Kunchacko Boban
Kunchacko Boban in 2008
Born	(1976-11-02)2 November 1976 (age 49)[1] Alappuzha,Kerala, India
Other names	Chackochan[2] Youth Icon
Alma mater	St. Berchmans College,Changanassery Sanatana Dharma College,Alappuzha (BCom)
Occupations	Actor producer businessman
Years active	1981 (child artist); 1997–present
Works	Full list
Spouse	Priya Ann Samuel ​ (m. 2005)​
Children	1
Father	Boban Kunchacko
Relatives	Kunchacko (grandfather) Jijo Punnoose (uncle) Navodaya Appachan (granduncle)
Family	SeeKunchacko family

Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in theMalayalam film industry.^[3] He is referred to asChackochan, and during the early 2000s, he was called "chocolate boy" because of his romantic image.^[4][5] He has acted in more than 100 films in more than two decades. He is a member of theKunchacko family.^[6]

Kunchacko's debut was as a child in the filmDhanya (1981) produced by his fatherBoban Kunchacko.^[7][8] He debuted as an adult leading role inFazil's 1997 romantic dramaAniyathipraavu oppositeShalini, which became thehighest-grossing Malayalam film till that point, establishing him as a bankable actor overnight.^[9][10][11] He appeared in a brief role inHarikrishnans (1998) starringMohanlal andMammootty, which was the top Malayalam box office grosser of the year. Kunchacko and Shalini joined again in the successful romantic filmsNakshatratharattu (1998),Niram (1999) andPrem Poojari (1999).^[12]Niram (2000) emerged one of the highest-grossing films of the year, spawning several remakes. By then he had created a "romantic hero" image in Malayalam cinema, nevertheless, he also had success in other genres, as a villager in thecomedyNarendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001) and as a son to a debt-ridden family in the dramaKasthooriman (2003). His career took a setback after few box office failures during the mid-2000s. He took a break from films in 2006 and moved on to business.

Post a hiatus of three years he returned to films with the 2009 comedyGulumal: The Escape, a commercial success.^[13] After his comeback, Kunchacko completely changed his romantic hero image and he proved his versatility as an actor by doing various different roles.^[14] He regained his stardom with commercially successful films and reestablished himself as one of the popular lead actors ofMalayalam cinema.^[15] His roles in critically and commercially acclaimed films likeTraffic (2011),How Old AreYou? (2014),Take Off (2017),Vettah (2016),Virus (2019),Anjaam Pathiraa (2020),Nayattu (2021),Pada (2022),Nna Thaan Case Kodu (2022),2018 (2023),Bougainvillea (2024) andOfficer on Duty (2025) were widely appreciated. He won theKerala State Film Award for his performance in the satire,Nna Thaan Case Kodu and the ensemble survival thriller2018 (2023) became the highest grossing Malayalam film up to that point. He is also known for his dancing skills.^[16]

In 2016, Kunchacko produced the comedy drama filmKochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho throughUdaya Studios, in the process of reviving the studio after a 30-year hiatus.^[17] He also launched another production house, Kunchacko Boban Productions, debuting with the Mahesh Narayanan directorial,Ariyippu (2022), which premiered in theConcorso internazionale of the75th Locarno Film Festival on 4 August 2022, where it was nominated forGolden Leopard.^[18]

Kunchacko Boban (also known as Chackochan) was born in aSyro Malabar Catholic family inAlappuzha, Kerala. He hails from the Maliampurakal family, which is credited with owning the first film studio in Kerala,Udaya Studios,^[19] considered the ancestral home of the Malayalam film industry. His great-grandfather, M. M. Chacko, started the first boat service in Kuttanadu.

He was named after his grandfather who is the legendary film producerKunchacko, who established Udaya Studios. He is the grandnephew ofNavodaya Appachan ofNavodaya Studios. His fatherBoban Kunchako is the cousin ofJijo Punnose, also a film director.^[19]

His father,Boban Kunchacko, was also an actor, director, and producer who was part of a few films produced by Udaya. Kunchacko's mother Molly is a housewife and he has two younger sisters, Anu and Minu.^[19] He completed his pre-degree inSB College Changanacherry in 1996

He graduated with first-class inB.Com fromSanatana Dharma College in 1997.^[20] Being a sports enthusiast, he plays various games like cricket, table tennis, basketball and badminton, with badminton being the one he is best at. He trained inBharatanatyam in his childhood.^[21]

Kunchacko Boban married his fan-turned long-term sweetheart, Priya Ann Samuel, on April 2, 2005, at Little Flower Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Ernakulam.^[22][23] They became parents to Izahaak Boban Kunchacko, on April 16, 2019.^[24][25] His son's baptism took place on 30 June 2019 and the event was attended by prominent personalities of the Malayalam film industry.^[26]

Kunchacko Boban was introduced into the Malayalam film industry by versatile directorFazil. His debut film,Aniathipravu (1997), co-starringShalini, and directed by Fazil,^[27] turned out to bethe highest-grossing Malayalam film ever and Kunchacko Boban's performance as Sudhi, the lead character was well received by young audiences and families. The Kunchacko Boban - Shalini pair was considered one of the best star pairs of the Malayalam film industry.|^[28]

Following the success ofAniathipravu, Kunchacko Boban was cast in hit films such asNakshathrathaarattu (1998),Mayilpeelikkavu (1998) andNiram (1999), which was among 1999'shighest-grossing Malayalam films and songs of "Niram" are still very popular.^{[citation needed]} The actor reunited with his debut film's director Fazil inHarikrishnans, where he played a cameo, which marked the reunion ofMohanlal andMammootty after eight years and it wasthe highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.|^[29] Then he appeared in commercially successful films such asPriyam (2000),Sathyam Sivam Sundaram (2000),Dosth (2001),Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001) andKalyanaraman (2002).

