Madhu (actor)

Madhavan Nair (Malayalam: മധു, മാധവന്‍ നായര്‍), commonly known by his stage name Madhu, is an actor in Malayalam cinema. He was a prominent lead actor during the 1960s and 1970s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time he owned Uma film studio. He was awarded with Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013. He won four Filmfare Awards for his entire acting career.

Personal life

He was born on 23 September 1933 at Gourishapattom, Trivandrum. His father, R. Parameswaran Pillai, was the Mayor of Trivandrum and his mother Kamalamma was a housewife. He has four sisters. He had his primary education from L.P School, Kunnukuzhi, Thiruvananthapuram. He did pre university degree from MG College and pursued Bachelors in Arts in Hindi from University college, Thiruvananthapuram. He post graduated in Hindi from Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

He is married to Jayalakshmi and they have a daughter Uma.

Career

He started his career as a Hindi lecturer in S T Hindu College, Nagercoil. During that time he chanced upon the a newspaper advertisement inviting applications for the National School of Drama Course. While studying at NSD, he became acquainted with Ramu Karyat, who offered him a role in his forthcoming film Moodupadam. After completing the course, Madhu went to Chennai to screen test for Karyat's film. While there, in 1963, he was offered a role in N N Pisharody's film, Ninamaninja Kalpadukal and this became his debut.