K Venugopal, Brighty Balachandran or Gopalakrishnan may be popular actors in Malayalam cinema but are not known names. Changing names for the sake of belief, fashion or convenience has been much in vogue since ages. Even evergreen Malayalm hero Prem Nazir had his stage name for the rest of his life and mentioning him as Abdul Khader, his real name, would naturally be an unlikely choice.
And, of course one may find it hard to identify Krishnan Nair until it's is revealed to be the real name of none other than Malayalam's macho icon Jayan. Similarly, Mannuel Sathyanesan Nadar (Sathyan) and Saraswathi Devi (Sarada) are also names of yesteryear actors, which were rarely attached to the them in the public domain.
Here is a list of real but unknown names of ten popular film personalities:
K Surendran
That is Indrans, the popular actor who has proved his mettle in all sorts of roles though widely known for his comic capers. He debuted in the film Choothattam as a costume designer and as an actor. His brand of comedy, which is in sync with the spawning commercial entertainers of the late 90s and 2000s was well received by Malayalee audience. With more than 200 films to his credit, Indrans is still going strong exploring myriad hues of his acting prowess.
Sudheer Kumar
Actor-producer Maniyanpilla Raju assumed the name of the character he played in the 1981 film Maniyanpilla Adhava Maniyanpilla, directed by Balachandra Menon. His debut movie is Mohiniyattam, directed by Sreekumaran Thampi, which was released in 1976.
Maheshwari Amma
Best known as KPAC Lalitha, her first movie was the film adaptation of the play 'Koottukudumbam' directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. She was later bestowed with the screen name Lalitha. She had joined Kerala People's Arts Club during her formative years of stage plays. This came in handy while a tag was needed to distinguish her from another actress named Lalitha. KPAC Lalitha has won the national award for best supporting actress twice and the state award for the same category four times.
Brighty Balachandran
Mythili, after her debut in Ranjith's Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha released in 2008, saw a consistent rise in the ladder of her acting career. Kerala Cafe, Shikkar, Salt N' Pepper, Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty, Njaan are some of her prominent films.
Karthika Menon
Bhavana caught wide attention through her stunning performance in her debut film Nammal directed by Kamal. She was just a class XI student when the film was released in 2002. She has acted in more than 75 films winning several awards and laurels; prominent among them being the state awards - Special Jury Award for Best Actress for Nammal and second best actress - Daivanamathil released in 2005.
Gopalakrishnan
Dileep, the medium-built average persona is known for his talent and ability to carry himself perfectly well before the audience. He won state awards for best actor for his performance in the film Vellaripravinte Changathi released in 2011. As producer, his film Kathavaseshan released in 2004 had bagged the best film award. He had also won two state special jury awards for films Chandupottu and Kunjikoonan.
Girly Anto
Gopika was at the peak of her fame and success when she withdrew from active film career following her marriage with Ajilesh Chacko, a doctor working in Northern Ireland. She rose to fame through her performance in the film Autograph (2004), directed by Cheran. Her first film was Pranayamanithooval released in 2003. She later became quite an household name following a slew of family entertainers, including Mayavi, Pothan Vava, Veruthe Oru Bharya, Bharya Athra Pora and so on. She has appeared in over 35 films spanning Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages and almost all of them were well-noticed.
K Venugopal
Nedumudi Venu is considered as versatility personified. He embarked on film career with the film Thambu directed by G. Aravindan. He then went on to carve a niche for himself through films by veterans such as Padmarajan, Bharathan and so on. He won national awards thrice - best supporting actor for the film His Highness Abdullah (1990), special jury award for the film Margam (2003) and best non-feature film narration for the film Minukku. He has won seven state awards too, including three best actor awards.
Shanthakumari
Seema, born in Chennai to Keralite parents, made her entry into films in her late teens with the movie Avalude Ravukal directed by I.V. Sasi. A style icon of her times, Seema ushered in some revolutionary changes in sartorial designs for female characters in films back in seventies and eighties. Though she took intermittent breaks from films, Seema has close to 200 films to her credit and is still active in cinema and serials.
MP Michael
Lal, of the famed Siddique-Lal duo that dished out several blockbusters, started his career in show business as a mimicry artist. Later, the two decided to part ways with Lal turning to film production and acting and Siddique sticking to direction. Lal's portrayal of the character Painiyan in Jayaraj's Suresh Gopi starrer Kalaiyattam was a benchmark in his acting career. The gifted artist went on to don several prominent characters in so many films over the years.
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