Veteran Mollywood actor Unnikrishnan Namboothiri breathed his last on Wednesday at Kannur. The Kalyanaraman actor was 98.
Unnikrishnan was tested positive for Covid 19 and was receiving treated at a private hospital. He was discharged on Tuesday after he was tested negative but his health condition deteriorated on reaching home. He was again immediately rushed to the hospital where he passed away.
Unnikrishnan started his acting career with Desadanam in 1996. However, he became popular after the film Kalyanaraman was released in 2002 where he played the role of a witty grandfather. He is also known for his role in Kamal Haasan’s comedy drama Pammal K Sambandam (2002).
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his condolence and wrote on Facebook: “Unnikrishnan Namboothiri was an actor who excelled in expressive acting. He was known to be a distinct personality in the field of cinema for his age-old interest and confidence for the same. A fellow leftist, he had closely associated with the CPI (M). His demise is a great loss to the artist fraternity. This is a personal loss for me as well. The gap left by his death in the cultural space, cannot be easily filled.”
Director Rajiv Menon took to Twitter to post, “RIP #UnnikrishnanNamboothiri, brought the Uyee Uyee thaatha of #kandukondainkandukondain to life and made it one of the most loved grandfather character in Tamil cinema ! We will miss your mischievous eyes which could turn into despair Ina flash.”
Unnikrishnan Namboothiri was known for his deep understanding of cinema and his versatile acting. A native of Payyanur, Unnikrishnan is survived by two sons Bhavadasan and PV Kunjikrishnan and two daughters Devi and Yamuna.
