Korom Pulleri Vadhayarillathu Unnikrishnan Namboothiri (19 October 1923 20 January 2021) was an Indian actor in

Malayalam movie Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

s. He mainly handled comedy roles and grandfather roles. His role as

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, and businessman who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has acted in more than 150 films and has won several awards, inc ...

's grand father in the Malayalam movie Kalyanaraman was well noted. P. V. Kunhikrishnan, a judge of the Kerala High Court is his son and the noted lyricist and music director

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannet ...

is his son-in-law. He died on 20 January 2021 at a private hospital in

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

Life and career

Unnikrishnan Namboothiri was born in a

brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

family on 19 October 1923 to Pulleri Vadhayarillathu Narayanan Namboothiri and Devaki Antharjanam at Korom,

Payyanur Payyanur, , is a municipal town and a taluk, a sub-district administrative unit, in the Kannur district of Kerala, India. On 10 March 2018, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated Payyanur as the fifth taluk in the district. Payyan ...

. He had five siblings. He had his primary education from Payyanur Boys High School. He was married to Leela Antharjanam from Thekkumpurathu Mana in Cherpulassery in Palakkad district (died in 2009) and has 2 sons, Bhavadasan and Kunhikrishnan, and 2 daughters, Devi and Yamuna. His elder daughter, Devi, is married to Malayalam music director

. He resided at

in Kannur district. His son P. V. Kunhikrishnan, is a Judge of the Kerala High Court. His grandson Deepankuran is also a music director. He debuted with the movie ''

Desadanam ''Desadanam'' ( en, Journey to wisdom) is a 1996 Indian Malayalam language feature film directed by Jayaraj. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. Plot The plot revolves around the personal turmoil faced by the par ...

'' in 1996. He played an important role in the film. The film won National award for best Regional film in the year 1997. His popular movies are '' Kalyanaraman'', ''

'', ''

Mayamohini ''Mayamohini'' is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film directed by Jose Thomas and written by Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas, starring Dileep in the title role with Biju Menon, Mohan Sharma, Baburaj, Mythili and Spadikam George ...

'', ''

Rappakal ''Rappakal'' is a 2005 released Malayalam film directed by Kamal. Mammootty, Nayanthara and Sharada appears in lead roles. Plot This is a heartfelt story of a male help/valet and his motherly affection to the elderly woman, whom he looks aft ...

'', ''

Loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ...

'', ''

Photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

'', '' Pokkiri Raja'', ''

Madhuranombarakattu ''Madhuranombarakattu'' () is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Kamal and written by Raghunath Paleri, starring Biju Menon and Samyuktha Varma. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. The film won the Kerala State Film Award ...

'', '' Angene Oru Avadhikkalathu'', '' Kaikudunna Nilavu'' and ''

Kaliyattam ''Kaliyattam'' ( en, The Play of God) is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraaj. It stars Suresh Gopi, Lal (in his acting debut), Manju Warrier, and Biju Menon. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play ...

''. He acted with Rajinikanth in '' Chandramukhi'', teamed up with Kamal Haasan for '' Pammal K. Sambandam'' and worked with Ajith Kumar in ''

Kandukondain Kandukondain ''Kandukondain Kandukondain'' (also released internationally under the translated title ''I Have Found It'') is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed and co-written by Rajiv Menon. Based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel '' Sense ...

''.

Death

Unnikrishnan Namboothiri was diagnosed with pneumonia in January 2021. Following this, he was admitted to a private hospital in Payyanur and then at another hospital in Kannur. Later, he recovered from pneumonia but suffered fever and then got admitted again to hospital. He subsequently tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...

and was admitted to the

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...

, where he died on 20 January, at age 97. He was cremated with full state honours.

Partial Filmography

Malayalam

* ''

'' (1996)... Sankaran's Father * '' Oral Mathram'' (1997) * ''

'' (1997) * '' Kaikudunna Nilavu'' (1998) * '' Angene Oru Avadhikkalathu'' (1999)... Parameswara Warrier * ''Garshom'' (1999)... Bappu Haji * ''

'' (2000) * ''

Meghamalhar ''Meghamalhar'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language romance film written and directed by Kamal from a story by Iqbal Kuttippuram. It stars Biju Menon and Samyuktha Varma in the lead roles, while Poornima Mohan, Sreenath, Shivaji, Siddique and ...

'' (2001) * '' Kalyanaraman'' (2002)... Gopalakrishnan * ''

Sadanandante Samayam ''Sadanandante Samayam'' is a 2003 Malayalam satirical film directed by Akbar-Jose and starring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan. Synopsis The movie is about Sadanandan who is an Ordinary school teacher and people says a good teacher. But some probl ...

'' (2003) * ''Note Book'' (2005) * ''

'' (2005)... Valiya Varma * ''

'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009)... Muthassan *'' Pokkiri Raja'' (2010) *''

'' (2012) *'' Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil'' (2014) *'' Mazhavillinattam Vare'' (2012)

Tamil

* ''

'' (2000) as Chandrasekhar * '' Pammal K. Sambandam'' (2002) as Sambandham's grandfather * '' Chandramukhi'' (2005)

References

External links

*
Unnikrishnan Namboothiri at MSI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Namboothiri, Unnikrishnan 1923 births 2021 deaths Male actors from Kerala Male actors in Malayalam cinema Indian male film actors 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors in Tamil cinema Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India