Pudukkottai Ulaganathan Pillai Chinnappa (5 May 1916 – 23 September 1951), also popularly known as P. U. Chinnappa, was a popular singer and Tamil movie actor during the 1930s and from Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is also credited to be one of the first major influential actors of South Cinema. His notable movies include Uthama Puthiran, Aryamala, Kannagi, Manonmani, Kubera Kuchela and Jagathalaprathapan.

Despite attaining the super star status, his career was cut short by a sudden death.

Biography

Chinnappa fell in love with A Sakunthala when they acted together in the movie Prithvirajan. Chinnapa married Sakunthala on 5 July 1944. They both had one son P.U.C Raja Bahadur.

Chinnappa spent his life being economical and invested a lot in buying houses. He brought about 30 houses in his home town Pudukkottai. At one time the Raja of Pudukkotai banned him from buying further houses in Pudukkotai and hence Chinnappa started buying houses in Madras (Present Chennai).

However, when he died, his wife Sakunthala and son P.U.C. Rajabhadhur were left virtually penniless. To this day no one knows how his houses and other assets vanished. His son debuted as an actor in Kovil Pura which didn't run well, he later took up negative roles in few movies, then earned a modest living as a dubbing artist, and has worked with writer on a ‘dubbing' projects.