R. Thyagarajan (director)

Thyagarajan grew up in Pollachi in an extended family of 23 people, and had four sisters and four brothers. After studying in Pollachi, he went on to study chemistry in Peelamedu, with the intention of becoming a chemist. After his marriage in 1966, he began to work on the productions of his father-in-law, Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar of Devar Films. He initially worked on the story-discussion panel teams in 1968 and progressed to the editing department.{{Cite magazine |date=15 May 1983 |title=வெ.விரதம் முதல் ச. விரதம் வரை |url=https://ibb.co/qryzrvb |url-status=usurped |magazine=Kalki |language=Ta |pages=63–64 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424150132/https://ibb.co/qryzrvb |archive-date=24 April 2023 |access-date=24 April 2023}} In the late 1960s, he worked as an assistant director and as an associate editor in the films, Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) and Nalla Neram (1972).{{Cite web |date=1 October 2018 |title=R Thyagarajan: A perfectionist behind the camera |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/r-thyagarajan-a-perfectionist-behind-the-camera/article25096157.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715185944/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/r-thyagarajan-a-perfectionist-behind-the-camera/article25096157.ece |archive-date=15 July 2020 |access-date=19 June 2021 |website=The Hindu}}{{Cite news |last=Raman |first=Mohan V |author-link=Mohan Raman |date=24 July 2012 |title=Sandow and superstars |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/sandow-and-superstars/article3678424.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150119075159/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/sandow-and-superstars/article3678424.ece |archive-date=19 January 2015 |access-date=21 June 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN}}

His first directorial venture was Vellikizhamai Viratham (1974), which portrayed the bond between the female protagonist and her deity, the Naga-Devatha. The film starring Sivakumar, performed well at the box office and was later remade in Hindi and Telugu. Over the course of his career, he was closely associated with Devar Films, eventually going on to make over 30 films. He made 11 films with Rajinikanth in the lead role, including the Tamil-Telugu bilinguals Annai Oru Aalayam (1979) and Anbukku Naan Adimai (1980), the crime drama Ranga (1982), and the Hindi film Bewafai (1985). Several of the films produced under the Devar Films banner featured animals such as lions, snakes and elephants in pivotal scenes, and Thyagarajan became renowned for handling the shoot.{{Cite web |date=16 April 2019 |title=Chinnappa Devar family scion speaks about dad, granddad & films with Rajini |url=https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2019/04/16/chinnappa-devar-family-scion-speaks-about-her-father-grandfather-and-their-films-with-rajini/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602222750/https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2019/04/16/chinnappa-devar-family-scion-speaks-about-her-father-grandfather-and-their-films-with-rajini/ |archive-date=2 June 2021 |access-date=19 June 2021 |website=News Today}}

In 1966, Thyagarajan married T. Subbulakshmi. He subsequently became the son-in-law of Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar. He had two children, son Vel Muruga and daughter Shanmugha Vadivu.{{Cite web |date=2 July 2018 |title=Rajini-Kamal super hit films director passes away |url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/superstar-rajinikanth-ulaganayagan-kamal-haasan-director-r-thiagarajan-passes-away-tamil-news-216584 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621055149/https://www.indiaglitz.com/superstar-rajinikanth-ulaganayagan-kamal-haasan-director-r-thiagarajan-passes-away-tamil-news-216584 |archive-date=21 June 2021 |access-date=19 June 2021 |website=IndiaGlitz}}

Thyagarajan died on 1 July 2018 following a heart attack.{{Cite web |date=2 July 2018 |title=Director of Rajni-Kamal Hit Films RThyagarajan Passes Away Of Heart Attack |url=https://www.india.com/entertainment/tamil-movies-director-of-rajni-kamal-hit-films-r-thyagarajan-passes-away-of-heart-attack-3142917/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621055234/https://www.india.com/entertainment/tamil-movies-director-of-rajni-kamal-hit-films-r-thyagarajan-passes-away-of-heart-attack-3142917/ |archive-date=21 June 2021 |access-date=19 June 2021 |website=India.com}}{{Cite web |date=1 July 2018 |title=Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan's popular director passes away! |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-16/rajinikanth-and-kamal-haasans-popular-director-passes-away.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621055155/https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-16/rajinikanth-and-kamal-haasans-popular-director-passes-away.html |archive-date=21 June 2021 |access-date=19 June 2021 |website=Behindwoods}}

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Category:2018 deaths

Category:Year of birth missing

Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights

Category:Film directors from Tamil Nadu

Category:Tamil film directors

Category:Tamil screenwriters