O. Madhavan Biography 
O. Madhavan is a theater artist, playwright, politician and film actor. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India in Kerala and known as a prominent figure of Malayalam Theater who has been associated with Malayalam theatre for 4 long decades. He is also the founder of Kalidasa Kala Kendram Theater, one of the well-established theater companies of Kerala. He received Kerala state film awards for best actor for his role in the film Sayahnam in the year 2000. Noted Malayalam actor Mukesh Babu is his son. He was married to Vijayakumari and the couple had two more daughters. He has acted only in a few movies and dedicated his whole life to the world of theatre.
He was born in Kollam in 1922. During his college days, he was an activist of Students' Federation at S. N. College, Kollam. He was one among the earliest stage actors of Kerala who brought ‘Bhavabhinaya’ to Malayalam soil. He started his acting career too, as a Communist leader, where he enacted the role of a landlord, Paramu Pillai. Throughout his career, he has been associated with communist party and in his last movie too, he played the role of a Communist. He and his plays have played a significant role in the establishment of communist movement in Kerala. The movie, Sayahnam released in 2000 gave him state award for best actor. Through this movie he portrayed the agonies of a communist leader in his old ages. He was one of the founding members of Communist Party of India in Kerala too.
He seldom lost the `common touch' even after attaining celebrity status. He also served as Panchayat president of Vadakkevila for 18 years. A theatre studio is to be started in his hometown Kollam in memory of this renowned theater artist. A statue of O. Madhavan was unveiled at Kappalandimukku Junction in Kollam in 2012 by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. His theater activities have catalyzed freedom movement in Kerala. He passed away at the age of 81.
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Updated: June 02, 2014
