Vinayakan

Vinayakan
Vinayakan in 2022
Born	Vinayakan T. K. Ernakulam, Kerala, India
Occupations	Actor composer
Years active	1995–present
Awards	Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor (2016)

Vinayakan is an Indian actor, former dancer, and composer who predominantly works in Malayalam films as well as some Tamil language films. ^{[1] [2] [3]} He started his career with a un-credited appearance in the 1995 film Maanthrikam .

Vinayakan won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in the year 2016 for his role of Ganga in Rajiv Ravi's Kammatipaadam. ^[4] His recognized roles include Edakochi "Dude" in Aadu - Oru Bheegara Jeevi Aanu and its successor film Aadu 2, and as Ayyappan in Lijo Jose Pellissery's Ee.Ma.Yau.

He gained wider attention by playing the antagonist Varman in Nelson Dilipkumar's Tamil-language action film Jailer (2023) starring Rajinikanth. ^[5]

Career

Acting

Vinayakan began his career as a dancer and had a dance troupe named Black Mercury, with fire dance being his forte. Director Thampi Kannanthanam introduced him in Maanthrikam and later in Onnaman. He gained recognition for his performances in Stop Violence, Vellithira, Chathikkatha Chanthu, Chotta Mumbai, and Thottappan. He has also appeared in several Hindi-language films. ^{[2] [3]}

Vinayakan received critical acclaim for his performance as Ganga in Rajeev Ravi's 2016 film Kammatipaadam, ^{[6] [7]} for which he was nominated for a National Film Award. ^[8] The performance earned him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, the North American Film Award for Outstanding Performance in a Film, and the Cinema Paradiso Club Cine Award for Best Actor in 2016. ^[9] In the same film, he also made his debut as a music director. ^[10]

Ee.Ma.Yau. was included in The Hindu‍'s list of the top 25 Malayalam films of the decade and is regarded as one of the defining films of the New Wave Malayalam cinema movement. ^[11]

His projects include Gautham Vasudev Menon's Dhruva Natchathiram: Chapter One – Yuddha Kaandam. ^[12]

Music

Vinayakan composed the song "Puzhu Pulikal" for the film Kammatipaadam. ^[13] He also composed the title track for Trance (2020). ^[14] He has also sung songs for Rafi's film Role Models (2017) and for Sugeeth's film Ordinary. ^[10]

Controversies

• On 24 October 2023, he was arrested for creating a ruckus at the Ernakulam Town North police station in Kochi. The incident was from a family dispute and he was later released on bail after a medical examination. MLA of Thrikkakara, Uma Thomas, publicly criticized the quick release, suggesting it was related to Vinayakan's political associations ^{[15] [16]}

• On 7 September 2024, Vinayakan was taken into custody by Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Police in Hyderabad following an altercation with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) gate staff. He was reportedly under the influence of alcohol during the incident. ^[17] Security officials affirmed he arrived in Hyderabad in a visibly drunken state on an Indigo flight from Kochi and was to travel to Goa, before his arrest. ^[18]

• On 9 May 2025, Vinayakan was taken into custody for drunk and disorderly behaviour at a hotel in Kollam, where he was staying from May 2 for a movie shoot. ^{[19] [20]}

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Malayalam

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Maanthrikam	Michael Jackson dupe	Debut
2001	Onnaman	Patrick
2002	Stop Violence	Montha
2003	Vellithira	Padavan
	Ivar	Vinayakan
2004	Chathikkatha Chanthu	Romy
	Greetings	Hari
	Quotation	Maya
2005	By the People	Porter
	Makalkku	Mental Patient
	Junior Senior	Sivan
	Udayon	Thoma's helper
2006	Thanthra	Mayan
	Chinthamani Kolacase	Uchandi
	Jayam	Saheer
2007	Chotta Mumbai	Satheeshan
	Big B	Pandi Asi
2008	Pachamarathanalil	Mad Man
2009	Nammal Thammil	Tony
	Daddy Cool	Shelvam
	Sagar alias Jacky Reloaded	Style
2010	Best Actor	Pottan
2011	The Train	Githu
2012	Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty	Alex
	Bachelor Party	Fakeer
2013	Police Maman	Manu
	5 Sundarikal	Chandran	Segment - Aami
	Daivathinte Swantham Cleetus	Sayippu
2014	Masala Republic	Bengali Babu
	Njan Steve Lopez	Prathaapan
	Iyobinte Pustakam	Chemban
	Seconds	Thampi
2015	Aadu - Oru Bheegara Jeevi Aanu	Damodaran Unnimakan Delmen Edakochi "Dude"
	Chandrettan Evideya	Rajaraja Cholan	Extended cameo
	Any Time Money
2016	Kali	Johnettan
	Kammattipaadam	Gangadharan (Ganga)	Best Actor - Kerala State Film Award
2017	Role Models	Jyothish Narayanan
	Aadu 2	Dude
2018	Diwanjimoola Grand Prix	Vareedh
	Swathandriam Ardharathriyil	Simon
	Ee.Ma.Yau	Ayyappan	[21]
2019	Thottappan	Ithaq
	Pranaya Meenukalude Kadal	Hyder
	Valiyaperunnal	Himself	Cameo
2020	Trance	Thomas	Also composed title track
2021	Operation Java	Ramanathan
2022	Pada	Balu
	Oruthee	Sub Inspector Antony
	Panthrandu	Andhro
2023	Kasargold	Alex	[22]
2024	Thekku Vadakku	Madhavan	[23]
2025	The Pet Detective	Yaqat Ali	[24]
	Kalamkaval	Jayakrishnan	[25]
2026	Aadu 3	Dude	Filming

