Sankaradi

Sankaradi passed intermediate from Maharajas College, Ernakulam. Before entering films, Sankaradi briefly dabbled in politics, journalism and theatre. He had earlier joined the Indian National Congress, but later became a cardholder of the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI).[3] However, he returned his party card after the CPI split in 1964 and turned to theatre.

Sankaradi joined the trade union movement at Baroda Railways while he was studying Marine engineering at Baroda. He abandoned his studies to pursue a job as a journalist in The Literary Review a newspaper from Mumbai.[4]

A stint in theatre in the mid-1960s in Kerala prepared Sankaradi for his foray into films. Since his debut in Kunchacko's Kadalamma, he remained an integral part of Malayalam cinema till his death.

In 1968, he acted in Viruthan Shanku, the first full-length comedy in Malayalam cinema directed by P. Venu. Sankaradi won the state's best character artiste award in 1969–71. He also holds the record for featuring in over 300 films with evergreen hero Prem Nazir.[5]

Kerala State Film Awards:

• Second Best Actor - 1970 - Vazhve mayam, Ezhuthatha Kadha
• Second Best Actor - 1971 - Various Films

He was born to Memana Parameswara Pillai and Chankaradiyil Thoppil Parambil Janaki Amma on 1924 at Cherai, Kochi, India. He had four siblings, Balan Menon, Sarojini, Lakshmikuty and Indira.[6] Later on, he adopted the screen name 'Sankaradi' from the name of his Matrilineal family name "Chankaradiyil" by discarding the "-yil" and changing "Chankaradi" to "Sankaradi" [7]

Sankaradi remained bachelor for a long time till he married Sharada in the late 1980s; the couple had no children. He was known throughout his film career by his house name (Tharavadu) "Sankaradi".[5][8][9] He died at his home in Cherai at 10 PM on 8 October 2001, aged 77. He was ailing for a while until his death. He was cremated with full state honours at the premises of his home the next day. 'Harikrishnans', directed by Fazil, was his last film.

1. "CINIDIARY - A Complete Online Malayalam Cinema News Portal". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
2. ""മലയാളത്തിലെ ആദ്യ റിയലിസ്റ്റിക്‌ ആക്ടര്‍"". Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
3. "ശങ്കരാടിയില്‍നിന്നാണ് ആ കഥാപാത്രത്തെ ഞാന്‍ കണ്ടെത്തുന്നത്.-സത്യന്‍ അന്തിക്കാട്‌". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
4. "നിർമാല്യത്തിലേക്ക് എംടി ആദ്യം ക്ഷണിച്ചത് ശങ്കരാടിയെ". Indian Express Malayalam (in Malayalam). 9 October 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
5. "ശങ്കരാടി: സ്വാഭാവികതയുടെ നന്മ". Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
6. "CINIDIARY - A Complete Online Malayalam Cinema News Portal". Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

• http://en.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?category=actors&artist=Sankaradi&limit=450

• Sankaradi at IMDb
• Sankaradi at MSI