John Kokken

John Kokken
Born
Anish John Kokken

(1981-03-27) 27 March 1981 (age 43)
Thrissur, Kerala, India
OccupationActor
Years active2006–present
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2012; div. 2016)​
  • ​
    (m. 2019)​
Children2

Anish John Kokken is an Indian actor and former model who has appeared in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam films, playing mostly negative roles. He got recognition for playing Vembuli in Sarpatta Parambarai (2021).

Early life

Anish John Kokken was born into a Malayali family in Thrissur, Kerala, but raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His father John was a school vice principal, and his mother a nurse. He has two brothers.[1][2] Kokken studied BSE at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai before shifting to hotel management, which he did for two years.[3]

Career

Kokken began his career as a model, and after finishing in the last ten in the Gladrags 2005 contest, he chose to pursue a career as an actor.[1] He appeared in his first film, Kalabham during 2006, and subsequently continued to play supporting roles across the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries. In 2010 he was introduced to Kannada cinema by the famous actor cum producer Puneeth Rajkumar using Dr. Rajkumar's films.[4] During this period, he notably portrayed antagonistic roles in films including Yevadu (2014), Baahubali: The Beginning,[5] (2015) and the K.G.F film series.[6][7] In 2021, Kokken notably appeared as boxer Vembuli in Pa. Ranjith's period drama Sarpatta Parambarai, before portraying the main antagonist in Thunivu (2023).[8][9][10] Later that year, he appeared in the streaming television series The Village and The Freelancer.[11][3]

Personal life

From 2012 to 2016, Kokken was married to actress Meera Vasudevan and they have a son.[12][13] In April 2019, he married actress Pooja Ramachandran.[12] They have a son born the following April.[14]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Language Notes
2006 Kalabham Jihadi Terrorist Bhai Malayalam
2009 Love In Singapore Rahul
IG Yasser Shah
2010 Alexander The Great Moneylender
Shikkar Thambi Muthalali
Prithvi Nagendra Nayak Kannada
Shourya Vijayendra Varma's Son
Mylari Anitha's brother
Don Seenu Praveen Duggal Telugu
Shourya Kannada
2011 Osthe Tamil
Teen Maar Vasumati's brother Telugu
2012 Ko Ko Kannada
Anna Bond John Mathew
Shiva Panduraanga Shetty's son
Adhinayakudu Minister's son Telugu
Daruvu Bihari Contract Killer
2013 Man of the Match
2014 Veeram Aaadalarasu’s right hand guy Tamil
Yevadu Deva Telugu
1: Nenokkadine
2015 Baahubali: The Beginning Kalakeya [15]
Bruce Lee
2016 Lakshmana Kannada
Sardaar Gabbar Singh Pathaan Telugu
Janatha Garage Satpal
Chuttallabbai Antagonist
2017 Tiyaan Pakistani Malayalam
Raja The Great Henchman of Devaraj Telugu [16]
2018 K.G.F: Chapter 1 John Kannada
2019 Kantharam Special Appearance Malayalam
Venky Mama Bihari Contract Killer Telugu
Maharshi Vivek Mittal's PA
2021 Sarpatta Parambarai Vembuli Tamil
2022 Poikkal Kuthirai Deva
James John Kannada
K.G.F: Chapter 2
2023 Thunivu Krish Tamil
Veera Simha Reddy Raja Reddy Telugu
2024 Captain Miller Prince Jayavardhan Tamil
Television
Year Title Role Channel Notes
2023 The Village Farhan Hameed Amazon Prime Video Tamil
2023 The Freelancer Raghavendra Sethu Disney+ Hotstar Hindi

References

  1. ^ a b Manmadhan, Prema (4 April 2010). "Villain with a body". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  2. ^ K, Ananie Borgia (26 October 2020). "I Would Have Attended Some 1200 Auditions Before I Got Selected For My 1st Ad – John Kokken (Actor)". eatmy.news. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b Mathur, Vinamra (30 August 2023). "EXCLUSIVE | John Kokken on his show 'The Freelancer': 'The role demanded someone who's physically fit'". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  4. ^ Joy, Prathibha (15 March 2022). "Puneeth Rajkumar introduced Kannada cinema to me with Dr Rajkumar films: John Kokken". ottplay.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Did you know Sarpatta's Vembuli was in Baahubali?". The News Minute. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Did you know Sarpatta's Vembuli was in Baahubali?". The News Minute. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  7. ^ "From 'Baahubali' to 'Sarpatta Parambarai' – Vembuli John Kokken's dream comes true". IndiaGlitz. 30 August 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Thala Ajith lauds John Kokken for his performance as Vembuli in Sarpatta Parambarai". India Today. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Ajith has a special gift for his Thunivu co-star John Kokken!". OTTPlay. 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  10. ^ "'KGF 2' actor John Kokken faces trolls after his latest social media statement". The Times of India. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Milind Rau's 'The Village': Love in the time of leeches". The New Indian Express. 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Bigg Boss fame Pooja Ramachandran marries actor John Kokken..." Onmanorama. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  13. ^ "John and me complement each other, says Meera". The Times of India. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  14. ^ "John Kokken & Pooja blessed with a baby boy". The Times of India. 30 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Did you know Sarpatta's Vembuli was in Baahubali?". The News Minute. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  16. ^ Jonnalagedda, Pranita (4 May 2017). "John Kokken in Raja The Great". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.