Rajan

Biography

Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage nameA.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is an Indian preacher and former actor who was active in Tamil cinema. He was one of the top actors in the industry during the 1960s and 1970s. Rajan acted in a movie produced by AVM Productions called Naanum Oru Penn, a film that starred S.S.Rajendran in the lead role. Hence he became 'A.V.M.' Rajan. Tamil actress Pushpalatha appeared in the same picture, and they became a couple and later married. They subsequently acted as a pair in many films, including Karppooram (1967) which he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. AVM Rajan has two daughters, the elder daughter Mahalakshmi was an actress between the 80s–90s. On 19 January 1984, through a personal encounter with God, Rajan converted and there after became a full-time Christian preacher since 1988 and since then has stopped acting in movies and dramas. His wife Pushpalatha is a Catholic by birth. She hails from Coimbatore. She died in 2025. Following Rajan's conversion, his family too is serving full-time Ministry.