Ilavarasu is an Indian cinematographer and actor, who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his career as a cinematographer and worked for 13 films, winning a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for one of them. He, however, became better known as an actor, after he appeared in pivotal roles in Bharathiraja's and Cheran's films. He starred in over 160 Tamil films, mostly in supporting and comedic roles.[2][3]
According to T. Saravanan of The Hindu, Ilavarasu's debut film was to have been the unproduced Tamil film Top Tucker, and instead became Oru Kaidhiyin Diary (1984).[7] However, Malathi Rangarajan of the same paper says he first appeared in a minuscule role in Bharathiraja's 1987 film Vedham Pudhithu.[8]
He gained popularity as a cinematographer in 1996 with the film Panchalankurichi, starring Prabhu and Madhubala. The following year, he worked on another Prabhu movie titled Periya Thambi, directed by Chitra Lakshmanan. His breakthrough came with a significant role in Cheran’s Porkkaalam (1997), which propelled him into the spotlight as a recognized actor. In 1998, Ilavarasu served as the cinematographer for two films, Ninaithen Vandhai and Iniyavale. While initially offered villainous characters, he later shifted his focus to character roles.[9] The actor has shared screen with many actors in his career. Ilavarasu has played many versatile characters and has entertained the fans with his humour sense. He has also played villain roles in a few films. A few memorable roles of him include Bagavathi (2002), Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei (2006), Kalavani (2010), Lingaa (2014), Kanaa (2018) and NGK (2019).[10]
In addition to his film career, Ilavarasu has also ventured into television, appearing in the 2022 series Anandha Ragam on Sun TV.[11]
