Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in

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 ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

and

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fami ...

films. He has also starred in a few

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films. He has won several awards including 2 Kerala State Film Awards,

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

from

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

and

Filmfare Award South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing f ...

Early life

Vineeth was born to K. T. Radhakrishnan and P. K. Shanthakumari on 23 August 1969 at

Thalassery Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karna ...

in Kannur district of

North Kerala North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara, Koyilandy, and Thamarassery in the Kozhikode District of Kerala and t ...

. He has a sister, Kavitha Dinesh. He studied at

Good Shepherd International School, Ooty Good Shepherd International School is a residential school founded in 1977, located at Ootacamund (Ooty), in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India on a campus. Facilities on the campus include classrooms and laboratory blocks, two lecture theatres, two ...

and St Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Thalassery. He pursued bachelors in commerce from The New College in 1991. Vineeth is the nephew of Ramachandran Nair, the husband of actress Padmini of the

Travancore sisters Travancore Sisters refers to the trio of Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini who were actresses, dancers and performers in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. The Travancore sisters learned dancing under Guru Gopinath and Guru T. K ...

. His aunt, Padmini and her sister, Ragini convinced his parents to send him to dancing school. He learned the

Bharathanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

form of dance at the age of six, and won several dance prizes while a student, including the first prize at the Kerala State Youth festival for four years in a row and winning the top prize of "Kalaprathibha" in 1986.

Film career

Vineeth entered films with the I. V. Sasi film '' Idanilangal'' in 1985, and caught the public eye with his second film, ''

Nakhakshathangal ''Nakhakshathangal'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and starring Monisha, Vineeth and Saleema. Monisha, won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role, making her ...

'', in 1986. His dancing skills were prominently displayed in several films as well. He played the lead characters in ''

Idanazhiyil Oru Kaalocha ''Idanazhiyil Oru Kaalocha'' () is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Bhadran from a story by Balachandran Chullikkad. The film stars Karthika, Vineeth, Jayabharathi and Thilakan in the lead roles. The film has musica ...

'' (1987), a story by poet Balachandran Chullikkadu and ''

Oru Muthassi Katha ORU, Oru or Õru can refer to: *Orbital replacement unit, used on the International Space Station *Orbital replacement unit (HST), used on the Hubble Space Telescope * Oral Roberts University, a university in south Tulsa, Oklahoma *Orange & Rockla ...

'' (1988) directed by

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in Hi ...

. ''

Aavarampoo ''Aavarampoo'' () is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language teen romance film, directed by Bharathan and produced by Keyaar. A remake of the 1980 Malayalam film '' Thakara'', it stars Vineeth, Nandhini and Nassar. The film was released on 5 June 1992 ...

'' (1992), the Tamil remake of ''

Thakara ''Thakara'' is a 1979 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Bharathan and written by Padmarajan. It stars Prathap Pothan, Surekha, Nedumudi Venu and K. G. Menon in pivotal roles. The film was a breakthrough in the career of Bharathan ...

'' changed everything for Vineeth directed by

Bharathan Bharathan (14 November 1946 – 30 July 1998) was an Indian film maker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan and K. G. George, in th ...

. As soon as ''Aavarampoo'' ended, Hariharan called him for '' Sargam'' (1992), in which he played a musical genius. Suddenly Vineeth was doing multiple films in Malayalam and Tamil. ''

Kabooliwala ''Kabooliwala'' is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language coming of age comedy drama film, written and directed by Siddique-Lal, starring Innocent and Jagathy Sreekumar. The film was remade in Tamil as ''Meesai Madhavan'' (2004). Plot The story be ...

'' (1994) and '' Manathe Vellitheru'' (1994) became two turning points in his Malayalam career, one establishing him as a young romantic hero, the other proving he could handle negative shades really well. Though his films impressed both critics and front benchers, he did not become a super hero, a sought after actor. He had appeared in maximum Malayalam films. But his career did not pick up as expected. His roles in successful Tamil films also include '' Gentleman'' (1993), ''

Pudhiya Mugam ''Pudhiya Mugam'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language thriller film directed by Suresh Chandra Menon. It stars Revathi, Suresh Chandra Menon, Vineeth and Kasthuri. The film featured music by A. R. Rahman. ''Pudhiya Mugam'' is an adaptation ...

'' (1993), ''

Jaathi Malli ''Jaathi Malli'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Balachander starring Mukesh, Khushbu, Nassar, Vineeth and Yuvarani. The film was released on 14 January 1993, and won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film. ...

'' (1993) and ''

May Maadham ''May Maadham'' () is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Venus Balu. The film stars Vineeth and Sonali Kulkarni, and has music by A. R. Rahman. It is based on the 1953 American film ''Roman Holiday''. The film was released on ...

'' (1994). Among other projects came ''

Kadhal Desam ''Kadhal Desam'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language action romance film written and directed by Kathir and produced by K. T. Kunjumon. The film starred Vineeth and debutant Abbas in the main leads, along with actress Tabu (in her Tamil debut ...

'' (1996), where Vineeth and Abbas played college students in love with the same woman, played by

Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

. The movie, with its themes of friendship and romance and the music of

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

, became very popular. He has acted in several well received films since then in all South Indian languages. In spite of his success in films, he still considers dance as his first love and is undergoing advanced training in Bharatanatyam and participates in several dance programmes all over the world as well as the Surya Dance Festival. He has worked in several Telugu films such as ''

Aaro Pranam ''Aaro Pranam'' () is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Veeru K and stars Vineeth and Soundarya. Plot The film is about a relationship between a man, Chanti, and a woman, Akankshaa, who is one year older than the man. How they co ...

