Life & Career

Murali was born at Kudavattor of Kollam district in Kerala as the eldest son of P Krishnapillai and K Devaki Amma. He completed his schooling at L.P.S and U.P.S Kudavatoor and finished his higher school studies at SKVHS Thrikkannamangal.

Murali graduated from Sasthamkotta DB College. An SFI activist, he went on to take a law degree from Thiruvananthapuram Law Academy. He was an active member of Natyagraham, right from the beginning.

Murali donned the grease for the first time in Gopi’s ‘Njattad’i, but the film was never released. Lenin Rajendran’s ‘Meenamasathile Sooryan’ and Aravindan’s ‘Chidambaram’ soon followed. ‘Panchagni’ of Hariharan gave him the needed break, and he quickly established his position in the Malayalam film industry.

George Kithu’s ‘Ardram’ portrayed him as a hero for the first time. The transformation from villainous to character roles was speedy. He bagged the State Award for the supporting actor through ‘Amaram’.

His character Bapputti in ‘Adharam’ fully brought out his potential, fetching him the best actor state award, his first.

Meanwhile, he also made his mark in commercial films. The Malayalee audience accepted him even in villainous roles, as seen in ‘Naduvazhikal’, ‘Adhipan’, ‘The Truth’, ‘The King’, a tribute to his acting prowess. Character roles in ‘Prayikkara Pappan’, ‘Valayam’, ‘Chambakkulam Thachan’, were also widely applauded.

‘Thalolam’ and ‘Kanakkinavu’ brought him more laurels. Now, the excellent depiction of Appamestri through ‘Neythukkaran’ once again brings the state award to Murali’s showcase.

He never neglected theatre though. He made his presence felt on stage yet again, with CN Sreekantan Nair’s ‘Lanka Lakshmi’, done in connection with the maestro’s birth centenary celebrations.

Murali the actor and theatre artiste is also the director of one of the famous Malayalam media, ‘Kairali’ TV Channel.