Veteran dance master Raghuram no more
Ace choreographer and dance master Raghuram passed away on Saturday due to a heart attack.
By : anupama subramanian
Update: 2013-12-01 09:26 GMT
Chennai: Ace choreographer and dance master Raghuram passed away on Saturday due to a heart attack. He was 64. He was ailing for the last two months, having returned home recently after a stint at Porur Ramachandra Hospital, a close family source said.
Raghuram master was with the industry for over 50 years and had worked in over 1,500 films across different film industries. Raghuram worked with several generations of actors and shared a close friendship with actor Kamal Haasan, who has, in several interviews, acknowledged him as one of his earliest friends in the industry.
Ace choreographer and dance master Raghuram 10 films, including Viswanathan Velai Venum, and Bhagya Devta in Bengali, starring Mithun Chakravarthy in the lead role and Rajinikanth in a special appearance. Some of the notable films he has acted in include, Dasavatharam, Avvai Shanmugi, Padikkatha Methai, Thirumagal, Deivam etc. Some of the best songs he choreographed are from films, such as Salangai Oli and Punnagai Mannan.
A master of Kathakali and Bharatanatyam, Raghuram started learning dance from the age of five from gurus such as Gopinath, Vazhavur Ramaiah Pillai and Bolanath. He was the grandson of K. Subramaniam, noted filmmaker of the 1930s and 1940s and a key figure in the establishment of the Madras based Tamil film industry of the time.
He is survived by wife Girija, veteran choreographer, and daughters Gayathri Raghuram, who is also a full fledged choreographer and has acted in a few films, and Suja Manoj.
The daughters, both of whom are dancers, felicitated Raghuram last year on his completing 50 years in the industry with a grand show, titled, ‘Amma Appa Guru Deivam’, which was attended by the who’s who of the Tamil film industry.
Rajinikanth, K. Balachander, Radhika Sarathkumar, Editor Mohan, T. Rama Rao Manobala, Chinni Jayanth, Namitha, Vivek, S.V. Ramanan, Padma Subramaniam, Krishnaswamy, Shobi and Aarthi were the early ones who paid their last respects.
Raghuram’s elder daughter, Suja, reached the city last night and Gayathri, who is away in Japan, is expected to arrive on Sunday when the cremation will take place.
The body has been kept at his Kamdar Nagar residence, a family source added.