Rasipuram Subramaniyan Iyer Manohar was born as R. S. Lakshminarasimman on 29 June 1925 in
Rasipuram, present-day
Namakkal district,
Tamil Nadu. Subramaniyan Iyer and Rajalakshmi Ammal. He got the name Manohar after playing the lead role in the school play
Manohara. He graduated from
Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai. According to film historian
Randor Guy, Manohar got a break in films with
Rajambal (1951) when, as a graduate, he was employed in the Postal Department. Producer R. M. Krishnaswamy booked him for the lead role in the film. As his name was not "filmi", it was changed to R. S. Manohar. While in college, Manohar frequently performed in stage plays. After graduation, he joined films. His first effort was
Rajamabal, produced by Aruna Films. His early memorable roles were in films such as
Vannakkili,
Kaidhi Kannayiram,
Vallavanukku Vallavan,
Vallavan Oruvan and
Iru Vallavargal. But Manohar is best remembered for the negative roles he played, especially while facing off with M. G. Ramachandran in films such as
Ayirathil Oruvan,
Ulagam Suttrum Valliban,
Pallandu Vazhga,
Adimai Penn,
Kaavalkaaran and
Idayakkani. Manohar is also remembered for his immense contributions to Tamil theatre. After Nawab Rajamanikkam, it was Manohar who took theatre to a higher plane. Most of the 31 plays in which he acted - altogether totaling 7,950 performances - were adaptations or interpretations of historical incidents or mythological stories. Famous among Manohar's plays are
Ilangeswaran,
Chanakkiya Sabadam,
Soorapadman,
Sisupalan,
Indrajith,
Sukrachariyar,
Naragasooran and
Thirunavukkarasar. He was a pioneer in introducing 'dramascope' with stereophonic sound system, split second transformation of sets and pyrotechniques to represent battle scenes. He received many awards for his contributions to drama and cinema, including a 'Nadaka Kavalar' award from MGR in 1970. ==Selected filmography==