Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar

Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar Biography

"Sandow" Marudur Marudachalamurthy Ayyavoo Chinnappa Devar, shortly called Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar was a prominent film producer of Tamil movies in the golden era, from mid-1950s to 1970s. The producer is known for producing movies with animals, which was quite popular those days. He produced numerous movies with M. G. R playing the male lead, with 16 movies with under his famous banner Devar Films. He also produced the Rajesh Khanna's Bollywood hit Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), a famous film with elephants playing a pivot role. The movie also introduced the Salim-Javed duo as script writers to Bollywood. He was a wrestler, and ‘Shadow’ title was added to his name, derived from Eugen Sandow – the father of the modern bodybuilding. He also remained a villain onscreen, famous for his stunt sequences during his early years.

He was born in Coimbatore on 28 June 1915. Ramanathapuram is his hometown. He was born to Ayyavoo thevar and Ramakkal, and had 5 brothers. His father was an agriculturist. Thevar discontinued his school studies due to bad financial condition of his family, and worked in Pankaja mill for a salary of Rs. 9 in the 1930s. He did numerous odd jobs to make a savings. He was interested in gymnasium and body building since young and started a martial arts school with his friends in his hometown.

To join films, he and his brother mastered various martial arts and they joined films in the year 1940. Thilottama was his debut film, where he was seen in fight sequences. Later ‘Sandow’ title got added to his name. Started with bit roles, he moved to character roles. He earned his first villain role in the 1947 movie Rajakumari, where MGR played lead role. Since then a deep friendship developed between the two, and they worked in many movies together in the distant future.

Best known for various M. G. Ramachandran movies, he also introduced Saroja Devi to Tamil Movies. He started his own production company Devar Films in 1956, and produced the first film, Thaikkupin Thaaram with MGR playing the lead. The film was a success, and thus began the successful journey of Thevar as a film producer. He never got a chance to work with Sivaji Ganesan.

Published: N/A

Updated: June 28, 2018