Chandrashekaran Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran

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 was des ...

comedian and character artist, who had over 700

films to his credit. He dominated the Malayalam film scene in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s as a comedian along with

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and role ...

and

Bahadoor Padiyath Kochumoideen Kunjalu (1930 22 May 2000), known by his stage name Bahadoor, was an Indian actor and comedian who, along with Adoor Bhasi, redefined the way in which comedy and funny scenes were perceived in the Malayalam cinema. They ...

. Later, he switched to character roles.

Early life

Sankaradi passed intermediate from Maharajas College,

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

. Before entering films, Sankaradi briefly dabbled in politics, journalism and theatre. He had earlier joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

, but later became a cardholder of the undivided

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

(CPI). However, he returned his party card after the CPI split in 1964 and turned to theatre. Sankaradi joined the trade union movement at Baroda Railways while he was studying

Marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

. He abandoned his studies to pursue a job as a journalist in ''The Literary Review'' a newspaper based in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Film career

A stint in theatre in the mid-1960s in

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 ...

prepared Sankaradi for his foray into films. Since his debut in

Kunchacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madra ...

's ''Kadalamma'', he remained an integral part of

cinema till his death. In 1968, he acted in ''

Viruthan Shanku ''Viruthan Shanku'' is a 1968 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by P. Venu, starring Adoor Bhasi and Ambika. It revolves around Vikraman, and how he tricks people and steals their valuables in a comic way and also how he wins the hea ...

'', the first full-length comedy in Malayalam cinema directed 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 ...

. Sankaradi won the state's best character artiste award in 1969–71. He also holds the record for featuring in over 300 films with

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards: * Second Best Actor - 1970 - ''Vazhve mayam'', ''Ezhuthatha Kadha'' * Second Best Actor - 1971 - Various Films

Personal life

He was born to Memana Parameswara Pillai and Chankaradiyil Thoppil Parambil Janaki Amma on 1924 at Cherai, Kochi, India. He had four siblings, Balan Menon, Sarojini, Lakshmikuty and Indira. Later on, he adopted the screen name 'Sankaradi' from the name of his Matrilineal family name "Chankaradiyil" by discarding the "-yil" and changing "Chankaradi" to "Sankaradi" Sankaradi remained a bachelor for a long time till he married Sharada in the late 1980s; the couple had no children. He was known throughout his film career by his house name(

Tharavadu Tharavad () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic families in Kerala, which usually served as the common house for the joint family system practiced in the state. The German linguist Hermann Gun ...

) "Sankaradi". He died at his home in Cherai at 10 PM on 8 October 2001, aged 77. He was ailing for a while until his death. He was cremated with full state honours at the premises of his home the next day. ''

Harikrishnans ''Harikrishnans'' is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Fazil. The film was produced and distributed by Suchitra Mohanlal under the production company Pranavam Arts, starring Mammootty and Mohanlal in ...

'', directed by Fazil, was his last film.

Filmography

1990s

1980s

1970s

References

External links

*
Sankaradi at MSI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sankaradi 1924 births 2001 deaths Indian male film actors Male actors from Kochi Kerala State Film Award winners Male actors in Malayalam cinema 20th-century Indian male actors Indian male stage actors Male actors in Malayalam theatre 21st-century Indian male actors Malayalam comedians Indian male comedians 20th-century comedians