He was employed at Infosys in Bangalore through campus placements and worked as a software engineer from 2006 to 2008.[11] However, he resigned and returned home after his father's death.[12][13]
Nivin currently lives with his family in Kochi.[14]
Career
Debut and breakthrough (2010–2012)
Nivin Pauly attending a function in Muvattupuzha in 2010
Nivin made his debut in Tamil with the bilingual film Neram.[20] His other Malayalam films in 2013 include 5 Sundarikal and Sunil Ibrahim's Arikil Oraal. The film was director Alphonse Puthren's directorial debut and was noted for its non-linear screenplay. He also acted in Shyamaprasad's English: An Autumn in London where he portrayed the character of a London-born dapper playboy.[25] The latter was a psychological thriller in which he played the role of Ichcha, a waiter at a café. In 5 Sundarikal, he acted in the segment "Isha" directed by Sameer Thahir.
In 2014, he played the role of Rameshan in Abrid Shine's directorial debut 1983, a coming-of-agesports film.[26] His portrayal of Rameshan from his school life, well into adulthood earned him the Best Actor Award at the 2014 Kerala State Film Awards.[27] This film also fetched him multiple other awards including the Best Actor (Malayalam) at the Filmfare Awards South[28] and South Indian International Movie Awards,[29] and Most Popular Actor at the Vanitha Film Awards.[citation needed] This was followed by debutant Jude Anthany Joseph's romantic comedy Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, in which he portrayed the role of Giri and was released a week after 1983. "Sify" stated that the director Jude Anthany Joseph "creates an engaging enough drama in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, that you're happy to emotionally invest in [it]."[30] His next release Bangalore Days was the coming-of-age romantic comedy drama directed by Anjali Menon. Nivin essayed the role of Krishnan "Kuttan" P P, a software engineer who is judgemental about modern life without really thinking about his own hypocrisies.[31] This role was also taken into account by the jury for the Best Actor award at the 2014 Kerala State Film Awards. The film was released in 205 theaters across India, making it one of the biggest releases for a Malayalam film at the time.[citation needed] In the same year, he played an extended cameo in the Lal Jose film Vikramadithyan, as an assistant district magistrate.
He then acted in Premam, where he played the role of George David. It grossed over 600million, and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam movies, catapulting him into the '50-crore club'.[33][34][35] The film collected ₹2 crore from Tamil Nadu box office in its 300 days theatrical run making it the highest grossing Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu at the time.[citation needed] Nivin's portrayal of George was featured in the Film Companion's 100 Greatest Performances of the Decade.[36] Praising his performance, the Film Companion wrote: "His performance had charm, mischief, and most impressively, vulnerability."
Continued success and critical acclaim (2016–2021)
Nivin produced Action Hero Biju in 2016 under his banner Pauly Jr. Pictures.[37] The film, a police procedural drama, was directed by Abrid Shine. As sub-inspector Biju Poulose, the film and the role portrays an honest look at the life of a police official. The film also has the highest opening gross for a Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu.[citation needed] The movie was well received by the police fraternity in Kerala.[38][39] He also starred in the family-dramaJacobinte Swargarajyam directed by Vineeth Srinivasan. Based on a true story, he played the role of Jerry, the son of Jacob Zacharia who struggles to clear his father's debts.
His next film was a political drama Sakhavu in which he played dual roles.[40] Directed by Sidhartha Siva, this was the first dual role in his career, where he portrayed a student political leader and a senior social activist and comrade who fights for his left-wing ideals.
Nivin appeared in his first straight Tamil feature film through Gautham Ramachandran's crime drama Richie (2017), where he portrayed a small town thug.[41] He also starred in the dramedyNjandukalude Nattil Oridavela. This film was his second outing as a producer.[42] The film which was received well at the box office[43] was a heart-warming story which portrayed that cancer is never the end of the road for everyone involved.[44]
In 2018, the big-budget movie Kayamkulam Kochunni, directed by Rosshan Andrrews made a significant impact at the Kerala box office, and across all territories that it was released as well. This film put Nivin in the 100 crore club.[45] He came together with Shyamaprased for a third time for the romantic-comedyHey Jude (film). Nivin plays the role of a mathematical genius, yet socially awkward Jude who like his namesake Beatles song finds himself in spite of his perceived shortcomings.[46]
The fantasy film Mahaveeryar was Nivin's first release of the year directed by Abrid Shine and was released on 21 July 2022, to critical acclaim. However, the film failed at the box office.[58] The climax of the film was later changed, which was better received by the audience. The teaser of Mahaveeryar garnered 6 million views within 24 hours of its launch making it the then most viewed teaser in Malayalam cinema.[59] His next film, action thriller Padavettu, an action thriller directed by debutant Liju Krishna had its theatrical release on 21 October 2022, to critical acclaim from the critics but failed at the box office.[60][61] The trailer of Padavettu was launched to a full house at the inaugural match of the Indian Super League 2022 at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi; making it the first film to have the trailer launch at the ISL.[62] This was followed by the comedy drama Saturday Night, directed by Rosshan Andrrews which explores the relationship between four friends was released on 4 November 2022.It received largely negative reviews from critics and audiences and failed at the box office.[63][64] In 2023, Nivin appeared on screen as Mattanchery Moidu in Rajeev Ravi's film Thuramukham. The movie was critically acclaimed and Nivin was praised for his sublime performance but overall the film received mixed reviews and failed at the box office.[citation needed] He then starred in the heist action comedy Ramachandra Boss & Co, directed by Haneef Adeni. The film received mixed reviews from the critics and failed to recoup even half of its budget and hasn't been released on Ott platforms at present likely due to its failure.
In 2024, he starred in the film Varshangalkku Shesham directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan In which he had a cameo appearance as Nithin Molly which received widespread praise from the audience for his performance and was a hit at the box office and his next film Malayalee from India, directed by Dijo Jose Antony was released to mixed reviews from critics and audiences but failed at the box office.[65][66]
His next release is a Tamil film, Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, directed by Ram.[67] His upcoming projects are Action Hero Biju 2,Gangster of Mundanmala and Shekara Varma Rajavu.[68][69] He has also announced a new project titled Dear Students, which will be produced under his home banner.[70]
In the media
Following his appearance in Premam, Nivin was chosen as the Most Desirable Man of 2015 by Kochi Times.[71]
In early 2017, Nivin appeared as himself in the short film "No Go Tell" directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. This viral film was vetted by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and focuses on creating awareness among children about sexual abuse and child body safety.[72][73][74]
Nivin was noted for his contributions during the unprecedented floods of 2018 in Kerala. He visited relief camps in his hometown of Aluva and arranged basic necessities for the flood-affected people.[78] He also met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to hand over his donation towards the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).[79][80]
He was also in the news for the "On-Call" campaign, where he called and spoke to patients and healthcare workers during the lockdown, encouraging and thanking the latter for their selfless service.[81]
Nivin was also a part of the launch of the "Drug-Free Kerala" campaign of the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) against corruption and narcotic substances[82]
↑ Anand, Shilpa Nair (28 January 2016). "Nivin is back in action". Thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
↑ Kerala Chalachitra Academy (10 August 2015). "State Film Award 2014". Keralafilm.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
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