Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair (2 November 1937 – 29 January 2008), popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer and director. He was one of the first actors to be associated with the

New Wave cinema New Wave may refer to various artistic movements in film, music and literature. These include: Movements in film * The New Wave, French New Wave, or Nouvelle Vague, the inaugural New Wave cinema movement * Australian New Wave * Indian New Wave, ...

movement 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 C ...

during the 1970s. Bharat Gopy has won many awards, including the National Film Award for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

for his role as Sankarankutty in ''

Kodiyettam ''Kodiyettam ''() is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Bharat Gopy in the lead role. Notable smaller roles were played by K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Kuttyedathi Vilasini, Azeez and Ad ...

'' (1977), and hence he got the name Bharath. His well-known roles include Aiyappan in '' Yavanika'', Vasu Menon in ''Palangal'', Prof. "Shakespeare" Krishna Pillai in ''

Kattathe Kilikoodu ''Kattathe Kilikkoodu'' () is a 1983 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Bharathan and written by T. Damodaran from a story by Nedumudi Venu. The film was produced by P. V. Gangadharan and stars Bharat Gopy, Mohanlal, Srividya, ...

'', Dushasana Kurup in '' Panchavadi Palam'', Nandagopal in '' Ormakkayi'', Mammachan in '' Adaminte Vaariyellu'', Shankaran in '' Chidambaram'', and Krishnan Raju in ''Aghaat''. He won four Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actor for various roles. As a filmmaker he is known for ''Ulsavapittennu'' (1989) and '' Yamanam'' (1991). He produced the 1993 film '' Padheyam'' directed by Bharathan. In 1991 the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

honoured him with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

for his contributions towards the arts. In 1994, he authored the book ''Abhinayam Anubhavam'', which won the National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema.

Early life and family

Bharat Gopy was born on 2 November 1937 at Chirayinkeezhu in Thiruvananthapuram District of the state of Kerala as the youngest of four children to Kochuveetil Velayudhan Pillai and Parvathyamma. He completed his BSc. Degree from

University College, Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram (UCT) is a constituent college of the University of Kerala, based primarily in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. The college was awarded 23rd rank by National Institutional Ran ...

. Immediately after his studies, he was employed as Lower Division Clerk in the Kerala Electricity Board. He is married to Jayalakshmy S. V. The couple has a son, writer-actor Murali Gopy, and a daughter, Dr. Minu Gopy.

Career

Stage actor

Gopy began his acting career as a theatre actor at Prasadhana Little Theatres under G. Sankara Pillai. His first stage appearance was in the role of Raaghavan in the play ''Abhayarthikal''. Later on, he became associated with Thiruvarange under Kaavalam Narayana Panicker. He has also written five plays and directed three.

Film actor

Gopy became interested in cinema through the Chitralekha Film Society, founded by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He made his movie debut in Adoor's '' Swayamvaram'' in 1972 in a small role. He did the lead role of Sankarankutty in Adoor's next film, ''

'' (1977), a performance for which he won the National Award for Best Actor.Malayalam actor Bharat Gopy dies at 71- Hindustan Times
/ref> He was also noted for his performances in movies like '' Ormakkayi'', '' Yavanika'', '' Panchavadi Palam'' and '' Adaminte Vaariyellu''. Besides Malayalam movies, he acted in two

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

movies, ''Aaghat'' and ''

Satah Se Uthata Aadmi ''Arising from the Surface'' (Hindi: सतह से उठता आदमी) is a 1980 Indian film directed by Mani Kaul. It was screened in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. This is an essay film grounded i ...

''. Gopy was a film director and producer as well. Gopy was

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in ...

by a stroke on 20 February 1986, at the zenith of his career. He was awarded the

in 1991. In 1979, Gopy directed the movie '' Njattadi'' with Murali in lead role. The movie was only screened twice and the print is now lost. He directed three more movies ''Ulsavapittennu'', '' Yamanam'' and ''Ente Hridhayathinte Utama''. His '' Yamanam'', about a physically disabled person, was awarded Best Film on social issues by the National Award Jury in 1991. On 24 January 2008, Gopy was hospitalised with chest pain. He died five days later following a cardiac arrest. His last role was in Balachandra Menon's '' De Ingottu Nokkiye'' (2008).

Author

Gopy authored two books. His book ''Abhinayam Anubhavam'' (Acting, Experience), won the National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema in 1994. In 2003, ''Nataka Niyogam'', his book on drama won the Kerala State Drama Awards for Best Book on Drama.

Filmography

Actor

Director

Producer

Awards

International awards and honours

* Special Jury Award at the Asia Pacific International Film Festival, Tokyo (1985) * A five-film retrospective of his films was held in Paris, France by the Government of France (1985). The only other Indian actors to be awarded this honour are Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan

Civilian awards

– 1991

National Film Awards

– ''

'' – 1977 * Best Film on Other Social Issues – '' Yamanam'' – 1991 * Best Book on Cinema – ''Abhinayam Anubhavam'' – 1995

V. Shantaram Award

* Best Film Award – '' Padheyam'' – 1993 (as producer)

Kerala State Film Awards

– ''

'' – 1977 *

– '' Ormakkayi'' – 1982 *

– '' Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku'', ''Eenam'', ''Ettillam'', ''

'' – 1983 *

– '' Chidambaram'' – 1985

Filmfare Awards

* 1982 –

– '' Ormakkayi'' * 1983 - Best Actor - '' Kattathe Kilikkoodu''

Other awards

* Four critics awards * Two Gulf Malayali association awards

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040405/http://en.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?category=actors&artist=Bharath%20Gopy&limit=74 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopy, Bharath