Ranjan (English: Ranjan, real name: ‘Ramanarayana Venkataraman Sharma’, born: 2 March, 1918, Madras; died: 12 September, 1983) was a famous actor, singer, journalist and writer. He made his debut in the film world with the Tamil film ‘Ashok Kumar’ (1941), but he got recognition from S.S. Vasan’s film ‘Chandralekha’ (1948). Ranjan worked in Tamil films as well as English films. He was an all-rounder.
Actor Ranjan was born on March 2, 1918 in Maylapur, Madras. His family belonged to Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. He was the fourth child among the ten children of his father R.N. Sharma. He received his schooling from Madras School and got a bachelor’s degree in Physics in 1938. He used to act in plays since his college days. Ranjan was married to a Muslim woman Lakshmi, but he ran the entire family according to Hindu customs. Ranjan was very fond of teaching. Whenever he got a chance, he used to go to universities in Europe and America to give lectures on the subject of film. He did research work on music on a fellowship from Madras University. He taught music and dance in summer schools and ran a luxurious hotel.
Ranjan started his film career in 1941 with the film ‘Ashok Kumar’. Seeing his attractive personality, his filmmaker friend Acharya gave him the role of the hero in his film ‘Divya Singar’, in which the heroine was Vasundhara, mother of Vaijayanti Mala. After this, his film ‘Narad’ was released, which had many scenes of Kathakali and Bharatnatyam. His film ‘Chandralekha’ was the most expensive film of its time. This was the first South Indian film to be released in North India, which received tremendous response from the audience. After Tamil, Ranjan came to Bollywood with its English version.
After becoming a superstar of Tamil cinema, he bought a Tiger Mouth plane and used to fly to his shooting locations. He was the first actor to buy a Rolls Royce car. Apart from this, he was the first actor to use a wig in a film. Gemini K. S. S. Vasan made Ranjan the hero of the Tamil-English version of his film Chandralekha. During that time, Ranjan cut his hair, which made Vasan very angry. On this, Ranjan suggested him to wear a wig. The audience has not forgotten the grand nagada dance of Chandralekha even today. It was conceived and choreographed by Ranjan.
Ranjan’s father wanted him to become a musician. So instead of sending him to school, he sent him to learn violin at the age of seven. When his father was convinced that it was important to give formal education to the child, he allowed him to go to school on the condition that he should go to school during the day, but after returning from school, he should practice violin for eight hours. While doing all this, it would be two o’clock in the night and Ranjan would be able to sleep for only three to four hours.
Apart from being an expert in Hindustani and Western music, Ranjan was also adept in Kathakali and Bharatanatyam dance and was a master of swordsmanship. His swordsmanship scenes in films used to be amazing. Ranjan’s proficiency in various subjects was not limited to this. He was adept in speaking, writing and reading all Indian languages. He was also fond of painting and in his leisure time, he also learned the art of magic. He edited an English-Tamil drama magazine. Ranjan also learned to fly an airplane. Ranjan died of a heart attack on September 12, 1983 in New Jersey, America, when he was only 65 years old.
