Prathap Pothen

Born into a pretty comfortable business family down in Thiruvananthapuram, 1952 was the year Pratap made his entrance. At just five, the kid’s shipped off to a boarding school in Ooty, where, instead of just sulking about the food, he finds a thing for painting. Fast forward, he gets into Madras Christian College. Life does a number on him—his dad passes away when he’s just 15. That’s rough. College days aren’t just about books; Pratap sticks with his old gang, jumps headfirst into college theatre, and acting slowly edges out painting as his big love. He grabs a BA in economics, then heads to Mumbai, hustling as a copywriter—first at one ad agency, then another, and eventually Hindustan Thomson. But theatre keeps calling. He acts with the Madras Players, and it’s in one of those performances that director Bharathan spots him and ropes him in for his Malayalam film ‘Aaravam.’ After that, it’s like a domino effect—he lands parts in ‘Thakara’, ‘Chamaram’, and ‘Lorry’, which pretty much become classics in Malayalam cinema. Tamil cinema comes knocking too with flicks like ‘Nenjathai Killathe’ and ‘Varumayin Niram Sivappu’, the last one probably his most iconic role. Directing’s his next adventure. His debut, ‘Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai’, even bags a national award, and he keeps rolling with films in Malayalam and even a Telugu one. Lately, life’s thrown him some curveballs—family drama, health scares, a little globetrotting, and a newfound love for the internet. Subtlety’s his signature, both in acting and directing, even back when everyone else was hamming it up. And oh, he was in the first Tamil film to ever use steady cam. Not too shabby.