Napoleon (actor)

Napoleon
Napoleon
Born	Kumaresan Duraisamy; 2 December 1963 (age 60); Tiruchirappalli, Madras State (now Tamil Nadu), India
Education	St. Joseph's College, Trichy
Occupation	Film actor; Politician; Social entrepreneur; Entrepreneur
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Jayasudha ; (m.1993-present)
Children	Dhanoosh ; Gunal
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Government of India
	In office; 13 June 2009 – 20 March 2013
Preceded by	Manmohan Singh
Succeeded by	Selja Kumari
Personal details
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party (2014-present)
Other political; affiliations	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1980-2014)
Residence	Nashville, Tennessee
Website	actornepoleon.com

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Kumaresan Duraisamy (born 2 December 1963), known professionally by his stage name Napoleon or Nepoleon, is an Indian actor, politician and entrepreneur.^[2] He was the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabinet.^[3] He has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and English movies.^[4]

Early life[edit]

He graduated from St. Joseph's College, Trichy.^[5]

Career[edit]

Politics[edit]

After college, he moved to Trichy and became enthused by the ideologies of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party. He joined the party in which his uncle K. N. Nehru was already a member and at that time the Public Welfare Minister of the state government.^[6]

2009 Indian general election campaign

Napoleon contested the State Assembly elections of 2001, winning the Villivakkam constituency contest and thereby becoming a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu.^[7] He lost his membership in the 2006 elections, when he contested from the Mylapore constituency and was defeated by actor S. Ve. Shekhar. Subsequently, Napoleon nurtured the Perambalur constituency in the hope of becoming a member of parliament for the DMK and succeeded in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. He was then appointed Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in Union government. Seen as a loyalist of Azhagiri, he was sidelined by DMK after the expulsion of the latter from the party in 2014. He joined the BJP in the presence of party President Amit Shah on 21 December 2014. He was made the party's state vice-president on 26 November 2015.^[8]

Films[edit]

When aged 27, he watched the film Udhayam, the dubbed version of the Telugu film Siva, and was inspired to take up acting. He entered the Tamil film industry in 1991 with Bharathiraja's rural film Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu, playing the antagonist role. After the stupendous success of Ejamaan (1993), Napoleon went on to play the villain to great effect in Malayalam and Telugu cinema too. He is praised for good best performance and acting in his Malayalam movie called Devasuram (1993). Napoleon turned hero on-screen too with Kizhakku Cheemayile (1993) in which he played an anti-hero. After that film, Pratap Pothen gave Seevalaperi Pandi (1994). That film turned out to be a mega hit.^[9] He was awarded Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for his performance in Ettupatti Rasa (1997).

In 1998, he was awarded the Kalaimamani and MGR Award. From 2000 to 2006, he was appointed as the vice-president of the South Indian Film Artistes Association.

Later after years into film industry, he also got the chance to work in stone blockbuster movies such as Pokkiri (2007) and Dasavathaaram (2008).^[10]

Though settled in Nashville, at the insistence of makers, he made his acting comeback with Kidaari (2016) and then went on to portray Gautham Karthik's father in Muthuramalingam (2017) replacing Karthik.^[11]^[12]

After making his Hollywood debut in the supernatural thriller, Devil's Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge (2019), he is seen in another American independent film titled Christmas Coupon (2019). Napoleon also proudly announced that he is the only Tamil actor, who had acted in a Hollywood film, which was completely shot in the US.^[13]

Entrepreneurship[edit]

Jeevan Technologies 2008

Nepoleon Duraisamy forayed into IT Entrepreneurship and kick started "Jeevan Technologies" IT operations in Chennai, India in the year 2000. Jeevan is a trusted technology transformation partner of enterprises across the globe under his able mentorship.^[14]

Social entrepreneurship[edit]

In 2010, Napoleon established Myopathy Unit of Jeevan Foundation, the Institute for Muscular Dystrophy & Research Center. It is a non-profit organization registered under the Tamil Nadu Trust Act.^[15]^[16]

Achievements and awards[edit]

Napoleon presenting the National Trust Annual Award to Shri Ashwin Karthik from Bangalore, at the National Trust Annual Awards Function, in New Delhi on September 10, 2010.

Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Ettupatti Rasa (1997)
Kalaimamani and MGR Award (1998)
Vice-president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association (2000–2006)
Murasoli Trust "Kalaignar" Award, which is given to people who contribute to Tamil language, literature and culture (2007).

