Remembering The Tall Actor on His 65th B’day
By SHEFA RAFI
The six feet and two inches tall actor Raghuvaran is quite familiar among the movie buffs for his unique mannerisms and acting prowess in most of his films. But, not many are aware of the fact that he was a guitarist, who worked with maestro Ilayaraja before entering the glittering world of cinema.
Hailing from Kollengode in Palakkad, Raghuvaran made Coimbatore his home after his father Chunkamannathu Velayudhan Nair migrated here to continue his hotel business. Oldtimers know that Hotel Aristo which was functioning opposite to Rainbow Theatre was a popular food joint those days. And Raghuvaran’s brothers were taking care of the hotel. Interestingly, Raghuvaran had a musical band named ‘Knockout’ while he was pursuing his UG course at Govt Arts College.
Lawyer turned artist V Jeevananthan of Cine Arts remembers the actor on his 65th birth anniversary by recalling his famous dialogue ‘I know….I know…’ in the movie Puriyatha Puthir, which won the hearts of cinegoers’. Further, he adds that it was his grandfather Minor Narayanan who shifted base to Coimbatore and was running the famous Manohara Hotel at Five corner. His father Velayuthan Nair distributed some films in partnership with Velayutham Nadar of Central Biriyani Hotel during the golden days of cinema.
In a fitting tribute to Raghuvaran, actress Rohini alongwith her son Rishi Varan got an album titled ‘Raghuvaran, a musical journey’ that was penned, composed and sung by him released by Rajnikant in February this year. In one of his interview, Raghuvaran is reported saying, “I started playing the guitar at the age of 8. And I have an exclusive room for composing. But I had never uttered a word about my passion.” It is noteworthy to mention that the actor had passed Grade II in piano at the London headquartered Trinity College of Music. He had to his credit around 30 compositions which he had composed during his acting career.
