K K Aroor

Updated on Oct 13, 2024

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Full Name K. Kunju Nair Name K. Aroor Years active 1938–1964		Occupation Film actor Nationality Indian

K. K. Aroor was an Indian film actor, singer and music composer in Malayalam cinema. He was the first hero ever in Malayalam movies, with Balan in 1938, the first talkie ever made in Malayalam.

Biography

K. K. Aroor was born as K. Kunju Nair on 1907 to Madathil Gopala Pillai and Parvathy Amma at Alappuzha district. He has a brother, Raman Nair. Kunju Nair was forced to drop out of school after eighth standard due to his family's troubled financial situation. He had always aspired to be an actor. He landed a few odd jobs. Later he joined P.S.V Nadana Sabha, a drama troupe in Kottakkal. He worked there for 18 years, mainly portraying female characters. It was during this time that he saw a newspaper advertisement that called for young actors to act in Balan. He was selected to play the lead role. He changed his name to K. K. Aroor. There were 23 songs in Balan all were composed by Ibrahim and K.K.Aroor and written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. Then he played a negative role in Jnanambika. He later joined Harikatha Kalakshepam, another drama troupe. In 1973, P. A. Thomas gave him a small role in his film Kudumbini, and with that movie he retired from cinema.

He was married to Pankajakshiyamma with whom he had a son, Vasudevan. He struggled financially and that forced him to work as a server in a tea shop during the last days of his life. He died on 1984 at Palai.