Filmography of Napoleon (a) Kumaresan Duraisamy[edit]

As actor

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
1991	Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu	Shankaralingam	Tamil
1991	MGR Nagaril	John Peter	Tamil
1992	Chinna Thayee	Chamundi	Tamil
	Bharathan	C.I.D. Johnson	Tamil
	Nadodi Thendral	Swamikannu	Tamil
	Oor Mariyadhai	Veerapandi	Tamil
	Idhu Namma Bhoomi	Mirasudar	Tamil
	Mudhal Seethanam		Tamil
	Thalaivasal	Chandran	Tamil
	Pangali		Tamil
	Abhirami	Mr. Dhilip Kumar	Tamil	Guest appearance
1993	Captain Magal	Robert Royappa	Tamil
	Pudhu Piravi		Tamil
	Yejaman	Vallavarayan	Tamil
	Minmini Poochigal	Victor	Tamil
	Devasuram	Mundakal Shekaran	Malayalam
	Munarivippu	Ranjith	Tamil
	Rajadhi Raja Raja Kulothunga Raja Marthanda Raja Gambeera Kathavaraya Krishna Kamarajan	Guru Subramaniam	Tamil
	Nallathe Nadakkum	Vikraman	Tamil
	Dharma Seelan	Omer Sheriff	Tamil
	Maravan	Shankarapandiyan	Tamil
	Periyamma		Tamil
	Enga Muthalali	Jayaraman	Tamil
	Kizhakku Cheemayile	Shivanadi	Tamil
	Kunthi Puthrudu	Sambasivudu	Telugu
1994	Hello Brother	Mithra	Telugu
	Seevalaperi Pandi	Pandi	Tamil	Debut as Hero
	Gandheevam	Vincent	Malayalam
	Maindhan	Velayudam Pillai	Tamil
	Pudhupatti Ponnuthayi		Tamil
	Thozhar Pandian	Thaamaraiselvan	Tamil
	Thamarai	Thamarai	Tamil
	Mani Rathnam	Rathnam	Tamil
	Vanaja Girija	Anand	Tamil
1995	Rajamuthirai	Markandeyan	Tamil
	Muthu Kaalai	Sakthivel	Tamil
	Chinna Mani	Duraisamy Thevar	Tamil
	En Pondatti Nallava	Rajappa	Tamil
	Thamizhachi	Rasayya	Tamil
	Asuran	Matthaiya	Tamil
	Aakaya Pookkal	Suriya	Tamil
	Maamanithan	Nagu	Tamil
1996	Thayagam	Pilot	Tamil
	Musthaffaa	Musthaffaa	Tamil
	Puthiya Parasakthi	Rajadurai	Tamil
	Rajali	Rajali	Tamil
1997	Ettupatti Rasa	Singaraj	Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize, Also singer for song "Ettupatti Rasa"
1998	Kizhakkum Merkkum	Suryamurthy	Tamil
	Bhagavath Singh	Bhagavath Singh	Tamil
	The Government	Deva	Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
1999	Maya	Pratap / Suriya	Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
	Billa Ranga	Ranga	Kannada
	Ethirum Pudhirum	Arasappan	Tamil
	Suyamvaram	Krishna	Tamil
	Ponvizha	Bharathi	Tamil
	Rowdy Brothers		Kannada
	Sivan	Murugan	Tamil
2000	The Warrant	Ravi Ramakrishnan	Malayalam	Dubbed into Tamil as The Warrant
	The Gang	Kevin	Malayalam
	Karisakattu Poove	Kottai Sami	Tamil
	Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary	Jadadhari Swamiji	Telugu
	Manu Neethi	Muthazhagu	Tamil
2001	Megasandesam	Fr. Rossorriya	Malayalam	Dubbed into Tamil as Rosi
	Kalakalappu	Veluthambi	Tamil
	Ravana Prabhu	Mundakkal Sekharan	Malayalam
	Veettoda Mappillai	Manikkam	Tamil
	Mitta Miraasu	Singa Perumal	Tamil
2002	Kanal Kireedam	Albin	Malayalam	Dubbed into Tamil as Mary Albert
2002	Thenkasi Pattanam	Dass	Tamil
2004	Virumaandi	Nallama Nayakkar	Tamil
	Adi Thadi	Surya	Tamil
	Remote	Deenadayalu	Tamil
2005	Ayya	Madasamy	Tamil
2005	Veeranna	Mariappan, Veeranna	Tamil	Also singer for song "Veeranna"
2006	Vattaram	Gurupadam	Tamil
2007	Pokkiri	Commissioner Mohammed Mohideen Khan IPS	Tamil
2008	Krishnarjuna	Nallama Nayakkar	Telugu
	Sandai	Kamaraj	Tamil
	Dasavathaaram	Kulothunga Chola II	Tamil
	Aayutham Seivom	ACP Elumalai	Tamil
2009	Oy!	Dr. Harish Chandra Prasad	Telugu
	Azhagar Malai	Pandithurai	Tamil
	Saleem	Singamanaidu	Telugu
2011	Ponnar Shankar	Thalaiyoor Kaali	Tamil
2016	Kidaari	Kottur Durai	Tamil
2017	Muthuramalingam	Mookiah Thevar	Tamil
2017	Chennaiyil Oru Naal 2	Prabakaran	Tamil
2018	Ay.Na	Ayna	Malayalam
	Seema Raja	Ariya Raja	Tamil
	Sharabha	Kartavaryudu	Telugu
2019	Devil's Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge	Dr. Sudhir	English	Hollywood Movie
2019	Christmas Coupon	Agent Kumar	English	Hollywood Movie
2021	Sulthan	Sethupathi	Tamil
	Trap City	Nathan	English	Hollywood Movie
	One More Dream	School Principal	English	Hollywood Movie
2022	Anbarivu	Muniyandi	Tamil

