Murali (malayalam Actor)

Muraleedharan Pillai, popularly known as Murali ( ml, മുരളി, 25 May 1954 – 6 August 2009) was an Indian film, stage and television actor and author. He mainly appeared in Malayalam films and a few Tamil films and also many other movies. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Appa Mestry, a communist freedom fighter and professional weaver in the 2002 film '' Neythukaran''. He was known for his powerful portrayal of character roles, lead roles and negative roles.

Murali started his film career playing villain roles and soon turned to character acting. He played the leading role in the 1992 film ''Aadhaaram'', which gave a "break" to his career. The film was well received at the box office and Murali ascended to the status of a star in Malayalam cinema, which he enjoyed for a few years during the 1990s.
Besides acting, he was the chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy from 2006 until his death. He also authored five books, and was also a Sangeetha Nataka Academy award winner. He contested at the 1999 Lok Sabha polls as a communist candidate without success. He was also the Director of the CPI(M) promoted television company ''Malayalam Communications Limited'', which runs Malayalam TV channels Kairali TV, People TV and We TV. His last film was the 2009 Tamil film ''Aadhavan''. He is one of the founders of the Malayalam film actors association AMMA.

Early life

Murali was born on 25 May 1954 as the first of five children to P. Krishna Pillai and K. Devaki Amma at Kudavattoor, Kollam, Kerala, India. He has four siblings, Thulasi, Sheela, Harikumar and Sheeja. He did his schooling from Kudavattoor L. P. School and Thrikannamangalam S. K. V. High School. He passed the pre-degree from M.G. College, Thiruvananthapuram and his Degree from Devaswom Board College, Sasthamkotta. He was an active member of the Students Federation of India. He took an LL.B degree from the Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram. After studies, he worked for some years as Lower Division Clerk in the Department of Health, Government of Kerala and as Upper Division Clerk in the office of Kerala University. He was married to his first cousin Mini and has a daughter Karthika. His daughter married Sonoop R. Nair on 15 July 2016

Career

Film actor

Murali debuted in films with the lead role in '' Njattadi'', directed by Bharath Gopi. But the film was never released. He then got chance to act in ''Chidambaram'', directed by the National Award-winning filmmaker Aravindan. He then acted in ''Meenamasathile Sooryan'' and '' Panchagni'', directed by Lenin Rajendran and Hariharan, respectively. ''Panchagni'' got released first and it gave him the break in his acting career. He soon established himself as a powerful actor in the Malayalam film industry. ''Aadhaaram'', directed by George Kittu, was the first film to be released with Murali in a lead role. He acted in a variety of roles, ranging from lead roles to villain roles, and won accolades. Some of his other notable films include ''Nee Ethra Dhanya'', ''Dhanam'', ''The King'', ''Pathram'', ''Chakoram'', ''Veeralippattu'', ''Achan Kombathu Amma Varambathu'', ''Meenamasathile Sooryan'', ''Swarnam'', ''Kaarunyam'' and ''The Truth''"Amaram". Also worth-mentioning are his remarkable portrayals as a toddy tapper in Malayogam and as trade union leader in Varavelppu.

Murali acted in the longest TV commercial ever on Indian TV, spanning 150 seconds. This was for Air Deccan in 2005.

Stage actor

Murali was actively involved with ''Natyagriham'', a drama venture started by actor Narendra Prasad. Murali won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Ravana in the Malayalam play ''Lanka Lakshmi'', which was based on C. N. Sreekantan Nair's novel of the same name. He was also associated with G. Sankara Pillai in doing theatre plays.

Author

Murali authored five books. His book on Kumaranasan, ''Abhinethavum Asan Kavithayum'' (''Actor and Asan's Poetry'') won him the Sangeetha Nataka Academy award. One of his other critically acclaimed books was ''Abhinyathinte Rasathanthram'' (''Chemistry of Acting'').

Politician

Murali was a member of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and has contested the 1999 Lok Sabha polls from the Alappuzha constituency as a Left Democratic Front candidate, but lost to V. M. Sudheeran of Indian National Congress.

Death

Murali died in Thiruvananthapuram on 6 August 2009 at the age of 55, due to acute diabetes which led to a heart attack at 8.20 PM IST. He was cremated with full state honours at his home in Aruvikkara, which he had bought some years prior to his death.

Awards

National Film Awards:
* 2001 – Best Actor – ''Neythukaaran''

Kerala State Film Awards:
* 1992– Best Actor – ''Aadhaaram''
* 1996 – Best Actor – ''Kaanakkinavu''
* 1998 – Best Actor – ''Thalolam''
* 2001 – Best Actor – ''Neythukaaran''
* 1991 – Second Best Actor – ''Amaram''
* 2007 – Second Best Actor – ''Veeralipattu'', ''Pranayakalam''
Kerala state TV Awards
*2008– Kerala State Television Award for Best Actor – Aranazhikaneram

Filmfare Awards:
* 1992 – Best Actor – ''Aadharam''

Other awards:
* Madras Film Fans Award
* Kerala Film Critics Award
* Shivaram Award
* Best columnist award: for his feature "Vyazhaporul" in the ''Malayala Manorama'' newspaper

Filmography

As Actor

Malayalam

Tamil

Telugu

Hindi

Story

* '' Ennu Nadhante Nimmi'' (1986)

Television career

*Aranazhika Neram (Amrita TV)
*Sakunam ( DD Malayalam)

Posthumous recognition

The Bharat Murali Cultural Centre was established at his birthplace, Kudavattoor. It presents the annual Bharat Murali Award to distinguished contributors to Malayalam cinema.

* 1st (2010) - K. P. A. C. Lalitha, actress; Kuttyedathi, actress
* 2nd (2011) - Manoj K. Jayan, actor
* 3rd (2012) - Kaviyoor Ponnamma, actress
* 7th (2016) - Surabhi Lakshmi, actress; Indrans, actor
* 9th (2020) - Vijith Nambiar, director

References

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*

External links

*

Murali at MSI

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murali
Best Actor National Film Award winners
Politicians from Kollam
2009 deaths
Kerala State Film Award winners
People from Kollam district
Male actors from Kollam
1954 births
Indian actor-politicians
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Filmfare Awards South winners
Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala
Male actors in Malayalam television
Indian male television actors
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
20th-century Indian politicians
21st-century Indian politicians
Malayalam film producers
Film producers from Thiruvananthapuram
Malayalam screenwriters
Screenwriters from Thiruvananthapuram
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Indian screenwriters