V. K. Ramasamy (actor)

V K Ramasamy
Born	1 January 1926 Virudhunagar, Madras State, India
Died	24 December 2002 Chennai
Occupation	Actor, Film producer
Years active	1947 - 2002

V K Ramasamy (1 Jan 1926 – 24 Dec 2002) was an Indian film actor, comedian and producer who was known for the supporting roles he played in Tamil films in the years between the 1950s and 1990s.^[1]

Biography

V K Ramasamy was born in Amaravilaa, Madras State now Tamil Nadu on 1 January 1926. The veteran character actor and comedian,coming on the familiar stage-to-screen in the early 1940s, Ramasamy shot into prominence when, at the age of 21, he donned the role of a 60-year-old father of grown-up sons in `Naam Iruvar' (1947), first film of the AVM Films. `VKR' as the actor became known, did not look back since then.However, he always got to play only an elderly person throughout his career, which spanned over five decades in which he acted in over 500 films.In the 1960s and 1970s, Ramasamy acted with almost all leading actors including T.R. Mahalingam, M.G Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Jai Shankar, Ravichandran, Muthuraman, Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth. He was known for his dialogue delivery, especially as a villain or comedian. He was at ease playing any role and paired with the veteran comedienne, Manorama, to play some memorable roles in Tamil films. Peers always respected his old world values of discipline on the sets.In the later part of his career, Ramasamy produced over 15 films. Among his last films was `Dum Dum Dum', that represents the fourth generation of Tamil cinema. The end came this morning a day after VKR was discharged from the Government General hospital, where he had been admitted for a variety of complaints including hypertension, diabetes and cardiac problems.He died on 24 Dec 2002, after a brief illness. He was 76.He is survived by four sons and three daughters.^[2]

Notable filmography

He acted in a number of films with Tamil film heroes playing the roles of comedian and supporting characters.^[3]

References

• "V. K. Ramasamy dead". The Hindu. 25 December 2002.
• Fine Flashes of V. K. R in My Movie Minutes