Janardhanan (actor)

Janardhanan Pillai (born 5 May 1946), also known as Janardhanan Nair, is an Indian actor, producer and a former Indian Air Force personnel who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. He acted in his first feature film Adyathe Kadha, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan in 1971, he acted in more than 700 films. He started his career when Malayalam films were made in black and white. He is known for his style of handling humour and his iconic voice. He started his career playing brusque villains and sub hero roles in the 1970s and early 1980s, acting along with Prem Nazir and Jayan, but later established himself as a highly sought-after comedian.

The turning point of his career was his role in the 1988 film Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, which brought out his comic skills. However, he was typecast as a comedian only after the 1993 film Meleparambil Aanveedu. Mimicry artists perform with his noted role of Garvasis Aashan in Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995). But along with comic roles, he had done serious roles like D.I.G Marar in Dhruvam and Jayashankar in Mafia. Apart from stereotyped Hindu/Muslim/Christian characters, he has the distinction of portraying a Sikh and a Jewish character.