Tamil

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Thimiru	Easwari's sidekick
2008	Singakutty	Gumban	Uncredited
	Kaalai	Mokkai
	Ellam Avan Seyal	Pichandi
	Silambattam	Tamizh’s best friend
2009	Madurai Sambavam	Anand aka Mandaiyan
2011	Siruthai	Henchman
2013	Maryan	Theekkurissi
2023	Jailer	Varman
	Dhruva Natchathiram	Unknown	Unreleased

Other languages

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2005	James	Shanti Narayan's henchman	Hindi
2006	Asadhyudu	Thambu	Telugu
2008	Ekaloveyudu	Bhakta's brother

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Film(s)	Result
2016	Kerala State Film Award	Best Actor	Kammatipaadam	Won
2016	Movie Munshi Cine Awards			Won
2017	Filmfare Awards South	Best Supporting Actor		Won
	CPC Cine Awards	Best Actor		Won
2018		Best Character Actor	Ee.Ma.Yau.	Won
2019	Filmfare Awards South	Best Supporting Actor		Won

References

1. "List of Malayalam Movies acted by Vinayakan". Malayala Chalachithram. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
2. Anand, Shilp Nair (6 June 2013). "On the superhero trail". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
3. നായർ, അനീഷ്. "വിനായകന്റെ അസൂയയും അഹങ്കാരവും". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
4. "Kerala State Film Awards 2016: Vinayakan and Rajisha Vijayan are the Best Actor and Actress". The Times of India. 7 March 2017. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 30 September 2023.
5. "Performance in 'Jailer' is Vinayakan's sublime comeback at detractors". OnManorama. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
6. VS, Goutham (21 May 2016). "Dulquer Salmaan shines in a raw and realistic cut into the brutally buried history of Dalits". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
7. "Kammatti Paadam Movie Review". India Glitz. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
8. "Vinayakan was not in the final four for Best Actor". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
9. Beat, Filmi (30 January 2017). "Nivin Pauly And Manju Warrier Bag Top Honours At NAFA 2017!". filmibeat.com.
10. "I never felt I was inferior and that empowered me: Vinayakan". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
11. Nagarajan, Saraswathy (19 December 2019). "The 25 best Malayalam films of the decade: 'Premam', 'Maheshinte Prathikaram', 'Kumbalangi Nights' and more". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 30 September 2023.
12. "Vinayakan to lock horns with Vikram in 'Dhruva Natchathiram'". The Times of India. 17 April 2018. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 30 September 2023.
13. "Vinayakan to do composing, choreography". 10 March 2017.
14. "The most requested title track composed by Vinayakan from 'Trance'". 27 February 2020.
15. "Vinayakan released on bail after medical exam, MLA Uma Thomas questions 'weak charges'". OnManorama. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
16. "'Jailer' actor Vinayakan arrested for creating a ruckus at police station". The Indian Express. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
17. "Jailer Actor Vinayakan Booked For Unruly Behaviour At Hyderabad Airport". MSN. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
18. "Malayalam actor Vinayakan arrested at Hyderabad airport for 'causing ruckus'". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
19. Service, Express News (7 May 2025). "Malayalam actor Vinayakan taken into custody for creating ruckus at Kollam hotel". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
20. ലേഖകൻ, മാധ്യമം. "'ഇതിന്റെ വാതിൽ തലകൊണ്ട് അടിച്ചു പൊട്ടിക്കും ഞാൻ'; കൊല്ലത്ത് പൊലീസ് കസ്റ്റഡിയിൽ ബഹളം വെച്ച് വിനായകൻ". Madhyamam (in Malayalam). Retrieved 9 May 2025.
21. "Vinayakan is Ayyappan in 'Ee Ma Yau'". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
22. "Asif Ali's 'Kasargold' all set to unleash breathtaking thrills upon its release on September 15". The Times of India. 29 July 2023. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 19 August 2023.
23. Features, C. E. (25 August 2024). "Vinayakan and Suraj Venjaramoodu's Thekku Vadakku gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
24. "Pet Detective trailer: Sharaf U Dheen promises a fun, eccentric twist on the detective genre". The Indian Express. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
25. "മമ്മൂട്ടി കമ്പനിയുടെ 'കളങ്കാവല്‍': പുതിയ ചിത്രത്തില്‍ മമ്മൂട്ടിക്കൊപ്പം വിനായകനും" . Retrieved 25 May 2025.

External links

• Vinayakan at IMDb