to the popular "Horror-comedy genre". Followed by the last movie series Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017). He played the role of DC Ratnavel "Randy", a Police officer in the film Mersal (2017) directed by Atlee. Sathyaraj won the Best Supporting Actor – Tamil for the movie Kanaa (2018). The following year, he subsequently starred in films like Jersey, Prati Roju Pandage and Thambi. 2021–present In 2021, he appears in Tughlaq Durbar, inspired by Manivannan's political satire Amaidhi Padai. Then Ponram's, MGR Magan which has Sathyaraj and Sasikumar starring. In Theerpugal Virkapadum, he plays the role of a dad who seeks revenge for the injustice meted out to his daughter. In 2022, he had nine releases with notably Etharkkum Thunindhavan, Veetla Vishesham and Love Today which received positive reviews. Following the Telugu Anthology drama series Meet Cute streaming on SonyLiv. In December, the horror thriller Connect was released where sathyaraj played the role of Nayanthara's father. Personal life In 1979, Sathyaraj married Maheswari, niece of producer Madhampatti Sivakumar, and had two children, daughter Divya and son Sibiraj, also an actor. Sathyaraj is a staunch atheist. Sathyaraj and Manivannan shared a close friendship since college and became frequent collaborators in films in Tamil cinema. The Hindu wrote: "His (Manivannan's) friendship with actor Sathiyaraj translated to several memorable moments on screen. Manivannan...along with Sathyaraj epitomised on screen what is colloquially known in Tamil as "nakkal" (snideness)". According to Behindwoods.com, Manivannan (as the director) and Sathyaraj had consecutive hit films together beginning from 1987 to 1994; Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi, Ganam Courtar Avargale, Jallikattu, Vaazhkai Chakkaram, Pudhu Manithan, Therku Theru Machan and Amaidhi Padai. About working with Manivannan, he has said that it "is a pleasure. There's no script, no dialogue sheet. It's all in his head. But, he extracts great performances". Sathyaraj and Manivannan also acted together in several films directed by other directors. About his personal relationship with Manivannan, Sathyaraj remarked "I still reminisce about the beautiful moments that I had with...Manivannan, a genius of a person. In fact, he is the one who taught me many things in life, and changed me, I became a good human from being just an actor. Every day, we used to have conversations over the phone on a wide range of topics. It was a 30-year relationship. No one could understand me the way he did". Manivannan died in 2013 and Sathyaraj has said that