Actor Kottayam Pradeep passes away

Actor K.R. Pradeep, also known as Kottayam Pradeep, died following a heart attack here on Thursday. He was 61-years-old.

Pradeep, who complained of uneasiness, was rushed to a private hospital in Kottayam in the wee hours of Thursday. He died by 4.00 a.m., hospital sources said. 

A native of Kumaranalloor in Kottayam, Pradeep began his acting career as a child artiste in a Malayalam play ‘Eswaran arrestil’ (God under arrest), directed by thespian N.N. Pillai. 

Having been part of several Malayalam dramas and a few tele-serials, Pradeep entered the movie industry through ‘ Ee Nadu Innalevare’, a Malayalam flick directed by I.V. Sasi in 2001 and later went on to act in the Hindi and Telugu versions of the film.

His breakthrough role, however, came several years later through a Tamil movie titled ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’, directed by Malayali director Goutham Vasudev Menon.

 Known for his unique style of dialogue delivery and comic roles, Pradeep also played notable roles in over 60 movies such as Thattathin Marayathu, Amen, Oru Vadakkan Selfie, Seventh Day, Peruchazhi, Kattappanayil Hrithik Roshan, Aadu oru bheekara jeeviyanu, Jamna Pyari, besides a handful of Tamil movies including Raja Rani and Nanpan.

The last movie featuring Pradeep , titled ‘Papam cheyyathavar kalleriyatte’, was released in 2020.

He was an employee at Life Insurance Corporation of India since 1989. He leaves behind wife Maya and children Vishnu and Vrinda.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Registration Minister V. N. Vasavan and others condoled the death.