N. Sreedharan Nair (11 September 1922 – 19 October 1986), popularly known as Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair or just Kottarakkara, was an Indian actor who appeared

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

district of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

. Sreedharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards. In 1970, he won the best actor award and in 1969 the second best actor award. He is best remembered for his role as ''Chempankunju'' in the national award winning film '' Chemmeen'' directed by Ramu Kariat. Other impressive performances were in the films ''Veluthampi Dalava'' (as Veluthampi Dalava), ''Thommante Makkal'' (1965) as Thomman, and '' Pazhassi Raja'' (1964) as Pazhassi Raja, '' Viruthan Shanku'' (1968) by

P. Venu P. Venu (8 November 1940 – 25 May 2011), was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and lyricist with over 20 films to his name.His directorial venture Udhyogastha in 1967 was the first-ever multi-star cast film of the south Indi ...

. Kottarakkara is also known for playing the role of devil magician in the 1984 fantasy film My Dear Kuttichathan. Popular Malayalam actor Saikumar is his son.

Personal life

Sreedharan Nair was born in 1922 to Padinjattinkara Korattiyode Narayana Pillai and Ummini Amma in 1922. He had his primary education from Eswara vilasam higher secondary school. He started acting in dramas at the age of 10. He owned drama troupes ''Jayasree'' and ''Kalamandiram''. He was known to be a very outspoken, stubborn man with a short temper. Once, he walked out of the set of ''

Ara Nazhika Neram ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Acad ...

'' due to some disputes. He did not allow anyone seeking compromise to open the gate and enter into his house compound to discuss with him. When everyone was afraid to talk to him, someone suggested that actor Sathyan should approach Sreedharan Nair to resolve the issue. After talking with Sathyan, Sreedharan Nair set aside the disputes & agreed to act in the movie. Sreedharan Nair married Vijayalakshmi Amma. They had eight children, Jaysree, Geetha, Laila,

Shobha Mahalakshmi Menon, best known by her stagename Shobha (23 September 1962 – 1 May 1980), was an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam and Tamil films. At the age of 17, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her rol ...

, Kala, Sai Kumar, Beena, and Shaila. His son Sai Kumar, daughters Shobha Mohan, Sylaja his son-in-law Mohan Kumar, his grandchildren Anil Pappan, Vinu Mohan Anu Mohan, Vaishnavi saikumar and his great-grandson Kailasveswar S Nair are all film/TV actors.

Awards

* 1970 Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor -

* 1969 Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor – Koottukudumbam

Filmography

Kannada flm

* 1968 - Bangalore Mail

References

External links