India lost one of her biggest artists in Nedumudi Venu, yesterday. The actor had a long acting career, which spanned over five decades and includes over 500 movies. Primarily acting in the Malayalam film industry, the actor had also appeared in multiple films from other languages, including Tamil, Sanskrit and English. The actor has made his mark in South Indian cinema and his death will be a loss that will be felt for years to come. The actor has portrayed multiple varied character roles over the years, so let us take a look at his best 7 films that are currently available for streaming:
Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam
Venu showcased his ability to play more versatile roles in this film and it ended up earning him his second state award for best actor. Follow Ravunni Nair and Saraswati, in the aforementioned film, an older couple who marry each other in their forties. While their biggest sorrow is that they do not have children, the arrival of a family friend’s daughter changes their lives forever. Check out this movie on Disney+ Hotstar.
Sarvam Thaala Mayam
The oldest movie to make it on this list, this 2018 film shows the actor’s ability to play mentoring roles. While his role looks common, his acting makes it unique. Nedumudi Venu stars as Vembu Iyer, a famous mridangam player. A Vijay fan, who happens to be the son of a talented mridangam maker, decides to become a musician after watching Iyer perform. Check out this Tamil feature on Netflix.
His Highness Abdullah
Mohanlal and Nedumudi Venu have appeared in many movies together and most of the time, they deliver cinematic gold. In fact, 4 out of 7 movies on this list features this duo, and Venu is by far one of the best-supporting actors in Malayalam cinema. In this movie, Abdullah, a man who desperately needs cash, accepts an assassination job on Thampuran (King) Udaya Varma. He enters Uday’s “court” as Ananthan and stays in the Thampuran’s house but he starts to have second thoughts when he meets the person who he has to kill. Check out this movie on Disney+ Hotstar.
Indian
Nedumudi Venu was such a big actor in Mollywood that it is easy to forget that he has played important roles in many big films from other film industries as well. And Indian is one such film. Follow Senapathy, a veteran freedom fighter who killed a lot of British men pre-Independence. However, he finds out that the independence he fought for doesn’t mean anything as his country continues to sink through corruption. Check out this epic film on Airtel Xstream and Komparify.
Thenmavin Kombath
As we mentioned earlier, Mohanlal and Venu have acted in many hit movies together. The rest of the three films on this list (including this one) features the brilliant duo. In this movie, the duo plays two best friends – Manikyan and Sreekrishnan. However, when the woman, Karthumbi, enters into their lives – their friendship becomes complicated. Check it out Disney+ Hotstar.
Chithram
While Mohanlal has received praise for his brilliant acting in this film, Nedumudi Venu deserves a special mention for his underrated role. His casting is just as important as Mohanlal’s for this movie and it wouldn’t have worked as well if Venu’s role went to someone else. Vishnu, a con-man, agrees to pretend to be married to Kalyani in front of her father (in exchange for money). While largely successful, Vishnu’s past comes to catch up with him. This Malayalam comedy-drama can be viewed on Disney+ Hotstar.
Bharatham
This movie shows one of Venu’s best onscreen performances. The film features one of his most complex characters to date and his acting gets better and better as the movie goes on. Raman and Gopi are brothers who are musical prodigies. However, Raman’s addiction to alcohol becomes a threat to his career and Gopi is forced to take up his older brother’s role. This movie is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.