Thilakan Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Thilakan (1935-2012) was an Indian actor and a retired army personnel, who worked majorly in the Mollywood films. He acted in over 200 films and many stage plays. Some of his notable characters are in the films Yavanika (1982), Kireedam (1989), Perumthachan (1990), and Ustad Hotel (2012). Thilakan passed away at the age of 77 after suffering a heart attack.

Wiki/Biography

Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan or P. K. Surendranatha Thilakan was born on Monday, 15 July 1935 (aged 77 years; at the time of death) in Ayiroor Village, Travancore, British India ( now Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India). His zodiac sign is Cancer. His school education was at St Louis L. P. School in Mundakayam, CMS High School in Mundakayam and MD Seminary Higher Secondary School in Kottayam. According to him, it was his teacher Mariyakutty was the first to realize his talent. He acted in a drama titled Kittunnathil Pathi written by this teacher for the school’s annual function. His college education was at Sree Narayana College, Kollam. He acted in stage plays during his college years.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Hair Colour: Grey (semi-bald)

Eye Colour: Black

Family & Caste

Thilakan was from a Keralite Hindu family of the Ezhava caste.

Parents & Siblings

Thilakan’s father was Palappurath T. S. Kesavan (1904-1972) was an employee of Travancore Tea and Rubber company in Mundakayam. His mother was P. S. Devayani (1912-2010) a homemaker. According to him, his father was a strict disciplinarian, on whom he loosely based his character Chacko Maash in the film Spadikam. His mother had differences with him regarding his profession of choice and they did not talk with each other for many years. He was the second of six children. He has 4 sisters and one brother, Sasi.

Wife & Children

Thilakan is not known to marry any of his partners. His first partner was actress Santha. His children with Santha are Shaji, Shammi, and Shobi. Shaji Thilakan was an actor and he passed away in 2020, at the age of 56 due to a liver disease.

Shammi and Shobi Thilakan are accomplished dubbing artists and actors. Thilakan’s grandson, Abhimanyu S. Thilakan, is an actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur.

His second partner was his co-artist, Sarojam. Their three children are Shibu, Sofia, and Sonia. Sofia Ajith is a medical professional and Dr. Sonia Thilakan is a dentist.

Relationships/Affairs

In an interview, Thilakan admitted to multiple relations, including his partners, Santha and Sarojam.

Religion/Religious Views

Thilakan was an atheist until his death. He is not known to visit temples unless it was required for his performances. In a column by journalist Shevlin Sebastian, he is quoted,

It is not god which is all-powerful, but our mind.”

At the same time, he acknowledged the mystery behind multiple outstanding performances by various talents.

Signature/Autograph

Career

Early career

After leaving his college education midway, he joined the Indian Army for a brief period. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, his legs were affected in a bad manner. The army doctors decided to amputate his leg, for which they did not require any consent from the patient or his relatives at that time. It so happened, that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the patients at the Army facility, to whom Thilakan requested to make it mandatory to get the patients’ or their relatives’ consent for such surgeries. The rules were amended shortly, and Thilakan’s stint in the Indian army ended.

Theatre

He started a drama troupe called Mundakayam Nataka Samithi with his friends. He also worked with the Kerala People’s Arts Club till 1966. Later, he worked with Kalidasa Kalakendram in Kollam, Changanacherry Geedha, and P. J. Antony’s drama troupe. He considered P. J. Antony, the legendary theatre director, actor, and writer, his mentor. He performed in several plays for All India Radio.

Film

Thilakan made his debut with the film Periyar in 1973, but both the film and the character played by Thilakan went unnoticed. His first lead role was Kallu Varkky in the film Kolangal (1981) directed by K. G. George, which was much acclaimed.

His character as a drama troupe owner Vakkachan in the film Yavanika (1982), won him the Second Best Actor Award at the Kerala State Film Awards. Thilakan’s characters in the films, Ente Mammattukkuttiyammakku (1983), Adaminte Variyellu (1983), Panchavadi Palam (1984), Yathra (1985), Panchagni (1986), and Gandhinagar 2nd Street (1986) were well-received by the audience. In the film, Rithubhedam (1987), Thilakan’s character Naduvancheril Achunni Nair fetched him the Nation Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The character of Reverend Father Panangodan in the film Mrugaya (1989) alongside Mammootty’s Varunni was well accepted by the critics and audience alike. The film won a lot of accolades for its different storyline and presentation.

The character Raman Perumthachan portrayed by Thilakan in the period film Perumthachan (1991), written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, was a milestone in his career. The film was based on the legendary folklore from Kerala, Parayi Petta Panthirukulam. This character won him the Best Actor Award for the Kerala State Film Awards. The film is considered a classic in the Malayalam film industry.

