Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is an Indian preacher, former actor and producer who was active in Tamil cinema. He was one of the top actors in the industry during the 1960s and 1970s.
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Early life
Born in Pudukottai, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Madras University. His higher secondary was at Christian Sweden Mission High School. His parents wanted to see him as a police officer. He came to Madras to take the examination, but he was not deemed fit for the exam. He was not confident as he couldn't straighten his left hand fractured at the age of 14. Instead, while working at Raj Bhavan Guindy Chennai, he tried his luck in cinema, knocking on the doors of every film company to earn a better income. At long last, his efforts yielded result by getting him the opportunity to enter cinema through the film Aayiram Kalathu Payir in which he was introduced as "Raja B.A.".
Personal life
He fell in love with actress Pushpalatha, who starred opposite to him in that film and married her. They have two daughters, the elder one, Mahalakshmi, was an actress between the 1980s and the early 1990s. On 19 January 1984, through a personal encounter with God, Rajan converted and thereafter became a full-time Christian preacher in 1988 and has since then stopped acting in movies and dramas. His wife Pushpalatha, who died in 2025, was a Catholic by birth and hailed from Coimbatore. Following Rajan's conversion, his family too is serving full-time Ministry.
Career
He earned his ‘initials’ after debuting in the film Naanum Oru Penn (1963), which was produced by AVM Productions.
A plethora of offers followed. Rajan soon became a busy artiste donning the role of the hero in many films making a mark with his handsome looks. He carved a niche for himself in the field through his individualistic performance and style. He shared screen space with leading heroes like M. G. R., Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Jaishankar, R. Muthuraman and Ravichandran. His performance in the films notables such as Enga Veettu Penn (1965), Namma Veettu Lakshmi (1966), Manam Oru Kurangu (1967), Karpooram (1967), Jeevanamsam (1968), Thunaivan (1969), Mannippu (1969), Annaiyum Pithavum (1969), Dharisanam (1970), Engal Thangam (1970), Anadhai Anandhan (1970), Irulum Oliyum (1971) and ...Aval! (1972) were successes.
Mid career, he acted in most of the devotional films such as Agathiyar (1972), Deivam (1972), Thirumalai Deivam (1973), Thiruvarul (1975) and Murugan Adimai (1977). Later, he co-starring with Rajinikanth in the films Thai Meethu Sathiyam (1978), Billa (1980) and Thee (1981). He was also a film producer such as Lorry Driver Rajakannu (1981), Oorum Uravum (1982) and Nandri (1984). His final appearance was in the film Veeran Veluthambi (1987).
Filmography
As producer
Lorry Driver Rajakannu (1981)
Oorum Uravum (1982)
Nandri (1984)
