Theatre Artist To Kattappa, Tracing The Acting Career Of Veteran South Actor Sathyaraj

Sathyaraj, renowned for portraying the character of Kattappa from the Bahubaali franchise, was born on October 3, 1954, to a family of four in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It was not just a normal day that Sathyaraj decided to become an actor. The seed of becoming a part of the entertainment industry was inculcated in him in class 5.

In 1964, when Sathyaraj was a 10-year-old kid, he saw the shooting of Santo Chinnapadevar produced and helmed Deivathirumal. The action scenes of the movie were shot at the house of Nalla Senapati Monradiar near Old Kottayam. In one of the scenes, Sathyaraj’s uncle was there playing a crucial role. While watching the daily activities at the shooting set, Sathyaraj gained interest and got motivated to become an actor when he grew up.

Meanwhile, when dreaming of becoming an actor, the actor was not supported by his mother. She forbade him from joining the industry. However, when the actor was 20 years old, in 1976, he left Coimbatore and entered the Tamil cinema industry in Kodambakkam, Chennai.

Sathyaraj began his journey in the film industry after witnessing the shooting of the film Annakili, where he met actor Sivakumar and producer Thiruppur Manian who became a critical stepping stone in Sathyaraj’s career. However, Sivakumar criticized his interest in acting and advised him to return home.

The zeal and determination of Sathyaraj to become an actor made him stay in Chennai. Producer Maathampatty Sivakumar supported him by assisting him monetarily. He joined the drama group of Komal Swamynathan in the meantime.

Sathyaraj’s first film big break was Sattam En Kaiyil released in 1978, where Sathyaraj played a sidekick to the main villain played by Thengai Srinivasan in the film. Later, Sathyaraj worked as a production manager for the film Kannan Oru Kaikkuzhanthai. The movie recently completed its 45th anniversary on September 8, this year.

Sathyaraj later became a producer and director in the Tamil film industry. But, he also worked in more than 240 films includes Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films.