 

The characters Thilakan played in director Sathyan Anthikad’s films are much favoured by the audience. Some of the films of this duo are Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam (1986), Pappan Priyappetta Pappan (1986), Kudumbapuranam (1988), Varavelppu (1989), Sasneham (1990), Sandesham (1991), and Pingami (1994). The character Raghavan Nair, a retired railway station master, in the film Sandesham got wide acceptance and acclaim for Thilakan.

 

The various characters portrayed by Thilakan range from emotional roles in films such as the grandfather in the film Moonnam Pakkam (1988), comedy roles in films such as Nadodikkattu (1987) and Pattanapravesham (1988) to the negative roles in Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal (1986) and Kattukuthira (1990). He acted in Tamil language films, the first among them was Chatriyan (1990).

The only Kannada film he acted in was Mother India (1995). His first Telugu film was Samarasimha Reddy (1999), as the title character’s father Narasimha Reddy. Thilakan and Mohanlal‘s combination is among the audience’s all-time favourites. Some of those films are Kireedam (1989), Manichitrathazhu (1993), Chenkol (1993), Pavithram (1994), Spadikam (1995), and Evidam Swargamanu (2009).

Thilakan, in his last film released, portrayed the character of Kareemikka, the wise and lovable grandfather of the character played by Dulquer Salman in the film Ustad Hotel (2012).

Television

Thilakan appeared in television series during the later years of his career. The series Anveshi and Mannu was aired on Channel DD. The channel Asianet aired the television series Kadamattathu Kathanar, Orma, and Swami Ayyappan. Sree Ayyappanum Vavarum, Madhavam, and Peythozhiyathe were aired on the Surya channel.

Controversy

Differences with the associations FEFKA and AMMA

Thilakan was changed from the film Christian Brothers (2010) reportedly due to the intervention of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), when he already signed for the role. Thilakan publicly protested this issue, for which the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) issued a Show Cause notice. Further, he was replaced in the film Dam 999 (2011). The role offered to Thilakan was later played by Rajit Kapur. ^[1]The Hindu

Awards & Honours

• Thilakan received the Second Best Actor Award at the Kerala State Film Awards six times. They were in 1981 for the film Yavanika, 1985 for the film Yathra, 1986 for the film Panchagni, 1987 for the film Thaniyavarthanam, 1988 for the films Mukthi and Dhwani, and in 1991 for the film Kattathoru Penpoovu.

• In 1987, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Rithubhedam.

• In 1989, he received the Kerala State Special Jury Award for various films.

• He received the Best Actor Award twice at the Kerala State Film Awards for the film Perumthachan in 1990 and for the films Gamanam and Santhanagopalam in 1994.

• In 2001, he received the Asianet Film Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to the Malayalam film industry.

• In 2006, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Filmfare Awards – South for his contributions to the Malayalam film industry.

• In 2007, he was honoured with the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship presented by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Kerala.

• In 2009, Thilakan was honoured with the fourth-highest civilian award in India, Padma Shri.

• In 2010, he received the Bharat Gopy Award instituted by the Manavaseva Welfare Society. ^[2]The Hindu

• In 2011, he won the Best Supporting Actor Male at the Filmfare Awards South for the character in the film Indian Rupee.

• In 2006 and 2012, he received the Special Jury Mention Award at the National Film Awards for the films Eakantham and Ustad Hotel, respectively.
  

  Thilakan at the National Film Awards function

Death

Thilakan suffered from multiple health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease for quite a long time. He was hospitalised in Thrissur on 1 August 2012 after fainting on the set of the film Scene Onnu Nammude Veedu. He was later shifted to KIMSHEALTH Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. He suffered from pneumonia and multiple heart attacks during the hospitalisation period. His death happened on 24 September 2012 after suffering a heart attack. He was cremated with full state honours at Santhi Kavadam Electric Crematorium at Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram. ^[3]BBC

Facts/Trivia

• Thilakan acted in all South Indian languages – Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.

• Thilakan had a liking to drive cars. He used to drive long distances within Kerala for shooting.

• In an interview, Thilakan claimed that the jury for the National Awards favoured his character in the film Perumthachan for the Best Actor Award till the last round. He further claimed that the intervention of a political leader for some political reasons changed the decision in favour of Amitabh Bachchan. ^[4]Rediff

• Thilakan alleged that various roles are diverted from him and offered to actors from the Nair community by a ‘Nair Lobby’ present among the Malayalam actors. According to him, actors from backward caste are not favoured much in the industry. ^[5]The Quint

• He acted as the father of many mainstream actors such as Mohanlal, Mammootty, Kunchacko Boban, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Every role of a father played by Thilakan was much appreciated and accepted by the audience.