Malayalam cinema's king of comedy, Jagathy Sreekumar, is celebrating his 70th birthday on Tuesday, January 5. According to Mathrubhumi News, the veteran actor is spending his birthday with family at his house in Peyad in Thiruvananthapuram. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the family has decided to avoid grand celebrations for his birthday.
As he turns 70, Jagathy Sreekumar has a special gift for fans who lovingly call him “ambili chettan”. The actor will return to the silver screen later this year through a film directed by his son Rajkumar under the Jagathy Sreekumar Entertainments banner.
Jagathy Sreekumar's acting career took a backseat after a car accident in 2012 at Thenhipalam in Malappuram district, Kerala. The accident forced the actor to stay out of the limelight for several years. His daughter Parvathy told TNM last year that her father was restricted to his wheelchair and that his right hand was partially paralysed. He also has difficulty speaking, she had said. Jagathy Sreekumar started his acting career in 1956 as a child artist in the film Achanum Makanum, written by his father Jagathy NK Achary. The actor, who has featured in more than 1000 films, has never failed to make his audience laugh out loud through his versatile and evergreen characters. Some iconic comedy scenes with Jagathy include:
1. Nischal in Kilukkam(1991):
Jagathy gave a different dimension to the traditionally lesser role of the hero's (played by Mohanlal) ‘sidekick’. In this particular scene, Nischal (Jagathy) secretly goes to Justice Pillai’s (Thilakan) bungalow in search of heroine Nandini (Revathi) and gets shot.
2. Jayakrishnan in Meleparambil Aanveedu(1993):
In this movie, Jagathy plays the role of the hero’s brother. In this particular scene, he is seen learning Tamil to try and impress the heroine (Pavizham played by Shobhana) who plays the role of a domestic worker in his house.
3. Unnunni in Minnaram (1994):
Jagathy plays the character of a husband who is always suspicious of his wife. In this scene Unnunni (Jagathy) in an attempt to poison his wife’s supposed lover (Joji played by Mohanlal), poisons himself.
4. Vattoli Porinchu in Olympian Anthony Adam (1999):
In this movie, Jagathy plays the role of a football coach in a residential school in Ooty. This particular scene depicts a humorous encounter between Vattoli Porinchu (Jagathy) and the newly inducted Physical Trainer Antony Varghese (Mohanlal).
5. Kumbidi Swami in Nandanam (2002):
In this movie, Jagathy plays the role of a fake godman. In this scene, Jagathy is caught having meat and alcohol in his saffron robe by Keshavan Nair (Innocent).
Seven years after the accident, Jagathy Sreekumar made a comeback in a few commercials for Silver Storm Water Theme Park in Athirappilly in 2019 and later for the Gokulam Group in January 2020. This year, the actor will be seen in a role in his son's film that suits his health condition. He has also received other film offers, according to Mathrubhumi News.