Anandaraj was born on 10 November 1958 in Pondicherry,. He enjoyed movies from a very young age. After completing his school he wanted to make a career in cinema, but his father wanted him to become a police officer. Nevertheless, he persuaded his parents and pursued a career in cinema. Later, he learned acting skills from M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute in Chennai. After completing his training, he struggled to get roles in films, and finally, in 1988, he was signed for the role of villain in the filmOruvar Vaazhum Aalayam, from where his career began to shine.
Career
Anandaraj was born and brought up in Pondicherry.His father was a businessman. After schooling, he wanted his son to be a police officer, but Anandaraj wanted to try something different as he was fascinated with films. His family supported his dreams. He joined in M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, Chennai for a course. Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar was his classmate. Anandaraj was under the impression that offers would come his way, but later he had to struggle for an opportunity and finally started off with the 1988 filmOruvar Vaazhum Aalayam, starring Prabhu and Sivakumar, where he played the role of a crook and Urimai Geetham, both becoming blockbusters at the box office, and later En Thangachi Padichava, directed by P. Vasu, gave him the much-needed break in all the four south Indian languages. Thereafter, he has acted as a villain alongside most of the top actors, like Rajnikanth, Vijayakanth, R. Sarathkumar, Mammootty, Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi and Vijay.
Hero
On playing the hero roles, Anand Raj mentioned: "When one gets popular being a villain, people around you always push you to take the next step and it was one of those phases when I took up offers to play the lead role". He went on to play lead roles in the films David Uncle, Thambi Oorukku Puthusu, Kaaval Nilayam, Palaivana Paravaigal, Katharavan, En Rajangam, Kizhakku Veluthathchu, Government Mappillai, Pokkiri Thambi, Puthiya Aatchi and My India. Even though directors offered him good scripts, the films just didn't work well at the box office. Anand Raj continued: "When you are a hero, you get to do only two or three films a year. But if you are a villain, you get to sign a lot of films". He said he lost his income as his films as the hero didn't work, so he decided to play once again as the villain, as well as character actor roles.
Bollywood
Director Prabhu Deva offered Anandraj the lead in the role and asked him not to react to anything, even though a baddie is expected to give exaggerated expressions. Prabhu Deva wanted Anandraj to sport a certain look, so he underwent intense training for a year and lost about 12 kilos and fulfilled Prabhu Deva's expectation to get signed for Action Jackson. He played a don in the film and his look was completely different from the one he had tried in the south, as he spots a lizard tattoo on his head.
Personal life
Anandaraj was born in Puducherry and is the second son in the family of eight. He is married and has a daughter and a son.
