Rashin Rahman (born 23 May 1967) commonly known by his Surname Rahman is an Indian actor. He has worked in around 200 films, primarily in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil, Hindi and Telugu cinema, and has won several awards.[1] In Tamil and Telugu cinema, he is also known by the screen names Raghuman and Raghu.
He made his acting debut in Koodevide (1983), for which he won his first Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor. He was a popular teen idol in Malayalam cinema during the 1980s, which heightened his stardom in Malayalam film industry. He eventually shifted to playing lead roles in Tamil and Telugu films during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He made a comeback in Malayalam films in 2004.[2]
Film career
Malayalam films
In 1983, Rahman was attending his high school in Ooty, he was spotted by noted Malayalam director Padmarajan who offered him the lead role in his film Koodevide. The film became a big hit and he was turned out to be an instant sensation. He was well appreciated for his acting and went on to win the Kerala State Award for Second Best Actor in his debut role at the age of 16. In 1984, he acted in Kaliyil Alpam Karyam directed by Sathyan Anthikad and Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove by Bharathan. He received critical acclaim and awards for the performance in Ithiri Poove Chuvannapoove. In the same year, he acted in Kanamarayathu directed by I.V. Sasi, which went on to become a critical and commercials success. The song Oru Madhurakinavin which picturised him and Shobana became very popular and was a chartbuster all over Kerala. It is considered as the iconic dance number in Malayalam cinema even now.
In 1999, he acted in the Tamil film Sangamam, directed by Suresh Krishna, which depicted the story of a feud between classical and folk dance. The music of the film was composed by A. R. Rahman. The Tamil film Ethiri (2004) was the first film Rahman dubbed in his own voice. In 2005, after a long gap in Telugu, Rahman acted in Dhairyam (2005), a Telugu film released in Andhra Pradesh that was well received. Rahman then performed in the Tamil films Raam and Thoothukudi, which were released in 2005 and 2006 respectively. He was the villain in Billa (2007), in which he reprised his role as the main antagonist in the Telugu film by the same name, released in 2009.
After his debut with Suhasini as the heroine, he worked with her again after a long gap of 25 years for the Tamil movie, Balam (2009).[18] His next film Vaamanan, directed by Ahmed (who has worked as assistant to director Kathir), did well throughout South India. Rahman's next Telugu film Simha, was released worldwide on 30 April 2010. Simha went on to become the highest grosser of 2010, and the 5th highest-grossing movie in the Telugu Film Industry. He appeared in Oosaravelli and Vanthaan Vendraan. In 2014, he acted as the protagonist's father in the movie Govindudu Andarivadele, directed by Krishna Vamsi. In 2016, he starred in the Tamil-language thriller film Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru. He also played the main roles in Pagadi Aattam (2017) and Oru Mugathirai (2017). He played the role Madhurantakan on the historic epic drama, Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) directed by Mani Ratnam.[19]
Awards
Rahman received the State Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in his first film; Koodevide. He also received the Film Critics Award and Chamber Award for this film.
In 1984, he received the Kerala Film Chamber Award for Best Actor for the film Ithiri Poove Chuvanna Poove.
Rahman received the Award for Trendsetter in the history of Malayalam cinema's 78 years at the Etisalat Everest Film awards held in Dubai in 2007. The public voted for Rahman for this award from the nominations including Kamal Haasan, Sreedevi, Manju Warrier and Nadhiya.
Rahman's Malayalam film Manjadikkuru, directed by Anjali Menon, received two awards at the 2008 International Film Festival in Kerala.