In 2005, after his marriage, he took a break from films.

Kunchacko Boban returned to films in 2008 with a special appearance in a song inTwenty:20 and later acted inShafi'sLollyPop. His real comeback was in 2009 with comedy filmGulumal: The Escape, directed by popular ad filmmaker and directorV. K. Prakash.Gulumal was followed by a string of successful films which established him as one of the most successful actors of the last decade and he made a complete makeover of his screen image in his comeback.

In 2010 he played the lead role in the films such asJeethu Joseph'sMummy & Me,Sakudumbam Shyamala andLal Jose'sElsamma Enna Aankutty, all of which were commercial successes and reviewers praised Kunchacko Boban for his performance inElsamma Enna Aankutty.^[30]

In 2011, he played the central character in the road thriller filmTraffic. The film's success and wide critical acclaim ushered in a trend that followed in Malayalam cinema, dubbed theNew generation movies. This was followed by another filmSeniors where for the first time he took on a negative role playing a criminal, which was commercial success at the box office^[31] and he wonSIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role - Malayalam. In the same year he acted again in films likeThree Kings,Sevens andDoctor Love.^[32] He also won the Youth Icon award atAsianet Film Awards.

In 2012, he was featured in three films,Lal Jose'sSpanish Masala,Ordinary andMallu Singh. InSpanish Masala he played a full-length negative role which hadDileep as main lead.Ordinary had a high opening at the Kerala box office and had 10,000 showings in theatres before reaching the 50-day mark.^[33]Mallu Singh is credited as 50th film of Kunchacko Boban.^[34]Ordinary andMallu Singh both films became major commercial success at the box office.^[35]

His started 2013 with comedy thrillerRomans, which was a blockbuster at the box office and later,3 Dots,God for Sale: Bhakthi Prasthanam,^[36]Kadhaveedu,Vishudhan, andPullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum, a commercial success.^[37]

Kunchacko Boban also gained critical acclaim for his performance, in films such asGod for Sale: Bhakthi Prasthanam (2013),Vishudhan (2013),Kadhaveedu (2013),How Old Are You (2014),Madhura Naranga (2015),Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal (2015) andVettah (2016).

He was also a part ofValiya Chirakulla Pakshikal, directed by Dr. Biju, was an eye-opener on how the use ofendosulfan affected Northern Kerala villages.^[38] The film was screened at the United Nations and was also selected for many world-famous film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, and International Film Festival of India.Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal earned the national award for Best Film made on environmental preservation.^[39]

In 2016, Kunchacko revamped Udaya Pictures, the iconic Malayalam production house.Kochauvva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho marked his debut as a producer under this new film outfit.

The year 2017 saw three films,Take Off,Ramante Eden Thottam andVarnyathil Aashanka, earned him numerous accolades as a mature and versatile actor.^[40]Take Off was produced in memory of the late directorRajesh Pillai and earned several awards in State, National and International competitions.^[41][42]The characters of these films earned him the Family Hero award at theVanitha Film Awards and Best Actor critics award at theAsianet Film Awards.^[43] The film also happened to release on the 20th anniversary of his film debutAniyathipravu.

He began 2018 with back-to-back successful films,Shikkari Shambhu,Kuttanadan Marpappa andPanchavarnathatha.^[44] His next two releases wereMangalyam Thanthunanena andJohny Johny Yes Appa. His final release of the year wasLal Jose'sThattumpurath Achuthan.^[45]

His releases of 2019 were comedy-thrillerAllu Ramendran and a medical thrillerVirus. Allu Ramendran met with a positive response and was a commercial success.Virus received critical acclaim and was a major box office success of 2019. His performance in both films was highly praised. His first release of 2020 was crime thrillerAnjaam Pathiraa, in which he played the central character, Anwar Hussain. The film received highly positive reviews and becomes the first blockbuster film of 2020 in Malayalam Film Industry. The film considered the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year grossed ₹50 crores worldwide^[46] and also the highest TRP rated Malayalam film of the year across all channels as well asSurya Tv's all-time biggest TRP rated film ever.

He started 2021 with three movies.Nayattu,^[47] which was released in theatres on 8 April, was critically acclaimed for showing the truth of the political circus. The movie was later released on Netflix.^[48]The other two,Nizhal^[49] andMohan Kumar Fans, were also released in theatres.'Mohan Kumar Fans' was praised for their effective blend of satire and emotional drama.^[50] He ended 2021 withBheemante Vazhi, which saw a theatre release on 3 December 2021.^[51] After four weeks of theatrical run, the film was released inAmazon Prime Video on 30 December 2021.^[52][53]

He started 2022 with political social-thriller filmPada and starred inAriyippu andNna Thaan Case Kodu later that year. All three films opened to highly positive reviews.^[54][55][56] Kunchako was a part of the multistarrer2018 (2023) based on the2018 Kerala floods.^[57]

Besides films and business, Kunchacko supportsocial causes. In 2014 Kunchacko Boban, launched Celebrity Cricket Club (C3). He is the chairman of the organisation C3, and a group of celebrities came together to pledge their time and effort for charity initiative. The club stands for cricket, charity and comradeship.^[58]

In 2015, he opened Al Fasht Medical Centre inSharjah, a medical centre providing comparatively low-cost health care forchild behaviour,autism, and adultpsychiatry.^[59][60][61]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKunchacko Boban.

• Kunchacko Boban atIMDb

• Living people
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• Male actors in Malayalam cinema
• Indian male film actors
• Malayalam film producers
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• Syro-Malabar Catholics
• Kerala State Film Award winners
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• 21st-century Indian male actors
• People from Alappuzha district
• Indian Christians
• 1976 births
• Kerala Film Critics Awards winners
• Artists from Kerala

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