Winner of three Nandi Awards, a man with multiple and diverse ranges of talent and a heart full of kindness… best describes the birthday boy, Raghava Lawerance. Today, on October 29, this man celebrates his 43rd birthday and we bring to you a few facts about him that you may not have known already.

Watch his latest film, Kanchana 3, here:

Raghava Lawrence wasn’t born in the best of his health. The brain tumour worsened his condition. But as god would have it, the birthday boy emerged victorious out of it to conquer the world.

Born only Lawrence, the actor adopted the name Raghava much later. This comes from his love and devotion towards his god, Raghavendra Swamy. He believes that it was this god who brought him out of the brain tumour and adopted his first name as a gesture of love and affection. Later, he even built a temple for Raghavendra Swamy.

Since a young age, Raghava Lawrence was out of the house to earn a living. Early on, he washed the car of fight master Super Subbarayan. As they say… you have to be at the right time at the right place. Things changed for him at this very place.

Watching him dance on one of the sets, it was Rajinikanth who enrolled him in the Dancer’s union. It was Chiranjeevi who offered him the first assignment as a Choreographer. After appearing in many songs as a background dancer, Producer TVD Prasad signed a film with him as the lead, in 1999 with Speed Dancer. Thereon, Raghava went on to act in several films until he decided to direct one himself. In 2002, he ventured out with his directorial debut, Style. After that, there was no turning back.

It was his dancing skills that made heads turn around and gawk in awe at this personality. But he can act, direct, sing and even compose a tune of his own. Yes, that’s right! This is what multi-talented truly means.

Yet another thing that this man does is a lot of philanthropic work. From donating funds to helping people reach the right place, Raghava Lawrence pays special attention to things that could really make a difference. After the demise of Dr APJ Adbul Kalam, the actor-director started a charitable organisation and donated Rs. 1 cr to this trust.

While many people of the South Indian states consider Raghava Lawrence to be a member of their family, this man boasts of a large, large family. He has 60 kids, many specially-abled, under his guidance and care. Looking after them is not a duty for him. He also casts them in some way or the other in his films when possible.

Take a bow, birthday boy! The world has much to learn. Wishing him a happy birthday. You can check out his film or other interesting content on ZEE5 now.