Ardent fans would not tolerate even the slightest of insult caused to their favorite stars even if that comes as a part of a film. But if there is one actor who effortlessly trolled every star including the icons such as Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in their films and also received loud cheers and applause for doing so, it is none other than veteran actor and the ever green Comedy King Goundamni.

In the 1990s Tamil movie buffs were divided as Rajini fans, Kamal fans, Sathyaraj fans, Prabhu fans, Karthik fans and Sarathkumar fans., But all of them were united as Goundamani fans.

Goundamani who made his first onscreen appearance in the MGR-Jayalalitha starrer 'Raman Thediya Seethai' ,made his official acting debut playing a sidekick of Rajinikanth in director Bhrathiraja's debut flick '16 Vayathiniley'. He made a lasting impression with the minor roles he got to portray in the next few years and in the 1980s he established himself as a formidable comedian and a talented character artist.

His partnership with another popular comedy actor Senthil has been the most successful comedy combo of Tamil cinema. The duo have appeared together in 100s of films throughout the 80s and 90s. They are fondly called as the Laurel and Hardy of Tamil cinema. Their presence in a film was considered as a minimum guarantee of returns at the box office. This made them the busiest in Kollywood.

Goundamani is famous for his political and social satires and counters while he is equally good at slapstick comedy. He has inspired many other future comedians including Santhanam. He has also acted as hero and villain in many films.

In the new millennium, Goundamani drastically reduced the number of films due to ailing health. Last year he made a comeback playing the lead character in the critically acclaimed film '49 O' that dealt with the sorry state of farmers of the nation. His upcoming release will be 'Enakku Veru Engum Kilaigal Kidaiyadhu' and the veteran is the lead actor in this film too. He has also acted in a film titled 'Vaaimai' which is yet to release.

Today Goundamani celebrates his 76th birthday. IndiaGlitz wishes him a Happy Birthday and a long life filled with good health and happiness.