JAYAN

JAYAN - Film Actor

Krishnan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980 better known by his stage name Jayan.) was born in Kollam, Travancore as the first child of his father Thevalli, Kottaram Veetil Madhavan Pillai and mother Bharathiyamma. His birthname was Krishnan Nair. He had a younger brother named Soman Nair. Jayan's formal education ended at 10th grade at Kollam Govt. Boys High School when he joined the Indian Navy. The first accolades for his acting skills reached him when he was a naval sailor. He used to act in plays at various functions like anniversaries. The encouragement from his friends and colleagues in the Navy gave him the desire to act in films. Jayan served in the Indian Navy for 16 years, culminating in the rank of Master CPO. By the end of his navy days he had begun efforts to start small businesses at Ernakulam and became a regular inhabitant of the Cochin Tourist Home. During his life at Ernakulam he would meet some of his lifelong friends. It was such a chance meeting while on leave, with Rajan Matthew who is the veteran Malayalam actor Jose Prakash's son, who owned a dry cleaning shop in Cochin, that eventually landed him a role in the movie Shapa Moksham.  An year later, he left the Indian Navy and started trying his hand at various civilian jobs, working for companies in Cochin for a few years till his acting career began to yield.

Jayan did make a few random uncredited appearances in some movies of the early 1970s first of which was in Post Mane Kanmanilla. These minor appearances were before he attained the screen name Jayan. According to his nephew, he had the role of a vampire like character in an unnamed project costarred by Vidhubala, which was never released. His first appearance with the name Jayan was in the movie Shapa Moksham which is usually credited as his first film.

The name "Jayan" (English: "The Victor") was given to him by veteran Malayalam actor Jose Prakash on the sets of Shapa Moksham. Jayan started his career by acting in minor roles starting with Shapa Moksham (1974). Jayan got his first major break appearing as a villain character in Panchami (1976) playing the role of a forest ranger. Jayan's performance in this film was appreciated in the industry and his physical appearance was also noticed for the first time. His next notable role was in Thacholi Ambu (1978) in which he appeared in a supporting role. In the same year, he acted as a sage in the Sreekumaran Thampi film Etho Oru Swapnam which was well received by critics. But what made Jayan a superstar was his antihero role in Sharapancharam (1979, Bed of Arrows). He catapulted to fame riding on machismo roles that endeared him to the masses, and he established himself as one of the most popular Malayalam film actors of his time. He is generally regarded as the first action hero in Malayalam cinema.

Sharapancharam broke all records set in the Malayalam industry till its time and became the highest grosser of 1979. Its records were broken by another Jayan film Angadi (Market) in the following year which cemented his popularity among the masses. In films like Manushya Mrugam, Aavesham etc. he played double roles. During his career, he received only a few critically appreciated roles perhaps partly due to his commercial hero image and partly due to the lack of films that garnered critical appreciation at the time. The focus was always on his unmatched drawing power as an action star and by 1980, at the peak of his career, he had attained a genuine superhero image. Movies exploited Jayan's masculine physique and he appeared bare-chested in numerous scenes. His on-screen attire (most famously his Elvis bellbottoms), his masculine image and later the nature of his death transformed him into a legend in Kerala. Jayan was also known for his unique method of dialogue delivery and he has contributed many memorable lines to the Malayalam film history.

Jayan acted in several multistar movies mostly with Prem Nazir. The duo acted in films like Nayattu, Love in Singapore, Chandrahasam, Thacholi Ambu, Kannappanunni, Palattu Kunjikkannan, Mamangam, Prabhu etc. all of which were top grossers at the box office. He also acted with other popular actors of the time like Soman, Sukumaran and Madhu in many films. In early films before 1979 (like Thacholi Ambu and Panchami) he had negative or supporting roles. But later films in the beginning of 1980 relied heavily on Jayan's drawing power as an action hero and placed him as the central character. Prem Nazir agreed to play a supporting role in "Nayattu" very unlikely for a superstar of those times. He had agreed to do this as a token of friendship with Jayan and the director Sreekumaran Thamby.The duo had many actions films together like 'irumbazhikal" "love in Singapore" etc. where the box office draw was huge.

On 16 November 1980, Jayan was killed in an accident on the set of the movie Kolilakkam (English: Shockwave). The climactic scene of the movie was being filmed in Sholavaram, near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Jayan always performed his own stunts, and for this movie he was performing a particularly dangerous stunt that involved him boarding an airborne helicopter from a moving motorbike. The shot was accepted by the director in the first take; altogether three shots were filmed.

According to the film's production executive, Jayan insisted on yet another re-take as he was not satisfied with its perfection. During the re-take, the helicopter lost its balance and crashed along with Jayan who was hanging onto the landing skids, and later succumbed to his injuries.

After his death was confirmed, a slide was added during the theatre show of his movie Deepam which was running in packed houses, informing his death to the viewers who witnessed it with absolute shock and disbelief. A large number of his fans burst into tears and ran out of the buildings while many continued to watch the movie, refusing to believe it and taking it for a genius promotion for some upcoming project. 

Some conspiracy theories emerged regarding the circumstances of his death, primarily because the pilot and his co-star Balan K. Nair, who was in the helicopter, survived with minor or no injuries. Nevertheless, it has been confirmed as a genuine accident.

After Jayan's death, several films were released claiming to be his last film, including the genuine one, Kolilakkam. In all these films Jayan's voice was dubbed by Aleppey Ashraf, a popular mimicry artist of the time. Many projects meant for him were recast like "Thusharam" by I.V. Sasi, P.G. Vishwambaran's "Sphodanam" and Sasi Kumar's "DhruvaSangamam". Numerous other projects were cancelled entirely. One stunt scene and two songs were already shot with Jayan for C.V. Hariharans "Garjanam". But after his death it was recast with Rajanikanth becoming his second film in Malayalam released in 1981.

Jayan is perhaps the only actor thus far in the history of Malayalam film industry who remains a marketable superstar decades after his demise, to this day. In the state of Kerala, he is a true icon of popular culture whose life and image has made him a legend over time.

Jayan was a high risk taker and throughout his career, he was popular for stellar performances in fight and stunt sequences. Dangerous and thrilling stunts were often featured in action films with Jayan in the lead. These were usually highlighted during fight scenes as added promotions to his machismo image and daredevilry. Numerous movies in which he has acted have one or more notable stunt performances.

In 2009, an 8 ft high statue of the actor was erected in front of his house at Olayil, Kollam which is now a nursing home. Efforts are being made to construct a permanent memorial at Mulankadakam where he was cremated, and also to open a library & museum near his home.