Thiruvananthapuram: Malayalam movie star Oduvil Unnikrishnan, who enthralled film-goers for decades with a number of memorable performances, passed away early last morning at a private hospital in Kozhikode.
He was 62. The funeral will take place today. He had been ailing for the past few years owing to kidney-related problems, though he had continued acting until some months ago.
Rasathantram was his last movie. Born into the Ankakkadu Oduvil family in Wadakkancherry as the seventh and youngest child of Krishna Menon and Parukutty Amma, Oduvil Unnikrishnan began his acting career with performances on stage before hitting it big in filmdom. He acted in plays during his stint with the Kerala People's Arts Club and debuted in P.N. Menon's film Darsanam. Oduvil, as he came to be known among Malayalam movie fans, got noticed in the film fraternity with his role in Ponmuttayidunna Thaaraavu.
Memorable movies
Oduvil has had a string of memorable movies in Malayalam, including Achuvinte Amma, Aaaraam Thamburan, Nizhalkutthu, Sarapanjaram and Oru Cheru Punchiri.
In all, he had acted in about 200 films and was awarded the state government's award for the best actor for his role in Nizhalkuthu.
In Nizhalkuthu, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Oduvil played the role of a hangman and his characterisation of the emotional stresses that a hangman endures won him wide applause from audiences as well as the award from the state government for best actor.
On two other occasions Oduvil had bagged the award for the best character actor, in 1995 for his role in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Katha Purushan and the following year for his performance in Thooval Kottaram.
All leading film stars in the state, including Mohanlal, Sukumari and Sheela joined the entire film fraternity in offering condolences to Oduvil's family members.
