Murali
Born	Muraleedharan Pillai (1954-05-25)25 May 1954 Kudavattoor,State of Travancore-Cochin (present dayKollam,Kerala), India
Died	6 August 2009(2009-08-06) (aged 55) Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986 – 2009
Spouse	Mini
Children	1

Muraleedharan Pillai, popularly known asMurali (25 May 1954 – 6 August 2009), was an Indian film, stage and television actor and author. He mainly appeared inMalayalam films and a fewTamil films. He won theNational Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Appa Mestry, acommunist freedom fighter and professional weaver, in the 2002 filmNeythukaran. He was known for his powerful portrayal of character roles, lead roles and negative roles, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors inMalayalam cinema.^[1][2]

Murali started his film career playing villain roles and soon turned to character acting. He played the leading role in the 1992 filmAadhaaram, which gave a "break" to his career.^[3] The film was well received at the box office and Murali ascended to the status of a star in Malayalam cinema, which he enjoyed for a few years during the 1990s.Besides acting, he was the chairman of theKerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy from 2006 until his death. He also authored five books, and was also a Sangeetha Nataka Academy award winner. He contested at the1999 Lok Sabha polls as acommunist candidate without success. He was also the Director of theCPI(M) promoted television companyMalayalam Communications Limited, which runs Malayalam TV channelsKairali TV, People TV and We TV. His last film was the 2011 filmVen Shankhu Pol. He is one of the founders of the Malayalam film actors associationAMMA.

Muraleedharan Pillai was born on 25 May 1954 as the first of five children to P. Krishna Pillai and K. Devaki Amma atKudavattoor,Kollam, Kerala, India. He has four siblings, Thulasi, Sheela, Harikumar and Sheeja.^[4] He did his schooling from Kudavattoor L. P. School and Thrikannamangalam S. K. V. High School. He passed the pre-degree fromM.G. College,Thiruvananthapuram and his Degree fromDevaswom Board College,Sasthamkotta. He was an active member of theStudents Federation of India. He took anLL.B degree from theKerala Law Academy Law College,Thiruvananthapuram. After studies, he worked for some years as Lower DivisionClerk in the Department of Health,Government of Kerala and as Upper Division Clerk in the office ofKerala University. He was married to his first cousin Mini and has a daughter Karthika. His daughter married Sonoop R. Nair on 15 July 2016.^[5]

Murali debuted in films with the lead role inNjattadi, directed byBharath Gopi. But the film was never released. He then got chance to act inChidambaram, directed by the National Award-winning filmmakerAravindan. He then acted inMeenamasathile Sooryan andPanchagni, directed byLenin Rajendran andHariharan, respectively.Panchagni got released first and it gave him the break in his acting career. He soon established himself as a powerful actor in the Malayalam film industry.Aadhaaram, directed by George Kittu, was the first film to be released with Murali in a lead role. He acted in a variety of roles, ranging from lead roles to villain roles, and won accolades. Some of his other notable films includeNee Ethra Dhanya,Dhanam,The King,Pathram,Chakoram,Veeralippattu,Achan Kombathu Amma Varambathu,Meenamasathile Sooryan,Swarnam,Kaarunyam andThe Truth"Amaram". Also worth-mentioning are his remarkable portrayals as a toddy tapper in Malayogam and as trade union leader in Varavelppu.

Murali acted in the longest TV commercial ever on Indian TV, spanning 150 seconds. This was forAir Deccan in 2005.^[6]

Murali was actively involved withNatyagriham, a drama venture started by actorNarendra Prasad. Murali won critical acclaim for his portrayal ofRavana in the Malayalam playLanka Lakshmi, which was based on C. N. Sreekantan Nair's novel of the same name. He was also associated withG. Sankara Pillai in doing theatre plays.

Murali authored five books. His book onKumaranasan,Abhinethavum Asan Kavithayum (Actor and Asan's Poetry) won him the Sangeetha Nataka Academy award. One of his other critically acclaimed books wasAbhinyathinte Rasathanthram (Chemistry of Acting).

Murali was a member ofCommunist Party of India (Marxist) and has contested the 1999 Lok Sabha polls from theAlappuzha constituency as aLeft Democratic Front candidate, but lost toV. M. Sudheeran ofIndian National Congress.

Murali died inThiruvananthapuram on 6 August 2009 at the age of 55, due to acute diabetes which led to aheart attack at 8.20 PM IST.^[7] He was cremated with full state honours at his home inAruvikkara, which he had bought some years prior to his death.

National Film Awards:

• 2001 –Best Actor –Neythukaaran

Kerala State Film Awards:

• 1992–Best Actor –Aadhaaram
• 1996 –Best Actor –Kaanakkinavu
• 1998 –Best Actor –Thalolam (film)
• 2001 –Best Actor –Neythukaaran
• 1991 –Second Best Actor –Amaram
• 2007 –Second Best Actor –Veeralipattu,Pranayakalam

Kerala state TV Awards

• 2008–Kerala State Television Award for Best Actor – Aranazhikaneram

Filmfare Awards:

• 1992 –Best Actor –Aadharam

Other awards:

• Madras Film Fans Award
• Kerala Film Critics Award
• Shivaram Award
• Best columnist award: for his feature "Vyazhaporul" in theMalayala Manorama newspaper

• Ennu Nadhante Nimmi (1986)

• Aranazhika Neram (Amrita TV)
• Sakunam ( DD Malayalam)

TheBharat Murali Cultural Centre was established at his birthplace, Kudavattoor.^[9] It presents the annualBharat Murali Award to distinguished contributors to Malayalam cinema.

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(October 2020)

• 1st (2010) -K. P. A. C. Lalitha, actress;^[10]Kuttyedathi, actress^[11]
• 2nd (2011) -Manoj K. Jayan, actor^[12]
• 3rd (2012) -Kaviyoor Ponnamma, actress^[13][14]
• 7th (2016) -Surabhi Lakshmi, actress;Indrans, actor^[15]
• 9th (2020) -Vijith Nambiar, director^[16]

• "Bharath Murali".kerala.com. 2009. Retrieved28 October 2020.
• "Malayalam film veteran Murali passes away".Hindustan Times. 7 August 2009. Retrieved28 October 2020.

• Murali atIMDb
• Murali at MSI
• Official Website of Information and Public Relation Department of Kerala

• Best Actor National Film Award winners
• Politicians from Kollam
• 2009 deaths
• Kerala State Film Award winners
• Politicians from Kollam district
• Male actors from Kollam
• 1954 births
• Indian actor-politicians
• Male actors in Malayalam cinema
• Indian male film actors
• Male actors in Tamil cinema
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala
• Male actors in Malayalam television
• Indian male television actors
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• 21st-century Indian male actors
• 20th-century Indian politicians
• 21st-century Indian politicians
• Malayalam film producers
• Film producers from Thiruvananthapuram
• Malayalam screenwriters
• Screenwriters from Thiruvananthapuram
• 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
• 20th-century Indian screenwriters
• Kerala Film Critics Awards winners
• Malayalam male actors

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