Sampath Raj is an Indian actor, director and story writer, known for his work in several South Indian languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. He is famous for playing the villain in popular movies.
Wiki/Biography
Sampath Raj was born on Wednesday, December 25, 1968, while some sources claim that he was born on Thursday, January 15, 1976 (age 54 or 47 years; as of 2022) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He attended Kendriya Vidyalaya Hebbal School in Bangalore. His father was in the armed forces, so the family had to move to different cities across the country. Sampath has lived in Delhi, Punjab and Bangalore. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Bangalore from Lucknow. After applying for an acting course, Sampath received an interview letter from the National School of Drama in Delhi, but his mother tore up the letter as she did not want him to pursue acting. Thereafter, he graduated with a master’s degree in political science.
appearance
Height (approximately): 6′
Weight (approximately): 70kg
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: dark brown
family
He belongs to a Tamil Brahmin family.
Parents and siblings
Sampath Raj’s father, Ramaswami Srinivas, is a doctor in the Indian Army and hails from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. Sampath’s mother (late) was from Tirupa Chetti in Tamil Nadu. He has six siblings, including three sisters. One of his brothers lives in London, England.
wife and children
Santham Raj got married in 1991 at the age of 23. He and his wife had a daughter, but the couple divorced when she was 4 years old when Sampath was 30 years old. His daughter lives in Australia. In an interview, talking about the divorce, he said:
I got married when I was 23. Getting married at this age can be one of the leading causes of divorce. I take full responsibility for my daughter, who is now in Australia. She stayed away from the industry, and that’s the way she liked it. “
Sampath Raj and his daughter
Profession
Before entering showbiz, Sampath Raj worked in advertising and sales in Bangalore. His first jobs included marketing and selling advertising space through the Yellow Pages. Thereafter, he worked in Bombay Publishing House and Nabarat Times. In an interview, he talked about his work and life goals, saying:
I am passionate about advertising and sales. I was selling advertising space for those 12-13 years. But deep down, I always wanted to be an actor. “
Movie
actor
telugu
Sampath dabbled in theater, but only briefly. In 1994, he made his debut in the feature film “Theerpu” directed by Narayana Rao Uppalapati.
Telugu movie Theerpu (1994) poster
Sampath played the role of Uma in a drama film called Mirchi (2013). This role earned him immense appreciation.
Stills from the movie Mirchi (2013) featuring Sampath Raj as Uma
He has appeared in several Telugu films including Dammu (2012), Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha (2016), Krishna and His Leela (2020) and Agent (2023) . In 2023, Sampath played a CBI officer named George in the Indian political action thriller “Guardian,” the Telugu directorial debut of Venkat Prabhu.
Sampath Raj plays George in a still from the movie “Guardian” (2023)
kannada
He made his Kannada debut with the feature film Preethi Prema Pranaya (2003). The film won several awards, including the Kannada National Film Award for Best Feature Film.
Poster of the movie Preethi Prema Pranaya (2003)
He has played various roles in Kannada films, including Vijayendra Varmaa in “Shourya” (2010), CID officer in “Jackie” (2010), D’ in “Drama” (2012) Souza and JB in Pogaru (2021). In 2013, he played the role of Bhoomi’s father in the romantic comedy film Brindavana. The role earned him a West Malaysia Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Stills from Sampath Raj’s film Brindavana (2013)
tamil
Sampath’s friend recommended him for the audition because he thought Sampath would be perfect for the role. He insisted that Sampas audition, and Sampas was chosen, which turned out well. He then made his Tamil debut in the film Neranja Manasu (2004), playing the role of Sivanandi.
Sampath Raj as Sivanandi in a still from the film Neranja Manasu (2004)
He has acted in several Tamil films including “Paruthiveeran” (2007), “Kadhalil Vizhunthen” (2008), “Magizhchi” (2010) and “Aranmanai 3” (2021).
Malayalam
In 2009, he made his debut in the Malayalam action thriller Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded, playing the role of Rosario.
Malayalam movie Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded (2009) poster
He has appeared in several Malayalam films including Anwar (2010), Kiribhoi (2013), Kasaba (2016) and Aratu (2022 Year).
TV and OTT
In 2016, Sampath Raj played the role of Ekambharam in the popular Hindi TV series Malgudi Days, which aired on Doordarshan.
Sampath Raj as Ekambharam in Malgudi Days series stills (2016)
Raj played two different characters of the same name “Ananth” in two Indian web series; Tamil series Anantham (2022) and Telugu series Vyavastha (2023); streaming on ZEE5.
Director and screenwriter
In 2016, he made his directorial debut with the short film “Ini Avanea”. He has served as director and story writer on short films such as “Deyyama Mazaka” (2017) and “Pachondi” (2018).
Movie “Pajodi” (2018) poster
Awards
- 2012: Tamil film Aaranya Kaandam (2012) won the Best Villain Award at the Norwegian Tamil Film Festival
- 2013: Telugu film Mirchi (2013) won the Nandi Award for Best Villain
- 2014: Won the South Indian International Film Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Telugu for the film Mirchi (2013)
- 2017: IIFA Utsavam won the IIFA Utsavam Award for playing the negative role of Aadhishwaran in the Malayalam film Aadupuliyattam (2016)
Facts/Trivia
- His names also include Sampath Kumar and Sampath Raj Kumar.
- Manchu Bhakthavatsalam (aka Mohan Babu) is a fan of Sampath Raj’s voice.
- Sampath Raj has a separate fan base for Amitabh Bachchan. When he was studying in grade 12, he skipped school to watch the filming of the movie Mard (1985). After a whole day of watching Amitabh Bachchan fight and act in movies, Sampath realized that it was actually a scam on his part and not himself. Later, he was suspended from school for slacking off.
- His native language is Tamil, but he is also fluent in five to six languages, including Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.
- According to Sampas, his father named each of his seven children after the days of the week and named him Sunday because he was the youngest.
- Sampas did not do well academically as a student.
- Sampath said in an interview that he does not have any friends in the film industry.
- Sampath Raj and his friends worked together on a project in 2021 that gave female chefs a chance to use their cooking skills after hearing the stories of people who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Speaking about this in an interview, he said,
The epidemic affects everyone and no one is immune. As people in the spotlight, we can be their voices. I could have posted a video on social media about safety, but I felt like I needed to do more to help those who were adversely affected. We heard stories of people being laid off and families struggling. It was at this time that we set up a space where female chefs could distribute their homemade specialties. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education