M. N. NAMBIAR

M. N. NAMBIAR – Film Actor

M. N. Nambiar (5 March 1919 – 19 November 2008), born Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar. Also known as Nambiar swami or Maha Guruswami, he was a spiritual leader who pioneered the movement of taking pilgrims to Sabarimala.

While still a child, his father died and so he moved to live and study in Ooty with his elder sister and brother-in-law. He became interested in acting when he was 13 and he joined Nawab Rajamanikkam's troupe. From then on acting became the only thing that occupied him. His first film was 'Bhaktha Ramadoss', shot in 1935 in Hindi and Tamil, where he played as a comedian along with T.K.Sampangi.

Though he started as a hero, Nambiar soon started donning the role of a villain — so much so that today his name is synonymous with villainy in Kollywood. Nambiar has worked with seven generations of actors from Balaiyah to Manoj (Bharathiraaja's son).

His first pay was Rs.3 in the "Boys Company." He would retain Re 1 and send Rs.2 to his mother. A man of very limited needs, he has never eaten food not cooked by his wife, Rukimini Nambiar. A doyen of kalari & sword fighting, Nambiar was a fitness fanatic even before it became fashionable to be so.

He made quite a statement in the early 50s with his portrayal of 11 roles in ‘Digambara Samiyar.’ His arresting performance in films such as ‘Manthiri Kumari,’ ‘Velaikkari, ’ ‘Ayirathil Oruvan,’ ‘Thillana Mohanambal,’ ‘Missiamma’ and ‘Nenjam Marappadillai’ paved way for a very successful career that spanned over five decades. 

A majority of the more than 1000 films that he has done is in Tamil, though he has acted in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, besides an English film `Jungle' (with Rod Cameron, the film's hero, directed by William Burke) in which he appears in a few brief scenes. The film was released in 1952. The Hindi film he acted in was a remake of the Tamil `Kanavane Kankanda Deivam.'

After becoming popular in Tamil films he started his own drama troupe called Nambiar Nataka Mandram. They staged two plays — `Kaviyin Kanavu' and a comedy play `Kalyana Supermarket.'

Nambiar was that rare contradictory personality - a cruel, charming villain on the silver screen while being a very pious man in real life. He was also a pure vegetarian and teetotaler. He was also an ardent devotee of Sabarimala Sri Ayyappan. He has had a long association with the temple, and visited the shrine more than 65 times over the last half a century; this has led to him being called Maha Guruswamy. His colleagues noted that he died during the famous Sabarimala season and it may be due to the blessing of his Lord. 

His favourite films remain `Aayirathil Oruvan' with MGR, `Ambikapathi' with Sivaji Ganesan, `Missiyamma' with Gemini Ganesan, `Nenjam Marappathillai' directed by Sridhar and `Thooral Ninu Pochu' with Bhagyaraj. This was the film that made him do character roles, something that he continued to do till his death. He also acted as hero in two films `Kalyani' and `Kavitha' produced by Modern Theatres.

He has done stage, films and also acted on TV dramas like 'Oviyam' and Velan. When it comes to acting, he supposedly likes all the actors; but of special mention are M. R. Radha and Savitri. Both, in his opinion, were brilliant in their own way.

A selection of his movies include:

Year	Film	Language
1935	Bhaktha Ramadas	Tamil
1946	Vidyapathi	Tamil
1947	Rajakumari	Tamil
1947	Kanjan	Tamil
1948	Abhimanyu	Tamil
1949	Velaikaari	Tamil
1950	Manthiri Kumari	Tamil
1951	Marmayogi	Tamil
1951	Sarvadhikari	Tamil
1952	Jungle	English
1953	Petrathai	Tamil
1953	Kanna Talli	Telugu
1956	Amara Deepam	Tamil
1957	Rajarajan	Tamil
1958	Uthama Puthiran	Tamil
1958	Nadodi Mannan	Tamil
1961	Pasamalar	Tamil
1963	Panathootam	Tamil
1965	Enga Veetu Pillai
1965	Aayirathil Oruvan	Tamil
1966	Thali Bhagyam	Tamil
1966	Nadodi	Tamil
1966	Naan Aanaiyital	Tamil
1967	Kaavalkkaran	Tamil
1968	Pudhiya Bhoomi	Tamil
1968	Ragasiya Police 115	Tamil
1976	Satyam	Tamil
1978	Thacoli Ambu	Malayalam
1979	Avesham	Malayalam	Shekhar
1979	Pancharatnam	Malayalam
1979	Mamankam	Malayalam
1980	Chandra Bimbam	Malayalam
1980	Shakthi	Malayalam
1980	Guru	Tamil
1981	Garjanai	Tamil
1981	Kolilallam	Malayalam
1982	Chilanthivala	Malayalam
1982	Thooral Ninnu Pochu
1983	Thai Veedu	Tamil
1984	Naan Mahaan Alla	Tamil
1986	Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu	Tamil
1993	Gentleman	Tamil
1993	Paasamalargal	Tamil
1993	Yejaman	Tamil
1996	Poove Unakkaga	Tamil
1997	Vallal
1999	Rojavanam	Tamil
1999	Pooparika Varugirom	Tamil
2001	Vinnukkum Mannukkum
	Varushellam Vasantham
2002	Baba	Tamil
2003	Winner	Tamil
2004	Arasatchi	Tamil
2005	Anbe Aaruyire	Tamil
2006	Sudesi

• Ambikapathy (1957)
• Enga Veetu Pillai
• Mannavan vandhanadi
• Thooral ninnu pochu
• Pallandu vaazhga
• Swamy ayyappan
• Ninaithadai mudippavan
• Ulagam sutrum vaaliban
• Savale samali
• Raja Raja Cholan
• Nenjam marappadhillai
• En thambi
• Anbe vaa
• Makkalai petra magaraasi
• Velaikari (1949)
• Thigambara Samiyar (1950)
• Kalyani (1952)
• Vidyapathi (1946)
• Kaviyin Kanavu
• Garjanai (1981)
• Avasara Police 100(1991)
• Bhaktha Ramadass (1935)
• Vinnukum Mannukum (2001)
• Arasilankumari
• Varushamellam Vasantham (2002)