Oduvil Unnikrishnan dead

KOZHIKODE: Malayalam actor Oduvil Unnikrishnan died this morning at a private hospital here. He had been ailing for a while.

Lovingly called Unniettan by members of the Kerala film fraternity, Oduvil, 62, is survived by his wife and two children.

He will be cremated tomorrow at Pambady Aivar Madom near his hometown.

His last film Rasathanthram, starring superstar Mohanlal and directed by his close friend Sathyan Anthikad, is currently running to packed houses in the state.

Starting his career as a theatre artist in the late 1960s, he went on to grace Malayalam films for nearly three decades, acting in more than 100 films.

Oduvil won the hearts of cine-goers through his subtle style of acting and his impressive dialogue delivery. A highly respected figure, he was known for his simplicity.

He was awarded the Kerala state award for his brilliant portrayal of the character Kaliappan in director Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s award winning film Nizhalkuthu in 2002.

“His demise is certainly an irreparable loss to the entire film industry here. His acting in my film Nizhalkuthu as an executioner was simply superb. He was a great actor,” said Adoor.

Mohanlal, who acted with the departed actor for the last time in Rasathanthram, said he was loved by one and all because of his pleasing manners.

“There is no need to say that he was a great actor. He was one who portrayed all the characters with a lot of subtlety. He will certainly be missed by all,” said Mohanlal.