Reghu Damodharan known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Bheeman Reghu is an Indian actor and retired police officer. Before transitioning to a full-time career in cinema, he served as a

sub-inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police or police sub-inspector (PSI), is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which are primarily based on the British model. It was form ...

in the

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

. With a career spanning over four decades, Reghu has appeared in more than 400 films, predominantly in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. While he is best recognized for his villainous roles, he has occasionally ventured into comedic performances. Beyond acting, he has also been involved in politics and film direction. In 2016, Reghu ran for the Kerala Legislative Assembly election as a

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP) candidate from Pathanapuram constituency, finishing in third place. In 2023, Reghu quit BJP and joined the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

(CPIM). He made his directorial debut with ''Chaana'' (2023).

Early life

Reghu, originally named Reghu Damodharan was born at

Puzhavathu Puzhavathu is a neighbourhood in Changanasserry, in Kerala state. It is 1 km from Changanasserry bus stand and 2.5 km from railway station. Religion The place is known for the number of places of worship: Kavil Bhagavathi Temple, The ...

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 ...

Kottayam district Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...

in the former

Travancore–Cochin Travancore–Cochin, officially the United State of Travancore and Cochin and later the State of Travancore–Cochin, was a short-lived States of India, state of India. It was formed through the merger of two former kingdoms, Travancore and Kin ...

state. He was born to K. P. Damodaran Nair, former Municipal Commissioner, and Thankamma. He has a sister, Vasundhara Devi. His early education took place at St. Stephen's School,

Pathanapuram Pathanapuram is a Town in Pathanapuram Taluk Kollam district, Kerala, India. Pathanapuram is a part of Grama Panchayat and Block panchayat of same name and part of Kollam District Panchayat. History The history of Pathanapuram goes back to ...

. During 1970 – 71, while studying at

Sanatana Dharma College Sanatana Dharma College or S. D. College is an educational institution in Alappuzha, Kerala, India, affiliated with the University of Kerala. It is one of the oldest affiliated aided colleges under the University of Kerala. The college has been ...

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

, he was part of the college

Weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

team. He then went to

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

, where he graduated with

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc). Later, he pursued

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram.

Career

Reghu was as a

in the

. He made his debut in a leading role in the Malayalam film ''

Bheeman ''Bheeman'' is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Hassan and written by Pappanamkodu Lakshmanan. The film stars Bheeman Raghu, Ratheesh, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Sathaar, Balan K. Nair. The film has musical score by A. T. ...

'' in 1982, where he portrayed a character who resembled the late actor

Jayan Krishnan Madhavan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, born as the son of Madhavan Pillai (Kerala title), Pillai and Bharathiyamma in Kollam district, Kollam, was an Indian actor, Officer (armed forc ...

. Since then, he has been recognized by the moniker "Bheeman". Following that, he has acted in more than 400 films. He is mostly known for his antagonistic roles, he has appeared in comedic characters in some films. In 2023, he made his directorial debut with ''Chaana'', starring himself. Written by Aji Aylara, the story centers on a Tamil man hailing from Tenkasi who journeys to Kerala in pursuit of a livelihood as a knife sharpener. The film was released in theatres on 17 March 2023.

Politics

Before 2016, he is an active supporter of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

(INC) he campaigned for many Congress candidates in Kerala assembly elections. After joining

(BJP) in 2016, in the

2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 16 May 2016 to elect 140 MLA (India), MLAs to the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly. Voter turnout was 77.53%, up from 75.12% in the previous election. The result was declared on 19 May 20 ...

, he contested unsuccessfully as a candidate of

(BJP) for the

National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

(NDA) from Pathanapuram constituency. He contested against his fellow actors K. B. Ganesh Kumar (

Kerala Congress (B) Kerala Congress (B) bbr. KC(B)is a registered political party in Kerala, formed by R. Balakrishna Pillai, a former minister of the government of Kerala. At present, the party has one MLA in the state Legislative Assembly, namely K. B. Ganesh ...

, LDF) and

Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar, Born On (12 June 1955) mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and television presenter. He has starred in over 400 Malayalam films and two Hindi films. He is best known for his comic and character rol ...

(

, UDF). He came third with 11,700 votes. In 2023, Reghu quit BJP and joined the

Personal life

Bheeman Reghu married Sudha Reghu. The couple have three children.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Bheeman Raghu at MSI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghu Gowda, Bheeman Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Changanassery Indian male film actors 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors from Kottayam Indian police officers Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala