Veteran Mollywood actor and National Award-winner Nedumudi Venu passes away at 73

Mollywood actor Nedumudi Venu passed away today at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. The veteran actor, who was 73, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital after complaining of extreme fatigue and uneasiness. 

Venu, who has acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, was one of the most prolific character actors in Malayalam having won the National Award thrice for movies such as His Highness Abdullah, Margam and Minukku. He was also awarded six Kerala State Film Awards, including the Best Actor for Vidaparyum Munpe, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam and Margam. 

The actor, who was active in the theatre circuit and was a member of Kavalam Narayana Panicker’s drama troupe, made his debut in 1978 with G Aravindan’s Thambu and went on to create a mark for himself in several landmark movies in Malayalam including Padamarajan’s Oridathoru Phayalwan and Kallan Pavithran. 

Venu’s ability to play all kinds of roles – be it comedy in Priyadarshan’s Poochakkoru Mookkuthi or emotional roles in movies such as Thanmatra and North 24 Kaatham – made him one of the best actors from the industry and was also the reason why he was the go-to artiste for several renowned filmmakers in Malayalam including KG George, Padmarajan, Aravindan, Priyadarshan and Fazil. 

Noted for playing the elder brother or the patriarch of the family, Venu aced his roles in movies such as Bharatham and Thanmathra. He has been constant presence in different eras of the film industry working with stalwarts such as Mohanlal, Mammootty, Jayaram and Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali and Prithviraj Sukumaran. 

The actor was last seen in the Netflix anthology Navarasa, in which he had starred in Priyadarshan’s segment Summer of ’92. He was also part of the anthology Aanum Pennum, co-starring with Kaviyoor Ponnamma in the segment Rani directed by Aashiq Abu, and Yuvam – both of which released in theatres and are currently available on OTTs. 

The veteran actor’s upcoming movies include Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham which has him teaming up once again with Priyadarshan and Mohanlal. He will also be seen in Shankar’s big budget sequel of Indian, which has Kamal Haasan reprising his role as Senapathy. 

Also read: Nedumudi Venu hospitalised in Thiruvananthapuram, condition critical, according to medical reports