Salim Kumar
Salim Kumar receiving Kerala State Film Award in 2011
Born	(1969-10-10)10 October 1969 (age 56) Chittatukara,North Paravur,Kerala, India
Occupations	Actor director
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Sunitha
Children	2, includingChandu Salim Kumar
Awards	National Film Awards (2010) Kerala State Film Awards (2005, 2010, 2013, 2016) Filmfare Awards South (2011)

Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer inMalayalam cinema.^[1] Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Malayalam cinema.^[2]

In his later career, Salim Kumar also found success in playing character roles and won theNational Film Award for Best Actor in 2010 for his role inAdaminte Makan Abu (which also won the year'sKerala State Film Award). His directorial filmKarutha Joothan won the 2017Kerala State Film Award for Best Story. He has also won theKerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor forAchanurangatha Veedu (2005) and aKerala State Television Award for Best Actor (2013).^[3]

Salim Kumar was born on 10 October 1969 inNorth Paravur, as the youngest son of Gangadharan and Kausalya. He once told an interviewer that his father was anatheist and a follower of the veteran social reformerSahodaran Ayyappan, who was also from North Paravur, and so named his son Salim Kumar to avoid religious associations.

Kumar attended the Govt. Lower Primary School, Chittattukara North Paravur; went to high school at the Govt. Boys High School, North Paravur; and completed his pre-degree education at Sree Narayana Mangalam College Malyankara, Moothakunnam. He wanted to become a singer at a young age but later took upMimicry. He graduated with aBA fromMaharajas College,Ernakulam where he won the university's Mimicry title thrice. He started his stage career atKalabhavan. He was also a performer inComicola, a comedy program onAsianet. For about four years, he was associated with professional drama in Arathi Theatres,Kochi.

Before entering into Malayalam film industry, Salim Kumar was chosen as host for a comedy programme calledComicola broadcast onAsianet. He made his debut in Malayalam cinema with the 1997 family dramaIshtamanu Nooru Vattam, directed by Siddique Shameer.^[4] After doing some minor roles in numerous movies,Sibi Malayil offered Salim Kumar a role in his movieNee Varuvolam. However he was sent back from the location by the production controller by saying that his acting was not right. He was later replaced byIndrans to do the role.^[5] He was later noted for his performance in the movieSatyameva Jayathe, which was released in 2000. After getting impressed with his performance in Satyameva Jayathe, directorRafi Meccartin offered Salim a role in his movieThenkasipattanam, which was a major breakthrough in his film career. It was one of the highest grossing movie of 2000.^[6] In the movieOne Man Show, he played the memorable role of a patient escaped from mental hospital. Salim Kumar then found success while acting along withDileep. In some movies, the duo is joined byHarishree Ashokan. In the 2001slapstick comedy movieEe Parakkum Thalika, he played the role of cookKoshi while in the 2002cult comedy movieMeesa Madhavan, he did the role ofAdvocate Mukundan Unni.^[7] He is also remembered for his performances alongsideCochin Haneefa inMazhathullikkilukkam andKunjikkoonan. In the movieKalyanaraman, Salim Kumar played the role ofPyaari, which is considered one of the finest comedy performance in his career.^[8] He played one of the lead roles in the 2002 slapstick comedy filmBamboo Boys alongsideKalabhavan Mani, Cochin Haneefa and Harishree Ashokan.

Salim Kumar probably played some of the most memorable comedy roles in his career in 2003. He played the character of a psychic mental patient in the classic cult movieC.I.D. Moosa. His role asOmanakkuttan inThilakkam,Usman inKilichundan Mampazham alongsideMohanlal andS.I. Gabbar Keshavan inPattalam which starredMammootty were memorable ones.^[9] It was in the romantic-comedy moviePulival Kalyanam that Salim Kumar played the most memorable character in his career. Most of the critics acclaims this character calledManavalan as the best comedy character played by Salim Kumar. The many expressions of Manavalan, including his helpless face, his coy smile and act as a rich man smoking pipe later developed acult following in Kerala troll community and are widely used in memes.^[10][11]

AlongsideJayasurya, Salim Kumar's other famous role isDance Master Vikram in the movieChathikkatha Chandu (2004). One of the other popular character played by Salim Kumar came out in the 2007Mammootty movieMayavi. His character calledKannan Srank/Ashan has been widely used in Malayalam memes.^[12]

Salim Kumar's potential to do the character roles were revealed in 2004, after receiving critical acclaim for his role in theKamal moviePerumazhakkalam. Though slightly comedic, the role was realistic, allowing him to display different acting skills. His role as the father inAchanurangatha Veedu (2005), directed byLal Jose, was a major break in his acting career, when he was able to shrug off the usual idiot-fool-illiterate comedic roles for which he seemed destined. The role won him theKerala State Film Awards for Second Best Actor. He was then declared the winner of theNational Award for Best Actor for his performance inAdaminte Makan Abu in 2010.^[13]

Some of his other popular roles wereRaajakkannu inThommanum Makkalum,Umakandan inPandippada,Chidhambaram inHallo,Naranimangalam Narayanan inRomeo,Inspector Shyamalan inAnnan Thampi andMaakri Gopalan inChattambinaadu.

Salim Kumar appeared in a hip-hop number inVineeth Srinivasan's album "Coffee @MG Road - Palavattam" (2008). It was an instant hit and developed a cult following.^[14]

Salim Kumar later ventured into direction, directing documentaries^[15] and feature-length dramas that were well received by critics.^[15]Karutha Joothan (2017), which is written and directed by Salim Kumar won the award for theBest Story at the47th Kerala State Film Awards.^[16] His next directorial effort wasDaivame Kaithozham K. Kumar Akanam (2018), starringJayaram in the lead role.^[17]

Kumar lives in North Paravur-Ernakulam District, in a house called "Laughing Villa". He and his wife Sunitha have two sons, Chandu and Aaromal.^[18] He is a member ofIndian National Congress in Kerala. He has written a memoir calledIshwara Vazhakkillello.He conducts a mimicry troupe,Cochin Stallions, which introduced cine-serial actorRamesh Pisharody and many other talents.^[19] His son Chandu acted in the filmManjummel Boys.^[20]

• Ohm Shanthi Oshaana - Narrator^[34]
• Utopiayile Rajavu - Voice for Kakka(Voice For Crow)
• Alamara - Voice for Alamara (Voice For Wooden Wardrobe)
• Keshu Ee Veedinte Nadhan - narrator
• Mukundan Unni Associates - Voice for Mukundan's grandfather

• 2005:Sathyan Award -Achanurangatha Veedu
• 2005:Bharathan Award -Achanurangatha Veedu
• 2010:Jaihind TV Film Award for Best Actor -Adaminte Makan Abu
• 2010:Amrita-FEFKA Film Award's Special Jury Award -Adaminte Makan Abu
• 2011:Prem Nazir Award
• 2012: Best Actor forAdaminte Makan Abu at Imagine India International Film Festival

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSalim Kumar.

• Salim Kumar atIMDb
• Salim Kumar Official Website
• Salim Kumar at MSI
• Palavattam Hip-Hop single featuring Salim Kumar

• Male actors from Kochi
• Living people
• Kerala State Film Award winners
• 1969 births
• Best Actor National Film Award winners
• Male actors in Malayalam cinema
• Indian male film actors
• Maharaja's College, Ernakulam alumni
• 21st-century Indian male actors
• People from Ernakulam district
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• Indian male comedians
• Male actors in Malayalam television
• Indian male television actors

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