Wednesday, November 19, 2008

M. N. Nambiar - The 'original villain' dies

M. N. Nambiar – The 'original villain' dies

[Wednesday, November 19, 2008]


The man who terrified audiences for decades playing die-hard baddie roles on the silver screen passed away on the 19th of November after a brief illness. He was 89. Manjeri Narayan Nambiar played powerful villain roles in MGR films and skyrocketed himself to a position most actors would envy.

In real life though M. N. Nambiar was known to be a kind hearted and deeply religious person frequently undertaking pilgrimages to Sabarimala.

Born on the 7th of March 1919 in Kannur, Kerala, the acting bug had bitten him when he was 13 years old. He joined various Drama Troupes and eventually landed in 'Boy's Company' in Tamilnadu.

Known to be a man with limited needs M. N. Nambiar's initial remuneration was Rs. 3. He used to keep Re. 1 for himself and send Rs. 2 to his mother. Gradually he graduated to acting in films and went on to become a trendsetting villain on the silver screen.

M. N. Nambiar rocked audiences playing negative roles in 'Aayirathil Oruvan' that starred MGR, `Ambikapathi' with Sivaji Ganesan and scores of other films.

Even after his hey days with MGR and Sivaji had ended, he continued acting and is credited to having acted with seven generations of actors.