Mukesh (actor)

Mukesh
Mukesh in 2024
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 June 2016 (2016-06-02)
Preceded by	P. K. Gurudasan
Constituency	Kollam
Personal details
Born	Mukesh Babu[1] (1957-03-05) 5 March 1957 (age 68) Kollam, Kerala, India
Political party	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Spouses	Saritha ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 2011)​ Methil Devika ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2021)​
Children	2
Parents	TV host politician

Mukesh Madhavan (born Mukesh Babu; 5 March 1957), known

Mukesh was born to actors O. Madhavan and Vijayakumari, in Kollam, Kerala, India on 5 March 1957.^[10] He has two sisters, Sandhya Rajendran and Jayasree. Sandhya and her husband, E. A. Rajendran are also actors (stage and film).

Mukesh attended Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian School in Kollam. He then pursued a bachelor's degree in science (B.Sc.) from Sree Narayana College, Kollam. He also holds a second bachelor's degree in law from The Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Mukesh was active in stage dramas before he entered the film industry.^[11]

Mukesh made his acting debut in 1982 with the film Balloon.^[12] Later, that same year he landed his first leading role with the drama film Ithu Njangalude Katha, a remake of the Tamil-language film Palaivana Solai. The film was an average grosser, with the film's songs becoming chartbusters.^[13] In the mid-80s, he appeared in several comedy films directed by Priyadarshan, usually in supporting roles. His first film as solo hero came in 1985 with Mutharamkunnu P.O. Despite being an average grosser at the box office, the film has over the years attained a cult status.^[14] His first major commercial hit came with the 1985 film Boeing Boeing, directed by Priyadarshan. He appeared in a supporting role in the film to Mohanlal. This was his first collaboration with Mohanlal. They would go on to star in several films in the late 1980s, usually starring Mohanlal in the lead role.^[15] Examples include Ninnishtam Ennishtam (1986), Adiverukal (1986), Hello My Dear Wrong Number (1986) and Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu (1986). He also appeared in supporting roles to Mammootty in the late-80s with successful films like Snehamulla Simham (1986), Shyama (1986), Thaniyavarthanam (1987), 1921 (1988), Sangham (1988), Mahayanam (1989) and Nair Saab (1989). In 1988, he appeared as Chacko in the cult investigative thriller Oru CBI Diary Kurippu also featuring Mammootty.^[16] The character of Chacko has over the years attained a cult status.^[17] He reprised his role as Chacko in the CBI series sequels in 1989, 2004, 2005 and 2022.^[17] Then, in 1989, he starred in Ramji Rao Speaking, a blockbuster that ran for 200 days in theatres and went on to become the second highest grossing film of the year.^[18] The film gave Mukesh his major break.^[19] Ramji Rao Speaking is considered by audiences and critics to be one of the best comedy films made in Malayalam cinema.^[20] The film still has a huge cult following.^[21] The film has been subject to many memes, with Mukesh's dialogue in the film "Kambilipothappu" becoming a catchphrase.^[20] He also starred alongside Mohanlal in Vandanam (1989), which is considered a cult classic in Malayalam cinema.^[22]

In the beginning of the 1990, he made an extended guest role in Priyadarshan's

He then, in 1991 starred in the classic comedy film,

Manyanmar. This was his first onscreen pairing with Sreenivasan.^{[citation needed]} The following year, he starred in the Balachandra Menon directorial Ammayane Sathyam.^[35] The film was also a box office success, running for 100 days in theatres.^[35] The next year, he starred in Malappuram Haji Mahanaya Joji, another box office success.^[36] It ran for 125 days in theatres and was one of the highest grossers of the year.^[36]

He appeared in notable films such as

Kanakkinavu, which was screened at the Indian Panorama section of the IFFI and won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.^[38] The film was also commercially successful.^[39] The next year, all of his films except for Kalyana Kacheri, bombed at the box office.^[40] The following year, he starred in Mattupetti Machan, which was one of the highest grossers of the year and ran for 100 days in theatres.^[41] It was remade in Tamil as Banda Paramasivam, in Hindi as Housefull 2.^[41] He then made a cameo appearance as himself in the highly successful Sreekrishnapurathe Nakshathrathilakkam.^[42] 1999 was a successful year for Mukesh as he starred in two super-hits namely, Friends, which was the highest grosser of the year (He starred alongside Jayaram for the first time in 7 years and Sreenivasan) and alongside Divya Unni in the Vinayan directorial Aakasha Ganga, which was the fourth highest grossing film of the year.^[43]

Later career

In the 2000s and 2010s, he struggled to escape an image trap. Regardless, he came back with interesting supporting roles in

Katha Parayumbol, featured a cameo by Mammootty

.

Mukesh was the host of a Malayalam version of Deal or No Deal, which was aired on Surya TV. He is now acting in Badai bungalow, a comedy and celebrity talk show hosted by Ramesh Pisharody, launched on Asianet from 2013.^[44]

Personal life

He married

South Indian film actress Saritha in 1988, and they have two sons. After a lengthy separation, they divorced in 2011.^[45][46] Their elder son Shravan made his acting debut in the 2018 film Kalyanam. Mukesh married dance scholar Methil Devika on 24 October 2013.^[47][48] The couple filed for divorce in 2021.^[49]

In 2007, Mukesh authored a book based on experiences while he was a student at college, and tales from his life as a movie actor.[3] titled Mukesh Kathakal – Jeevithathiley Nerum Narmavum.^[15] It proved very successful.^[50] He authored another book, Mukesh Babu and Party in Dubai, published by DC Books in 2009, marketed as a "realistic campus novel".^[51]

Controversies

In 2021, a student called Mukesh for help but was received rudely. The phone call's recording was circulated on social media, leading to criticism of Mukesh. Mukesh claimed that the phone call was targeted harassment and was politically motivated.^[52]

After the publication of the Hema Committee report in 2024, an actress alleged that Mukesh had sexually harassed her.^{[53][54][55][56]}

CPI(M) MLA and actor M Mukesh got arrested in rape case by Special Investigation Team on 24 September 2024. His lawyer confirmed that the MLA was arrested, his medical examination and potency test were carried out and then he was released as he had been granted anticipatory bail by a sessions court earlier this month.^[57]

Political career

Mukesh is a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M). He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Kollam Assembly constituency in the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.^[9] He won again from the same constituency in the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.^[58] However, his victory margin came down from 17,611 in 2016 to 2072 in 2021. In the 2024 Indian general election, Mukesh contested for the Lok Sabha from the Kollam constituency but lost to N.K. Premachandran, the sitting UDF candidate.^[59]

Awards

• 2007 :
  Kadha Parayumbol
• 2007 :
  Kadha Parayumbol
• 2007 :
  Kadha Parayumbol
• 2011 : ISC Award^[28]
• 2013 :
  English: An Autumn in London, Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil

• Katha Parayumbol
  (2007)
• Thattathin Marayathu (2012)

• Laksham Laksham Pinnale (2013) (Reality show-Super 94.7 fm)

• Mukesh started Kalidasa Visual Magic for play productions. His first play Chayamukhi was in 2008 with
  Suveeran.^[71]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mukesh (actor).

• Mukesh at
  IMDb
• Mukesh at MSI