Tamil actor Thengai Srinivasan, originally a comedian, played lead as well as antagonistic roles from the 1960s to the ’80s. Besides films, Srinivasan also acted in plays. In fact, not many are aware that he was given the prefix Thengai following his role as a coconut-seller in the play Kal Manam. Let’s find out how that happened.
Srinivasan’s father, Rajavelu Mudaliar, a playwright, encouraged him to act. After his primary education, he landed a job at the ICF Bill in Chennai and also started acting as part of the Trauma Troupe there. The first play where he performed was Galata Kalyanam, which was directed by his father. After that, he went on to join K. Kannan’s theatre troupe and started acting in plays routinely. The most famous play was called Kal Manam.
Thangavelu, the famous comedian, had come down to watch the play and was quite mesmerised by Srinivasan’s performance as a coconut trader in the play. It was he who made him Thengai Srinivasan. Thengai means coconut in Tamil. This was how Srinivasan’s journey started in the film world.
His first movie, Oru Viral, was released in 1965. In this movie, he played the role of a crime detective. The film brought several opportunities for Thangai Srinivasan. Among the most famous films was Kasethan Kadavulada. The film, which was released in 1972, was a huge success. The movie is now being remade under the same name, starring Mirchi Siva.
The first film in which he played the lead was Kaliyuga Kannan. Srinivasan then went on to star in movies such as Nandikkarangal, Porter Ponnusamy, Sri Ramajayam, and Adukku Malli. The actor was doing well before he produced the film Krishnan Vandan in 1987. That film tanked at the box office and he suffered huge losses. He died on November 9, 1987, at the age of 50 owing to a brain haemorrhage.
