Today is the birthday of veteran actor Anandaraj a terrifying villain in his initial stages in Kollywood and now one of the most hilarious comedians who never fails to evoke laughter in film after film. The tall and well built actor who hails from Pondicherry it was not an easy road in his quest to become an actor.

In many films during the eighties Anandaraj was a regular as the main villain's henchman and hardly got to speak a dialogue which actually is his forte. Then came two turning points in his career one as Rajini's villain in 'Rajadhi Raja' and the other as Dharma in Vijayakanth's 'Pulan Visaranai' that made audiences sit up and notice him.

The huge popularity that Anandaraj gained during the late eighties elevated him to the status of hero and he and Sarathkumar together starred in a few action films. While Sarathkumar hit stardom, Anandaraj who was billed above him in their films together did not sustain his position and went back to playing small roles.

Many years later Anandaraj made a sudden switch to comedy in 'Mundasupatty' directed by Ramkumar released in 2014 that had audiences falling off their seats and there had been no looking back since then.

Anandaraj has become a hot favorite of young directors who write quirky characters for him which he performs with his signature style that has gained him a huge fan following in the younger generation of movie goers. His next big release is going to be Chiyaan Vikram's 'Cobra' directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu and many more to come in the new year.

Here is wishing the affable Anandaraj a happy birthday and many many more entertaining years to follow filled with good health and cheer.