Unnikrishnan
Namboothiri,
who
is
best
known
for
the
endearing
"grandfather
"characters
he
portrayed
onscreen,
passed
away.
The
98-year-old
breathed
his
last
at
a
private
hospital
in
Kannur,
where
he
was
under
the
treatment
for
the
last
couple
of
weeks.
Unnikrishnan
Namboothiri
had
recently
made
headlines
by
testing
negative
for
COVID-19.
The
veteran
actor
was
admitted
to
the
hospital
after
he
was
diagnosed
with
pneumonia,
last
week.
However,
he
was
discharged
after
recovering
completely.
But
Unnikrishnan
Namboothiri
suffered
from
fever
again,
after
which
he
tested
positive
for
COVID-19.
Even
though
the
senior
actor
tested
negative
later,
he
succumbed
to
age-related
illness
after
a
short
while.
Unnikrishnan
Namboothiri
was
married
to
Leela
Antharjanam,
who
passed
away
in
2009.
He
is
survived
by
his
children
Devi,
Bhavadas,
Yamuna,
and
PV
Kunhikrishnan,
who
is
a
judge
at
the
Kerala
High
Court.
Kaithapram
Damodaran
Namboothiri,
the
veteran
lyricist-music
composer,
is
his
son-in-law.
The
popular
young
musician
Deepankuran
Kaithapram
is
his
grandson.
Unnikrishnan
Namboothiri
made
his
acting
debut
at
the
age
of
73,
with
the
critically
acclaimed
movie
Deshadanam,
directed
by
Jayaraj.
He
later
played
pivotal
roles
in
several
highly
popular
films
including
Oral
Maathram,
Kaliyattam,
Madhuranombarakkattu,
Meghamalhar,
Kalyanaraman,
Loudspeaker,
Pokkiri
Raja,
Mayamohini,
and
so
on
in
the
Malayalam
film
industry.
His
performance
as
Dileep's
grandfather
in
Kalyanaraman
was
widely
accepted
by
the
audiences.
The
senior
actor
made
his
Tamil
debut
with
the
2000-released
Rajeev
Menon
directorial
Kandukondain
Kandukondain,
in
which
he
played
Tabu,
Aishwarya
Rai
Bachchan,
and
Shamini's
grandfather.
He
later
played
supporting
roles
in
the
Kamal
Haasan
starrer
Pammal
K
Sambandam
and
Rajinikanth's
Chandramukhi.