Sathyaraj

Sathyaraj Biography

Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), known professionally as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, film producer and media personality who appears predominantly in Tamil films, with credits also in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada cinema. He has acted in more than 260 films and is a recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

He was born in Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, then in Madras State, to Subbiah, a doctor, and Nathambal. He studied at St Mary’s Convent School and Suburban High School in Coimbatore before taking a Bachelor of Science degree in botany at Government Arts College, Coimbatore. Against his mother’s wishes he left for the Tamil film industry in Kodambakkam, Chennai, in 1976, and his first credited screen role came in Sattam En Kaiyil (1978).

Sathyaraj began in antagonistic roles before moving into lead parts, meeting success with Vedham Pudhithu (1987), Nadigan (1990), Amaidhi Padai (1994), Periyar (2007) and Onbadhu Roobai Nottu (2007). He also directed Villadhi Villain (1995), in which he played three different roles. He later drew acclaim for supporting turns in Nanban (2012), Raja Rani (2013) and Kanaa (2018), and won pan-Indian recognition as Kattappa in the Baahubali duology (2015–2017). In 2011 he briefly hosted the game show Home Sweet Home on STAR Vijay. Recent work includes Weapon (2024), Thozhar CheGuevara (2024), Madras Matinee (2025) and Coolie (2025), which reunited him with Rajinikanth after 38 years.

Basic Details

• Full name: Rangaraj Subbiah
• Born: 3 October 1954, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, Madras State (now Tamil Nadu), India
• Nationality: Indian
• Profession: Actor, film producer, film director, media personality
• Years active: 1978 – present
• Primary industry: Tamil cinema, with work in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films
• Education: B.Sc. in Botany, Government Arts College, Coimbatore
• Spouse: Maheswari (married 1979)
• Children: Divya Sathyaraj and Sibi Sathyaraj (Sibiraj), an actor
• Major honours: Three Filmfare Awards South, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Kalaimamani

Career Highlights

Awards and Honours