Who Is Judo Rathnam, Rajinikanth’s Favorite Stunt Master, Who Passed Away at 92?

Judo Rathnam has choreographed stunts for around 1,500 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.

Still of Rajinikanth and Judo Rathnam.

(Photo: Twitter; Altered by The Quint)

Veteran stunt choreographer Judo Rathnam (92) breathed his last on 26 January 2023. He is survived by his son, Judo Ramu.

Who is Judo Rathnam? He is an Indian fight master who was born on 8 August 1930, in Gudiyatham, Tamil Nadu. Having started out as a mill worker at a young age, he later entered the Tamil Nadu film industry. He has worked as an actor and action choreographer in over 1,500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi.

Achievements: Notably, in 2013, he held the Guinness World Record for working in the most number of films (1,200) as a stunt choreographer. He also received the Kalaimamani Awards from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2019. Moreover, he wasn’t just an artist but also a politician. He served as a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Still of Rajinikanth and Judo Rathnam

(Photo: Twitter)

Which are Judo Rathnam’s popular films? Before debuting as a stuntman in the 1966 release Vallavan Oruvan, Judo Rathnam made his acting debut in the 1959 film Thamarai Kulam.

He has appeared in films such as Sridevi's Gaayathri, Rajinikanth's Pokkiri Raja, and Visu's Naanayamillatha Naanayam. He was last seen in Sundar C’s Thalainagaram in 2006.

What is his claim to fame? Rathnam shot to fame for creating iconic stunt moves for south Indian stalwarts like Shivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan.

Superstar Rajnikanth even calls him his favourite stunt choreographer, as they both have worked in 46 films together. Some of the duo’s blockbusters in the 1980s include Paayum Puli, Padikkadhavan, Kai Kudukkum Kai, Manithan, and Raja Chinna Roja.

Many famous stunt directors in Tamil cinema, including Vikram Dharma, Super Subbarayan, Thalapathy Dinesh, Jaguar Thangam, Rambo Rajkumar, FEFSI Vijayan, Ponnambalam, Judo KK Ramu, Indian Baskar, Rajasekhar, Ambur R S Babu, and M Shahul Hameed, have worked as his assistants in the early days of their careers.