a Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Actor for both Pooveli and Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen. In 1999, he appeared in drama films like Chinna Raja, Nilave Mugam Kaattu, Anandha Poongatre, Suyamvaram and Rojavanam. He acted in medium-budget comedy films, notably in four further Sundar C ventures including the successful blockbuster film, Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga (1999). His pairing with Rambha was a hit with the audience as the pair provided good hits in the late 1990s.