Considered by most to be the most successful Tamil film actor in history, Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagvathar (MKT) made his mark on Tamil films. He was widely known as a Tamil film actor, producer and singer. His first steps to fame included a career as a singer and performing artist in the 1920s. He later entered a film career as well, starring in six box-office hits in some 20 years of acting.

Chintamani it turned out to be MKT’s first big hit. He played the role of Bilwamangal in the 1937 Tamil film directed by YV Rao. The film turned out to be a success, breaking a record for the first Tamil film to run continuously for a year. The audience was mesmerized by the vocal skills of Bilwamangal (the MKT role), even inspiring an esteemed Tamil writer and his wife to sing the beautiful songs every morning.

Interested in MKT’s exceptional acting ability, Ellis R. Dungan, an American film director, offered him the lead role in ambikapathy. This film also turned out to be a huge success, even breaking records set by Chintamani.

In haridas, MKT played a leading role. The film itself ran for three consecutive years at the Madras Broadway Theatre, breaking records for the first film to run for so long at the theatre. This was another of many MKT record-breaking performances in his successful acting career.

A shocking crime called the Lakshmikanthan Murder Case brought MKT’s career to a halt as he spent three years in prison as a murder suspect. The murder was of CN Lakshmikanthan, a Tamil film journalist stabbed to death in Vepery, Madras in 1944. The trial was held at the Madras Presidency (November 1944 – April 1947). Many suspects were arrested in the case, including MKT, NS Krishnan, and director SM Sreeramulu Naidu. The director was acquitted, but both actors were convicted and jailed. Later, both Krishnan and MKT were found not guilty, and Krishnan was released again for his successful career.

MKT’s run, however, never seemed to pick up the pace again. After his tenure, he turned down many of the movies he had planned to star in. He continued to act in Tamil films, none of which did well at the box office, and his career as an influential star plummeted until his death in 1959.