Mullanezhi

Mullanezhi Neelakandan Namboothiri is a Malayalam actor and lyricist. He has also written plays and poems in the past. His foray into the world of writing started with poems. At a very young age, Mullanezhi got the opportunity to be mentored by Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon, a famous poet of Kerala. His books like Mohapakshi and Penkoda showed the deep rooted background of the legend as he used a lot of Sanskrit in his poems.

He made the transition as a lyricist with the song “ Karukaruthoru Pennanu” featured in Njavalpazhangal (1976).More offers kept coming by so Mullanezhi ended up penning over 70 songs in 22 films, his last being Indian Rupee Click to look into! >> Read More... in 2011.

His songs were a perfect blend of traditional and modern music. Alongside a spectacular career as a lyricist, Mullanezhi had a small acting career too. He has acted in 16 films, playing supporting roles. But his work as a lyricist was more revered and awarded than that as a lyricist. Thus, he was quick in quitting acting. His accolades include two Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards (one each in 1995 and 2010). The former was for theatre and later for his poems.

He has also won the state award for Best Lyricist. Mullanezhi has also served as a director of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi from 1980-83. These awards are enough proof to show the hold Mullanezhi had in theatre at a time. He used to love writing plays on social issues. The result was some impactful plays coming out at that time. Mullanezhi, unfortunately, died on 22 October 2011 due to cardiac arrest. But his poems and songs have remained immortal.