M. G. Soman (28 October 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He has also done roles in some Tamil films including ''

Aval Oru Thodar Kathai ''Aval Oru Thodar Kathai'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The lead role was played by Sujatha in her first Tamil film, which was also her first starring role. Kamal Haasan, Vijayakumar, ...

''. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, he switched to character and villainous roles.

Early life

He was born as Somashekharan Nair to Konni Kudukkillethu Veettil Govinda Panicker and P. K. Bhavani Amma, in

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

, on 28 September 1941. He had his primary education from Balikamadom H. S. S.,

, St Thomas HSS Thirumoolapuram. While studying at seventh grade he started a drama troupe with his friend and performed drama ''Manaltharikal Garjikkunnu''. He did his pre-university degree at St. Berchmans College,

Changanassery Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 ...

. He was also part of the

Film career

Soman joined

Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair N. Sreedharan Nair (11 September 1922 – 19 October 1986), popularly known as Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair or just Kottarakkara, was an Indian actor, born as the son of Narayana Pillai and Ummini Amma in Kollam district, Kerala. He appeared ...

's drama troupe ''Jayasree'' and then moved to the film industry. He worked at Kerala Arts Theaters and '' KPAC''. ''Ramarajyam'' of Kerala Arts Theaters opened him a way to the movie industry. His first film was ''

Gayatri Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, IAST: Gāyatrī) is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and holds the title of ''Vedamata'' ('mother of the Vedas'). Gayatri is the ...

'' directed by P. N. Menon in 1973. He acted in the role of a hero from 1976 to 1983 and later played the roles of villains, comedians and supporting roles. In 1977, his best known film was released under the direction of

I. V. Sasi Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1948 – 24 October 2017) was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest a ...

– ''

Itha Ivide Vare ''Itha Ivide Vare'' is a 1977 Indian Malayalam film, directed by I. V. Sasi and produced by Hari Pothan. The film stars Madhu, M. G. Soman, Sharada, Jayabharathi, and Jayan in the lead roles. After the huge success of this film, M. G. Soman a ...

''. He soon rose to become the busiest actor in the industry. In 1978, Soman had acted in 44 films, which was till today kept as a record. After 1984, he had shifted from heroic roles to character roles, notably in films like ''

Poochakkoru Mookkuthi ''Poochakkoru Mookkuthi'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan in his directorial debut. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Mohanlal, Shankar, Menaka, M. G. Soman, Nedu ...

''. In 1997, ''

Lelam ''Lelam'' () is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Joshiy and written by Renji Panicker. It stars Suresh Gopi and M. G. Soman with Siddique, N. F. Varghese, Nandini, Maniyanpilla Raju, Vijayakumar, Spadikam Ge ...

'', directed by

Joshiy Joshiy (born 18 July 1952) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and also directed Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu and Kannada-language films. Joshiy made his directorial ...

, was his last film and his performance as ''Aanakkattil Eappachan'' was greatly appreciated and received critical acclaim. He died on 12 December 1997 due to jaundice. He was 56. He produced a Malayalam movie titled as '' Bhoomika'' in 1991 which was directed by I.V.Sasi, starring

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bhojpuri language films. He is also a chenda ...

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter and politician who is currently serving as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Minister of Tourism since June 2024. He was ele ...

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

and

Urvashi Urvashi (, ) is the most prominent apsara mentioned in the Hindu scriptures like the ''Vedas'', the epics ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', as well as the ''Puranas''. She is regarded as the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert danc ...

in lead roles.

Personal life

Soman was married to Sujatha. They have a son Saji Soman and a daughter Sindhu. His son Saji also acted in a few movies. Saji is married to Bindu and has a son Shekhar and a daughter Shivanghe. Sindhu Soman is married to Girish and has two daughters, Lekshmi Girish and Gayatri Girish.

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

: * Best Actor (1976) – ''

Thanal ''Thanal'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Rajeevnath and produced by Vikraman Nair. The film stars Adoor Bhasi, George Cheriyan, M. G. Soman and Rani Chandra in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Jithin Shyam. Cast *A ...

Pallavi A pallavi is a refrain in carnatic music, commonly associated with South India. It is the first part of any formal composition ( Krithi) which has three segments – Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam (which can be one or more). Pallavi is usuall ...

'' * Second Best Actor (1975) – ''

Swapnadanam ''Swapnadanam'' () is a 1976 black-and-white Malayalam-language film. K. G. George debuted as a director in this film. It won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film and National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. The cast includes ...

'', ''

Chuvanna Sandhyakal ''Chuvanna Sandhyakal'' is a 1975 Indian Malayalam film, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by M. O. Joseph. The film stars Adoor Bhasi, Lakshmi, Mohan Sharma and Sam in the lead roles. The film has musical score by G. Devarajan. ...

Filmography

Malayalam

1970s

1980s

1990s

Tamil films

Television

* ''Kuthirakal'' (Doordarshan) * ''Sahanam'' (Doordarshan)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soman, M. G. 1941 births 1997 deaths Male actors from Kerala Indian Air Force personnel Kerala State Film Award winners 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors in Malayalam cinema Indian male film actors Indian male television actors People from Thiruvalla Male actors in Tamil cinema Malayalam comedians Indian male comedians 20th-century Indian comedians Male actors from Pathanamthitta