A versatile and flamboyant actor who can phoo phoo any screen role with comfortable ease.

Until Sathyaraj made it to the silver screen as a villain the bad guys were not loved for their panache. They were hated wholeheartedly as their designs and actions were declared ignominious. But Sathyaraj rewrote the whole script and won for the villain a certain amount of dignity. Till then screen villains were supposed to be a brute, lacking in manners and finer things of life; they cackled raucously, spoke rudely, and were largely portrayed as a miserable lot, living in a miserable hole. Sathyaraj impressed upon the audience by being a cultured villain. He was witty, ironical, teasing and flamboyant, all the while strategizing his evil designs. His gift of the gab, helped by a baritone came in handy to utter his dialogues in a distinct Sathyaraj style. His cool and casual way of enquiring "Yennammaa kannu saukkyammaa?" and his unique way of playing the host to his deserted ladylove with mock courtesy “Coffee saaptuiya” endeared him to all sections of the audience.

Sathyaraj, to begin with, appeared in small roles that spanned only for short spells on the screen. Then his stature as an actor gradually metamorphosed to that of a villain artiste and finally to that of one of the leading heroes of Tamil films. 

Born as Rengaraj, on 3rd of October in the year 1954, he is the son of Dr. Subbiah of Coimbatore and Nathambal, daughter of the chieftain of Ooththukkuli Jameen! Sathyaraj's two sisters are, Kalpana Arjun and Roopa Senathipathy. Sathyaraj hails from a well-to-do, landlord family. He completed his primary school education in Tamil medium, at St. Mary's Convent. He studied up to the 10th std. in a suburban high school. In his primary school, he used to be a 1st rank holder. After his completion of the 5th class, he saw M.G.R.'s "Vaettaikkaaran" and became a staunch fan of him. 

As his enthusiasm in films started developing, his interest in studies began diminishing! He passed S.S.L.C. scoring first rank marks in history and geography at his school level. He joined Govt. Arts College and completed B.Sc. in botany. Manivannan was a co-student in PUC and their friendship started there. 

His family faced sudden economic debacles, which forced Sathyaraj, after he finished his college studies, to work in his uncle Mathampatty Sivakumar's money-lending shop.

One day Satyaraj went to see the shooting of "Annakkili", where he met actor Sivakumar. Sathyaraj, later, revealed his interest in film acting to his family members, but faced a stiff opposition. He wrote a heart-warming letter to his mother and put it into a post box that stood opposite to his house and left for Chennai. 

In Chennai, he met actor Sivakumar and producer Thiruppur Manimaran and started pestering them to fulfill his cine field dreams. Yet, Sivakumar vehemently criticized his cinema interests and advised him to immediately return to his native place. But Sathyaraj didn't give-up his efforts! He rented a room at Usman Road, Chennai, in which cockroaches and spiders co-existed with him. The producer of "Thaainadu" film, Maathampatty Sivakumar was sending him money every month. "Annakkili" Sivakumar made him join the drama troupe of Komal Swamynathan. 

Sathyaraj first acted in "Kodugal Illaatha Kolangal". Then he worked as production manager for the film "Kannan Oru Kaikkuzhanthai". He also acted in a small role in that film. On the title card of the film his name was shown on screen with the description: "Aluvalaga Nirvaagam: S.N. Rangaraj, B.Sc." As he had also acted in it in a small role, his name had been depicted as 'Sathyaraj' in the list of actors that unfolded on the screen. It was 'Stills' Ravi who first captured him in camera. Then cameraman-cum-director N.K. Viswanathan introduced him to T.N. Balu. This enabled him to act in "Sattam Yen Kaiyil". Next, Sathyaraj acted in P. Madhavan's "Yaenippadigal". In "Kuruvikkoodu", Sathyaraj acted in the role of a negative hero. 

Sathyaraj generally used to take part in story discussions that are held prior to filmmaking. He went along with R. Sunderrajan for participating in the discussion of the story that finally led to the birth of the film "Saranaalayam". Then he took part in another story discussion and this story was later filmed as "Nooraavathu Naal"! Sathyaraj also acted in it with a shaven-head get-up! This earned him an image as an actor. Subsequently and gradually, he started improving his career prospects by acting in villain roles in films, acted by leading heroes! He wrote the story for a Telugu film "Tharja Thongaa", co-acted by Suman and Vijayasanthi. He directed the film "Villathi Villain" and acted in the lead role. This was his 125th film for which he wrote the story, screenplay and dialogue, himself. 

His debut as hero in films started with the picture "Saavi", directed by Karthik Ragunath. From "Iravu Pookkal" onwards, he started acting as a regular hero. Sathyaraj, said to be a relative of Sivaji Ganesan, is reported to have performed mimicry by mimicking Sivaji's actions in front of Sivaji himself, and thus is told to have won a scent bottle as a gift from the latter! Sathyaraj maintains close friendship with Rajinikanth and Kamalhassan too! Since 1986, he remains an ardent supporter of the principles of Thanthai Periyar! Sathyaraj is a known atheist. 

M.G.R., Sivaji, M.R. Radha, Nagesh, S.V. Ranga Rao, Chandra Babu and Manivannan are his favourite actors. Among actresses Saroja Devi is his favourite artiste. Pudhdha, Karl Marx, Ambedkar, Thanthai Periyar and Rajneesh are the leaders greatly respected by him. Sathyaraj is a recipient of Tamilnadu Government's 'Kalaimaamani Award'. He has been given 'M.G.R. Award' in recognition of his performance in "Nadigan". In 1979, he married Maathampatty Sivakumar's niece, Mageswari. Sathyraj has a daughter by name Divya and a son called Sibi.

Compiled by U. Bharat.

Updated on 17 - 03 - 2001

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