Ramanathan Sarathkumar (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, politician and former bodybuilder who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films.

[3][4] In 2007, he launched a new political party All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) in Tamil Nadu, claiming to carry out the ideals of K. Kamaraj.

Sarathkumar was originally cast to play the lead role in Chinna Poove Mella Pesu (1987) directed by Robert–Rajasekar but the producers insisted on having one familiar face and he was replaced by actor Prabhu.

[27] In 1988, while running his travel agency in Chennai, Sarathkumar got an opportunity to act as well as produce in the Tamil film Kan Simittum Neram.

He acted in few Tamil films in supporting roles such as Salem Vishnu, Sirayil Sila Raagangal, Mounam Sammadham and Puriyaadha Pudhir.

In the start of 1991, he acted in negative roles in the Telugu film Stuartpuram Police Station, starring Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti, Namma Ooru Mariamma, Vetri Padigal and Pudhu Manithan.

He acted as a retired military officer in Chithirai Pookkal and played the second hero role in the blockbuster film Captain Prabhakaran.

[31] In the end of 1992, he acted in the action film Thai Mozhi, co-starring Vijayakanth and Mohini, Ellaichami, Manoj Kumar's Samundi and Senthilnathan's Natchathira Nayagan, making their fifth and last collaboration.

[36][37][38] In the end of 1993, he acted in the thriller film Moondravadhu Kann, he teamed up with the Suriyan team (consisting of director Pavithran, cinematographer Ashok Kumar, comedian Goundamani, villain Babu Antony and the editor duo B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan) for the second time in I Love India and worked in the comedy film Kattabomman.

The next year, he worked in the village drama Veluchami, P. Vasu's Coolie, Nadodi Mannan and the crime film Ragasiya Police.

It was followed by Oruvan, the remake of the Telugu film Auto Driver, in which Sarathkumar paired with Pooja Batra and teamed up for the second time with the director Suresh Krissna.

Despite facing controversy, Maayi proved to be successful at the box office with a reviewer citing that "In the title role of a totally underplayed character, Sarathkumar surely makes a mark".

The next year, he starred in Gautham Vasudev Menon's Pachaikili Muthucharam, which released to positive reviews, but ended up as an average grosser.

[73][74][75] In October 2009, Sarathkumar made his debut in Malayalam through Pazhassi Raja, in which he co-starred with Mammootty and he played the role of Edachena Kunkan.

[85] In the beginning of 2014, he played the role of a CBI officer in Nimirndhu Nil and Janda Pai Kapiraju, which were shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu.

As reviewed by sify.com, "Sarathkumar is the only saving grace, he looks perfect as a stylish police officer and the actor is the main reason to watch the film until the end".

[97] In 2018, he starred in a series of Telugu action movies like Naa Peru Surya, Bharat Ane Nenu, Saakshyam and Devadas.

[98] In 2020, Vaanam Kottattum from Dhana and Mani Ratnam is a neat family entertainer with some good emotional moments and memorable performance.

[106] In his early days as an actor, R. Sarathkumar was considered to be close to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo Jayalalithaa.

However, this caused a furore in the film industry as the producer R. B. Choudary threatened action against Sarathkumar for misusing a tape given to him for personal viewing.

He, in turn, realising that the public was behind him, announced his decision to join hands with Rajinikanth, who supported the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) – Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) alliance.

Even though DMK lost badly in many constituencies, Sarathkumar was defeated by the AIADMK candidate Kadambur R. Janarthanan by a margin of only 6904 votes.

[111] In July 2001, the party made him a Rajya Sabha member, but he resigned before the 2006 Assembly elections to join the AIADMK along with his wife Radhika.

[113] He also quit AIADMK in November 2006, quoting that his role as president of the South Indian Artistes' Association needed "undivided attention".

[125] In April 2017, Income Tax officers raided Sarathkumar, Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar and others in relation to accusations of bribing voters in the RK Nagar by-election, which was held following the death of J.

[126][127] A day before the Income Tax raids, Sarathkumar's party, AISMK, declared its support for TTV Dinakaran, the candidate endorsed by V. K Sasikala.

[128] The Hindu, citing I-T department sources, had reported that Sarathkumar allegedly received Rs 7 crore from Vijayabaskar, with WhatsApp messages confirming the transaction.

[127][129] In April and May 2017, the IT department recorded Sarathkumar and his daughter Rayane's sworn statements, in which they confessed to acquiring Rs 2 crore from controversial businessman J. Sekar Reddy in May 2016.

Additionally, he stated that the Rs 2 crore was to be used for acting and film production, and that he would report it as income for the 2016-17 financial year and pay the required taxes promptly.

One of the key value propositions that Media Voice brings to the table is Sarath's personal interview each month with a news-maker discussing current issues.