Jayaram

Before Padmarajan cast him, Jayaram was a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan troupe in Kochi. Born Jayaram Subramaniam on 10 December 1964 in Perumbavoor, he graduated from Sree Sankara College, Kalady, and worked for a while as a medical representative. Padmarajan gave him the lead in Aparan (1988) and stayed his mentor through Moonnam Pakkam and Innale. Malayalam has been his main language, with Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and Sanskrit films along the way. He also plays the chenda, which he learned under Pallassana Nandakumar, and sings now and then. Through the 1990s he led a long line of family dramas and comedies, Sandhesam, Georgootty C/O Georgootty, CID Unnikrishnan B.A., B.Ed., Aniyan Bava Chetan Bava and Summer in Bethlehem among them. Rajasenan's Meleparambil Aanveedu (1993) made him a star. The Tamil film Thenali (2000) won him five Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In Kerala he took the State Special Jury Award for Thooval Kottaram and the Second Best Actor award for Swayamvara Panthal, and he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Thooval Kottaram, Theerthadanam and Manassinakkare. His filmography runs past 200 titles, and the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2011. Away from cinema, he recently led the Pavizhamallithara melam at Chottanikkara for the 13th time.