Sreekumar Achary (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage nameJagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer,[1] who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades.[4][5][6] Widely regarded as the greatest comedian in the history of Malayalam cinema,[7][8][9] he is also known for his highly nuanced character roles. He is the son of acclaimed dramaturge and writer, the late Jagathy N. K. Achary.[10]
Jagathy Sreekumar won five Kerala State Film Awards among numerous other awards for his roles in various films. He has also directed two films and written screenplays for two more. His stage name is derived from the neighborhood of Jagathy in Thiruvananthapuram from where he hails. He is an outspoken orator holding strong views, quite unlike his onscreen image and his speeches are still popular.
As the result of a vehicle accident in March 2012, Jagathy was hospitalized for over a year and has still not completely recovered from the injuries sustained. His film career has been on hold since the accident.[11] In May 2022, Jagathy returned to the big screen with the CBI 5: The Brain directed by K. Madhu. In the film, he did not have any dialogues and reprised the memorable character CID Vikram, which he played in the previous films of the CBI series.
Early life and family
Sreekumar is the eldest son of Malayalam dramatist and writer Jagathy N. K. Achary (1924–1997) (also fondly known as Jagathy) and his wife Prasanna from the famed Edavancaud family of Mavelikkara. N. K. Achary was Station Director at All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram. Sreekumar has two siblings, Krishnakumar and Jameela; and two step-siblings Murali and Sugadamma.
"My father was my strength. He used to take me to movies and bring home scripts of plays for me to read. Being in All India Radio, my father had contacts with stalwarts in this field. He created many opportunities for me to interact with them. This helped me in my career.", says Jagathy Sreekumar about his father.[12] He attended the Higher Secondary School in Cheriyanad, Chengannur, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in botany from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram where eminent personalities like K. Jayakumar and Ravi Vallathol were his classmates.. After college, he briefly worked as a medical representative before later becoming an actor.[13]
Acting career
Jagathy was a fifth gradestudent at Model School in Thiruvananthapuram when he first got the opportunity to act in a school play. The play he acted was "Onamundum Odakkuzhalum" by Sreemandiram K.P. He continued to act in plays written by his father NK Achary for Kalanilayam, in big and small roles. By this time he joined Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Jagathy won the Kerala State Film Award For Second Best Actor in 1991 for his performance in the cult classic comedy movie Kilukkam and Apoorvam Chilar. He played Nischal, a comic character in Kilukkam whereas in Apoorvam Chilar, he played a character role. Jagathy played the role of a patient escaped from mental hospital with his group of friends in Mookilla Rajyathu (1991).[15] This movie later developed a cult following. One of the best characters played by Jagathy is Arasumootil Appukuttan in Yoddha (1992). Yoddha is considered one of the best comedy films in Malayalam where Jagathy played an integral part in it. Jagathy was praised for his performance as Jayakrishnan in Melepparambil Aanveedu (1993). His lead role in Kabooliwala (1994) alongside Innocent was acclaimed.[16] The duo played the characters called Kannas and Kadalas in the movie respectively. The same year he played another memorable role in Minnaram. Vattoli Porinju is a popular character from the movie Olympian Anthony Adam (1999).
Jagathy reunited with Priyadarshan with Kakkakkuyil (2001), which was commercially successful. Jagathy's role as Krishnavilasom Bhageeratan Pilla aka Pillechan in the comedy drama Meesa Madhavan (2002) is often considered one of his career best. This character as well as the movie itself eventually developed a cult following.[18] Jagathy won his second Kerala State Film Award for his performance in Meesa Madhavan and for doing a character role in Nizhalkuthu. The same year he played another memorable comedy character Kumbidi in Nandanam.[19] Some of his memorable roles in 2003 were in movies such as Mr. Brahmachari, Thilakkam, Kilichundan Mampazham, Sadanandante Samayam, Vellithira, Swapnam Kondu Thulabharam, C.I.D. Moosa, Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum, Balettan, Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu, Pulival Kalyanam and Pattanathil Sundaran. Jagathy's next film directed by Priyadarshan after Kilichundan Mambazham, was Vettam (2004), where he played a comic serial killer called Basha. Another popular comic character of Jagathy is Pachalam Bhasi in Udayananu Tharam (2005).[20] In 2006, Jagathy reprised his role as Nischal in Kilukkam Kilu Kilukkam, the sequel of Kilukkam. However the movie was a commercial failure and received negative reviews. Jagathy's role as a fake human god known as Himavalswami in Makante Achan (2009) was acclaimed.
Besides portraying comedic characters and comic roles, Jagathy has played characters with negative shades, including his roles as Chenicheri Kurup in Urumi (2011) and the Home Minister in Passenger (2009).[23]Arabikkatha (2007) and Cycle (2008) are also movies with Jagathy in negative roles.
He made his comeback after his road accident in 2012, in the movie CBI 5: The Brain released in 2022, which was the fifth part of the Mammootty starrer CBI Series.[24]
Personal life
Jagathy married Mallika in 1974 and divorced in 1976. He married Shoba in 1980. They have a son, Rajkumar, and a daughter, Parvathy.[3] Just days before the March 2012 road accident that took away years of his life, Jagathy had publicly revealed that he had a daughter, Sreelakshmi Sreekumar, with actress Kala, also said to be his third wife.[25]
Accident
On 10 March 2012, he was seriously injured in a road accident at Panambra near the Calicut University at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district.[26] He was immediately rushed to MIMS in Kozhikode, where he remained for one month. Later, he was taken to Christian Medical College, Vellore for advanced treatment. He underwent multiple surgical procedures. He remained in hospital for twelve months, appearing in public for the first time in March 2013, unable to speak.[27] In 2014, he was again taken to Vellore for further check-ups and returned to his home later. Recently he appeared in a private channel during Onam with Nedumudi Venu in which he sang old songs.
