Sampath Raj is an Indian actor, director, and writer, who is known for playing the antagonist in several popular films in South-Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
Wiki/Biography
Sampath Raj was born on Wednesday, 25 December 1968 (age 54 years; as of 2022) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. His father was in the armed forces because of which their family had to move to different cities across the country. Sampath has lived in Delhi, Punjab, and Bangalore.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 6′ 0″
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
He belongs to a Tamil Brahmin family.
Parents & Siblings
Sampath Raj’s father was a doctor in the Indian army, who hailed from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Sampath’s mother hailed from Thirupachethi in Tamil Nadu. He has six elder siblings.
Wife & Children
Santham Raj got married at the age of 23. He and his wife welcomed a daughter but when she was four years old, the couple got divorced when Sampath was 30 years old. His daughter lives in Australia. In an interview, while talking about his divorce, he said,
I got married at a very young age of 23. Getting married at that age could be one of the main reasons for the divorce. I took full responsibility for my daughter and she is now in Australia. She is away from the industry and that is how she likes.”
Sampath Raj with his daughter
Career
Before paving his way into the acting industry, Sampath Raj worked in advertising and sales in Bangalore. He talked about his job and dream goals in an interview and said,
I was into advertising and sales. I was selling advertisement space for that 12-13 years. But deep inside, I had always wanted to be an actor.”
Film
Actor
Telugu
In 1994, he made his acting debut in the drama film Theerpu directed by Narayana Rao Uppalapati. Sampath played the role of Uma in a drama film titled Mirchi (2013). This role earned him immense appreciation.
Sampath Raj as Uma in a still from the film Mirchi (2013)
He appeared in several Telugu films including Dammu (2012), Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha (2016), Krishna and His Leela (2020), and Agent (2023). In 2023, Smapth played the role of a CBI officer name George in the Indian political action thriller film Custody, which was the Telugu directorial debut of Venkat Prabhu.
Sampath Raj as George in a still from the film Custody (2023)
Kannada
He made his Kannada debut with the drama film Preethi Prema Pranaya (2003). The film won several awards including National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.
Poster of the film Preethi Prema Pranaya (2003)
He has played a variety of roles in Kannada films including Vijayendra Varmaa in Shourya (2010), CID Officer in Jackie (2010), D’Souza in Drama (2012), and JB in Pogaru (2021). In 2013, he played the role of Bhoomi’s father in the rom-com film Brindavana. The role earned him a nomination for SIIMA Award for Best supporting actor.
Sampath Raj in a still from the film Brindavana (2013)
Tamil
Sampath’s friend referred him to an acting audition because he thought Sampath would be a good fit for the role. He insisted Sampath attend the audition, which turned out well for Sampath as he was selected; he then made his Tamil debut with the film Neranja Manasu (2004) in which he played the role of Sivanandi.
Sampath Raj as Sivanandi in a still from the film Neranja Manasu (2004)
He worked in many Tamil films including Paruthiveeran (2007), Kadhalil Vizhunthen (2008), Magizhchi (2010), and Aranmanai 3 (2021).
Malayalam
In 2009, he made his Malayalam debut with an action thriller film titled Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded in which he played the role of Rosario. He appeared in several Malayalam films including Anwar (2010), Kili Poyi (2013), Kasaba (2016), and Aarattu (2022).
Television & OTT
In 2016, Sampath Raj played the role of Ekambharam in the popular Hindi television series Malgudi Days, which was broadcast on Doordarshan.
Sampath Raj as Ekambharam in a still from the series Malgudi Days (2016)
Raj played two different roles with the same name of ‘Ananth’ in two Indian web series; Tamil series Anantham (2022) and Telugu series Vyavastha (2023); which streams on ZEE5.
Director & Writer
In 2016, he made his directorial debut with a short film titled Ini Avanea. He worked as the director and writer for short films such as Deyyama Mazaka (2017) and Pachondi (2018).
Poster of the film Pachondi (2018)
Awards
- In 2012, he received the Best Villain Award for the Tamil film Aaranya Kaandam (2012) at the Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards.
- In 2013, he won the Nandi Award for the Telugu film Mirchi (2013).
- In 2017, he won the IIFA Utsavam for Performance in a Negative Role of Aadhishwaran in the Malayalam film Aadupuliyattam (2016).
Facts/Trivia
- He also goes by the name Sampath Kumar.
- His mother tongue is Tamil, but he is also proficient in a number of South Indian languages, including Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu.
- According to Sampath, his father named all of his 7 children after the days of the week and named him Sunday as he was the youngest.
- Sampath was not good at his studies when he was a student.
- In an interview, Sampath said that he did not have any friends in the film industry.
- In 2021, Sampath Raj along with his friend paired up and created a space during the pandemic for chef women who aspire to become entrepreneurs. While talking about this in an interview, he said,
The pandemic has hit everyone and no one was spared. As people in the limelight, we can be their voice. I could have taken to social media with videos on safety, but I felt I needed to do more than that to help those who have been adversely affected. We heard stories of people being laid off and households in trouble. It was at this time that we set up a space, where women cooks can dole out their homemade specialities.”