Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair was born in Kottarakkara, Kollam district in 1922. He enacted stereotypical villains in Malayalam theatre before becoming famous in the lead role of the movie Velutampi Dalava in 1962. Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair was the celebrated Nair diwan who battled the British. This, in turn, led to performances in plays on Velutampi, notably that written in 1932 by K. Padmanabha Pillai. In cinema, Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair attained renown as the father in the classic Chemmeen or `The Shrimp` in 1965, the sixteenth-century anti-imperialist Muslim admiral in Kunjali Marakkar in 1966, and the dying old man in Amnazhikaneram or `Just Half an Hour` in 1970.
Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards. In 1970, Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair 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 by Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair were in the films Veluthampi Dalava as Veluthampi Dalava and Thommanum Makkalum as Thomman. Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair died in the year 1986.
(Last Updated on : 26/02/2009)
