by | Born | Kottarakkara, Kerala, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years Active | 1977 – Present |
| Spouse(s) | Prasanna Kumari (married-1986, divorce-2007)
Bindu Panicker (m. 2009) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair,
Vijayalakshmi Amma |
| Relatives | Shobha Mohan (sister)
Vinu Mohan (nephew) Anu Mohan (nephew) Vidhya Mohan |
Sai Kumar, also credited as Saikumar, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He was awarded for best actor in a supporting role and has been twice nominated for the Kerala State Film Award.
Kumar was born as Sai Kumar in Kottarakkara, Kerala, India to a Malayali family. His father, Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, while his mother is named Vijayalakshmi. He has an older sister Shobha Mohan and nephews Vinu Mohan and Anu Mohan.
Personal life
Sai Kumar is the son of actor Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair and Vijayalakshmi Amma. He has seven sisters, five older and two younger. Actress Shobha Mohan is his elder sister and actor Vinu Mohan and Anu Mohan are his nephews. He was first married to Prasanna Kumari, but their marriage collapsed. They have a daughter named Vaishnavi from this marriage. He later married actress Bindu Panicker.
Career
He started his career with comedy roles, and gradually moved to character roles. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for his performance in the 2007 film Anandabhairavi. Sai Kumar started his career in theater. He was offered the lead role in the film Swathi Thirunal, but it was later done by Anant Nag, later he made his debut in the blockbuster Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). Sai Kumar debuted in cinema in the 1977 film Vidarunna Mottukal as a child artist.
The success of the film Anandabhairavi helped him to earn a lot of opportunities in the next few years. He has done leading roles in a few films such as Sauhradam, Thudarkkatha, Khoshayathra, Anantha Vrithantham, and Thooval Sparsam. Sai Kumar remained active in the industry with supporting, character, and negative roles in films including In Harihar Nagar, Saandram, Makkal Mahalmyam, Griha Pravesam, and Ayushkalam. But in that age of comedy, he could not make an impact as a hero, while Mukesh, Jagadeesh, and Siddique were cast in low-budget movies.
Sai Kumar’s golden period started in the late 1990s. He was cast in the super hit Aaraam Thampuran by Shaji Kailas where he played the close friend of the hero played by the Malayalam film star Mohanlal. He played villain to Mohanlal in Narasimham (2000), Thandavam (2001), and Chathurangam (2001). His prominence was evident from the posters of Thandavam, where his pictures were printed the same size as Mohanlal’s. In movies such as Valliettan and Vesham, he played villain to Mammootty. In the Dileep movie Kunjikkoonan (2002), he appeared in a completely different get-up of a cruel Goonda called Kerri Vasu, which was much acclaimed.
2005 was a very good year for Sai Kumar in which he acted in Rajamanikyam, Mammootty’s mega-hit where he played an older man. In Suresh Gopi’s comeback film Bharathchandran I.P.S., he played the villain. He described the role as an anti-hero, not a villain since he leads the story in the first 45 minutes until Suresh Gopi appears. He lent his voice for Sathyaraj in Aagathan and also dubbed for Thiagarajan in Thilakkam.
In 2007, he won accolades for his performance as a Kathakali artist. Director Vinayan described him as talented as Mohanlal, which is the best compliment for his acting abilities.
Awards
- 2006 — Asianet Film Awards for Best Character Actor Award for Chakkara Muthu
- 2007 – Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for Anandabhairavi
- 2015 – Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Ennu Ninte Moideen
- 2008 – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam for Anandabhairavi
