Judo. K. K. Rathnam Age, Death, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Real name	K. K. Rathnam
Other names	Kalaichelvan, Rudhranagam
Profession(s)	• Stunt artist • Stunt director • Actor
Famous for	He has worked as a stunt master in more than 1200 films and set a world record for doing maximum number of action films in India.
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 177 cm in meters- 1.77 m in feet & inches- 5’ 10”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 70 kg in pounds- 154 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper (half bald)
Career
Debut	Film: Thamarai Kulam (1959) (Tamil) as an actor Vallavan Oruvan (1966) (Tamil) as stunt director Othiyadi Pathayile (1979) (Tamil) as producer
Last Film	Thalayanagaram (Tamil) as an actor
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Guinness World Record for working in more than 1200 films as a stunt coordinator (2013) • Sankaradas Swamigal Award (2016) • Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu (2019) • Lifetime Achievement Award
Personal Life
Date of Birth	8 August 1930 (Friday)
Birthplace	Gudiyatham, in Vellore, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Tamil Nadu, India)
Date of Death	26 January 2023
Place of Death	Gudiyatham in Vellore, Tamil Nadu
Age (at the time of death)	92 Years
Zodiac sign	Leo
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Gudiyatham, district Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Political Inclination	Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Widower
Family
Wife/Spouse	• Padma • R. Govindammal (died on 15 November 2013)
Children	Son- 2 Judo. K. K. Ramu (stunt master) Daughter- 6
Other Relatives	• Judo Lenin (stunt artist) • John Prince (stunt arist)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Judo. K. K. Rathnam

• Judo. K. K. Rathnam (1930-2023) was an Indian stunt master who worked as a stunt director and stunt artist in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi films. In a career span of more than five decades, he has worked in more than 1200 films and set a world record for working as a stunt choreographer in a maximum number of films in India.

• Earlier, he was not interested in martial arts. Once he went to work in the mill where he was asked to work in the night shift because of his frail physique. He felt ashamed of his physique and decided to work out to improve it.

• He learnt various types of martial arts to improve his physique. At first, he learnt Taekwondo from ‘Mahabharat’ Masilamani, the popular Taekwondo trainer, and then, boxing from the South Indian Boxing Champion Paramashivan, Judo from G. Ramu, and Yoga from Thangavelu. He also got training from the Soviet-trained Ranganathan.

• He got a chance to act in films after he was spotted by Mugavai Rajamanickam, a screenwriter, while he was performing exercises in a district collectorate program.

• In 1966, he got immense popularity after he directed a fight scene for Jaishankar and R. S. Manohar in the Tamil language film ‘Vallavan Oruvan’ following which he was given the status of ‘My Master’ by R. R. Sundaram, the president of Modern Theatres. He earned the title ‘Judo’ from Tamil Arts and Literature Forum.

• Rathnam had worked with various superstars such as Rajinikanth in 49 films, Kamal Haasan in 16 films, Puneeth Rajkumar in 69 films, Amitabh Bachchan in 4 films, and with N. T. Rama Rao in 16 films.

•  He directed a fighting scene in Rajinikanth’s film ‘Muratkugu’ which is considered iconic in his career.

• He worked as a stunt master in films in more than nine languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English languages.

• After making his acting debut with the Tamil film ‘Thamarai Kulam’ in 1959, he appeared in various Tamil films including ‘Konjum Kumari’ (1963), ‘Gayathri’ (1977), ‘Pokkiri Raja’ (1982), ‘Naanayamillatha Naanayam’ (1984), and ‘Ponnukketha Purushan’ (1992).

• Some of his most notable filmography in the Tamil film industry include ‘Muthu Chippi’ (1968), ‘Gayathri’ (1977), ‘Thiruppam’ (1984), ‘Dravidan’ (1989), and ‘Pandian’ (1992).

• Rathnam was assisted by various stunt masters and actors such as Vikram Dharma, Super Subbarayan, Thalapathy Dinesh, Jaguar Thangam, Rambo Rajkumar, Indian Baskar, and Judo. K. K. Ramu.

• In 2013, he set a Guinness World Record for working on more than 1200 films as a stunt coordinator in India and for working as a stuntman for 63 protagonists.
  

  Judo. K. K. Rathnam in a fight scene in a film

• Reportedly, Rathnam once wrote a letter to Chief Ministre J. Jayalalithaa in which he mentioned that he deserved the Kalaimamani Award, which was later awarded to him in 2019.

• In 2013, he wrote an autobiography titled ‘Thamaraikulam Two Capitals.’

• In an interview, he revealed that once he mistakenly injured Rajinikanth’s neck while practising Silambam, an ancient form of martial arts that originated in South India.
  

  Judo .K. K. Rathnam in a fight scene with Rajinikanth

• In August 2021, the incident of theft took place at his house at Periyappa Mudali Street, Kudiatham, Dharanapet. The thieves stole a half kg of silver items, two Rolex watches, fifteen silk sarees, and Rs. 20 thousand from his house.