As singer

Year	Film	Song
1995	En Pondatti Nallava	"Ponnu Kulla"
1999	Ettupatti Rasa	"Ettupatti Rasa"
2005	Veeranna	"Veeranna"

References[edit]

↑ "Former union minister D Napoleon quits DMK; joins BJP". The Economic Times. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
↑ Manoj, CG (29 May 2009). "After MLA napoleon ready for real power". The Indian Express. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
↑ "Napoleon Age, Movies, Biography, Photos".
↑ "INTERVIEW | Actor Napoleon on his Hollywood debut film 'Devil's Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge'".
↑ "Exclusive biography of #Napoleon and on his life".
↑ "Napolean Calls Uncle the Reason Behind Quitting DMK".
↑ "DMK Leader and Former Union Minister Napoleon Joins BJP".
↑ Siva, CG (26 November 2015). "தமிழக பாஜக துணைத் தலைவராக நடிகர் நெப்போலியன் நியமனம்". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
↑ "A villain is what I call an 'edhir naayagan': Napoleon, a veteran Tamil actor who almost quit acting- the New Indian Express".
↑ "Kollywood Movie Actor Napoleon Biography, News, Photos, Videos".
↑ "In the US, my son leads a normal life: Napoleon - Times of India". The Times of India.
↑ "How Napoleon became Gautham's father! - Times of India". The Times of India.
↑ "Actor Napoleon plays a sports agent in his second Hollywood project, Christmas Coupon".
↑ "Management Team".
↑ http://www.jeevanfoundation.com/mayopathy/#:~:text=Mayopathy%20Unit%20of%20Jeevan%20Foundation,the%20Tamil%20Nadu%20Trust%20Act.
↑ "Mayopathy".

External links[edit]

[1] "Former union minister D Napoleon quits DMK; joins BJP". The Economic Times. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2021.

[Manoj-2] Manoj, CG (29 May 2009). "After MLA napoleon ready for real power". The Indian Express. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

[3] "Napoleon Age, Movies, Biography, Photos".

[4] "INTERVIEW | Actor Napoleon on his Hollywood debut film 'Devil's Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge'".

[5] "Exclusive biography of #Napoleon and on his life".

[6] "Napolean Calls Uncle the Reason Behind Quitting DMK".

[7] "DMK Leader and Former Union Minister Napoleon Joins BJP".

[Siva-8] Siva, CG (26 November 2015). "தமிழக பாஜக துணைத் தலைவராக நடிகர் நெப்போலியன் நியமனம்". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 November 2015.

[9] "A villain is what I call an 'edhir naayagan': Napoleon, a veteran Tamil actor who almost quit acting- the New Indian Express".

[10] "Kollywood Movie Actor Napoleon Biography, News, Photos, Videos".

[11] "In the US, my son leads a normal life: Napoleon - Times of India". The Times of India.

[12] "How Napoleon became Gautham's father! - Times of India". The Times of India.

[13] "Actor Napoleon plays a sports agent in his second Hollywood project, Christmas Coupon".

[14] "Management Team".

[15] ttp://www.jeevanfoundation.com/mayopathy/#:~:text=Mayopathy%20Unit%20of%20Jeevan%20Foundation,the%20Tamil%20Nadu%20Trust%20Act.

[16] "Mayopathy".

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