'' (1997), '' Maa Annayya'' (2000), ''

Ammayi Kosam ''Ammayi Kosam'' () is a 2001 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language drama film produced by Pokuri Baburao and directed by Muppalaneni Shiva. This film stars Ravi Teja, Meena (actress), Meena, Vineeth, Ali (actor), Ali, and Siva Reddy in the ma ...

'' (2001), ''

Nee Premakai ''Nee Premakai'' is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language romance film written by Sreenivasan, directed by Muppalaneni Shiva and produced by D. Ramanaidu under Suresh Productions. The film is an adaptation to Priyadarshan's 1988 Malayalam film ''Mukunth ...

'' (2002) and ''

Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo ''Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo ''is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language musical-family drama film written, directed and produced by YVS Chowdary under the banner ''Bommarillu.'' The film stars four pairs Nandamuri Harikrishna, Bhanupriya, Suman, Rachana, ...

'' (2002). Vineeth, who disappeared from both

and

Malayalam cinema 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' ...

, made a comeback with

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

starrer '' Chandramukhi'' (2005). He played the same role in the Hindi version of ''

Bhool Bhulaiyaa ''Bhool Bhulaiyaa'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language psychological thriller film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the T-Series Films banner. A remake of the 1993 Malayalam film '' Manichitrathaz ...

'' (2007) as well. He won the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Choreography The Kerala State Film Award for Best Choreography is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the best dance choreographer in Malayalam film industry. It was introduced in 2005 onward. The awards are managed by th ...

for ''

Kambhoji Kambhoji or Kambodhi is a popular Raga in Carnatic Music. It is classified as a derived raga from 28th Melakartha, Harikambhoji. Scale The scale of Kambhoji is Ascending: S R2 G3 M1 P D2 S Descending: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S (N3 P D2 S) ...

'' in 2017. Vineeth's last film release was the G. V. Prakash Kumar starrer ''

Sarvam Thaala Mayam ''Sarvam Thaala Mayam'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film written and directed by Rajiv Menon. The film stars G. V. Prakash Kumar and Aparna Balamurali, with a supporting cast including Nedumudi Venu, Vineeth, Kumaravel, ...

'' (2019) in Tamil. It was a musical drama that was written and directed by

Rajiv Menon Rajiv Menon (born 20 April 1963) is an Indian filmmaker who has worked as a film director, director and cinematographer in several Indian regional film industries. After making his breakthrough as a film cinematographer with Mani Ratnam's drama ...

. Actor singer

Krishnachandran T. N. Krishnachandran (born 16 June 1960) is an Indian actor, playback singer, and dubbing artist in Malayalam cinema and television. Career His debut movie was '' Rathinirvedam'' in 1978. He was the voice for actor Vineeth and Rahman and al ...

dubbed for Vineeth in most of his early movies. Ironically, Vineeth won the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Dubbing Artist The Kerala State Film Award for Best Dubbing Artist is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the best dubbing in Malayalam film industry. Ideally, there is a male and female winner for the award. Until 1997, the ...

in 2020 for giving voice to

Vivek Oberoi Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films. Early life Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...

's character in ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

'', actor Prithviraj’s first as a director. In Malayalam, he was seen in Kavya Prakash's debut film '' Vaanku'' (2021), based on a story by Unni R. In '' Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea'', he dubbed for the character played by Tamil star

Arjun Sarja Srinivasa "Arjun" Sarja is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry, in addition to Kannada and Telugu languages as well. Referred to by the media and his fans as " Action King" for his roles in ...

. Vineeth won the award for his dubbing.

Personal life

Vineeth married Priscilla Menon, who hails from Telicherry on August 2004. They live in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and a daughter was born to them in 2006.

Awards and nominations

* 1986 - ''Kalaprathibha'' -

Kerala School Kalolsavam Kerala School Kalolsavam is an annual event conducted by the Government of Kerala, featuring several art competitions for high school and higher secondary school students of Kerala. The festival was started in 1956, and till 2022, it was call ...

* 1992 - Best New Face award by Film Fan's Association in Tamil Nadu for ''

'' * 1992 -

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

Second Best Actor award for ''

Daivathinte Vikrithikal ''Daivathinte Vikrithikal'' () is a 1992 Malayalam-language film co-written and directed by Lenin Rajendran based on M. Mukundan's novel of the same name. The film tells the story of Alphonso, a man who chooses to suffer a slow, torturous lif ...

'' and '' Sargam'' * 1993 - Supporting Actor award by Film Fan's Association in Tamil Nadu for '' Jathi Malli'' and ''

'' * 2006 - Yuvakala Bharathi award - ''Bharath Kalachar'' * 2009 -

Award from

* 2013 -

Asiavision Awards Asiavision Awards have been held annually since 2006 to honor the artistes and technicians of Indian cinema and television & is organized under the leadership of renowned journalist Nissar Syed. More than 40,000 people across United Arab Emirates ...

for Best Supporting Actor * 2013 -

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam The Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Malayalam films. Winners References External links {{DEFAULTSORT:Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor - Ma ...

- Nominated for '' Bavuttiyude Namathil'' * 2017 -

- ''

'' for the song "Chenthar Nermukhi" * 2020 -

- ''

'' (dubbed for

), '' Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham'' (dubbed for

)

Filmography

Films in Malayalam

Others language films

Dubbing

References

External links

Actor Vineeth - Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vineeth 1969 births Living people Bharatanatyam exponents Performers of Indian classical dance Male actors from Kerala People from Thalassery Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male film actors Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 20th-century Indian dancers Indian male dancers 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian dancers 21st-century Indian male actors Dancers from Kerala