R. C. Sakthi

R. C. Sakthi
Born	1940 Puzhuthikulam, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu
Died	23 February 2015 (age 75)
Residence	Chennai, India
Occupation	Film Director Actor
Years active	1972–2015

R. C. Sakthi (1940 - 23 February 2015) was an Indian filmmaker and actor. He launched Kamal Haasan as a lead actor in Unarchigal, before also working with Rajinikanth in Dharma Yuddham and Vijayakanth in Manakanakku.

Sakthi was born to the couple Selvam and Lakshmi at Puzhuthikulam, a hamlet near Paramakudi of Ramanathapuram district. His father Selvam was in the police department. Sakthi was not much interested in studies; he evinced great interest in acting since his early years. He started a drama company along with his friends and staged his first play ‘Vaazhkai vaazhvatharkae’ in which he donned the role of the villain. The entire village appreciated the play and Sakthi’s acting and encouraged him to try his luck in cinema. Sakthi arrived at Chennai with dreams of entering cinema. But he could get only minor roles in some amateur drama troupes and he was not happy.

He came to Chennai and joined as an assistant to ‘Villupaattu’ Subbhu Aarumugam of the NSK troupe who was also working as a scriptwriter and, Sakthi was doing roles in stage plays too. At that point, he got the opportunity to work as assistant director for the Tamil film ‘Porsilai’. He became close to Thangappan, the dance master of the film. He told Sakthi that he had plans to produce a film titled ‘Annai Velankanni’ and he insisted that Sakthi should be part of the project. Sakthi worked with the team of Annai Velankanni (1970) as an assistant director, while learning the art of scriptwriting. Sakthi launched his first directorial venture in 1972, Unarchigal, a new age film which dealt with sexually transmitted diseases as the main storyline. The film was also initially supposed to launch Kamal Haasan as a lead actor, however delays meant that the film was only released 4 years later in 1976. They soon collaborated again in Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala (1978) and have remained close aides since. He later also went on to make the Rajinikanth-Sridevi starrer Dharma Yuddham, a revenge saga which released in 1979. However, after a promising start, Sakthi began to work on films with smaller budgets and his films failed to become as successful or as high profile as his initial ventures with Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Kamal Haasan later refused to work in Sakthi's Manakanakku (1985), but later agreed to make a cameo appearance in the Vijayakanth starrer. His last directorial venture was Pathinipenn in 1993, after a film titled Iththanai Naal Yengirundhaai? starring Babu Ganesh and Kushboo was shelved after a single schedule in 1997.

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