The young talent started off as a dancer with the first edition of reality television programme ‘Super Dancer’ on Amrita TV and made it to the final round. Neeraj is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, having learned it under Kalamandalam Saraswathy and her daughter, Aswathy. He is also trained in chenda and is a disciple of Kalanilayam Udayan Namboodiri.
Neeraj has a younger brother Navneeth Madhav, another dancer turned actor in the family. He has acted in films such as Shikkar, Kottarathil Kutty Bhootham,Nallavan and Manikyakkallu and TV series such as Kuttichathan.[3]
Career
Neeraj made his entry to the Malayalam cinema industry through Raaj Prabavathy Menon's Buddy into which he was selected through an audition. He was later noticed by director Jeethu Joseph and was invited to be a part of his movies Memories and Drishyam, both turned out to be box office successes, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. Meanwhile, Neeraj also acted in Abrid Shine's 1983 and Sathyan Anthikad's Oru Indian Pranayakadha.[3]
The movie Oozham, which has Prithviraj in the lead, has Neeraj in a full-length role.[9] Neeraj also portrayed a pivotal role in Tom Emmatty's Oru Mexican Aparatha.
Neeraj debuted as a screenplay writer through the movie Lavakusha in 2017 and also played one of the title characters in this along with Aju Varghese.
Neeraj plays his first lead role in the movie Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam. It was directed by debutant Domin D'Silva. In the movie, he portrays Govindankutty, a daily wage labourer.
In 2019, Neeraj starred as the main antagonist, Moosa Rehman in the Amazon Original web series titled The Family Man, helmed and produced by director duo Raj and DK. The series also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani and Kishore in major roles.
In July 2020, he released a rap song titled "Pani Paali". it depicts certain common events in the lives of common people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The song went viral in a very short period of time and was a huge hit among Malayalees and also around other parts of the globe. It also introduced rap music to a more mainstream audience.[10]
Personal life
Neeraj is the son of Dr. K. Madhavan and Latha Madhavan. He married his long time girlfriend Deepthi who is also a native of Kozhikode, on April 2, 2018. The couple have a daughter born in 2021.[11][12]
Filmography
Key
†
Denotes films that have not yet been released
All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted.
