അഭിനയാനുഭവക്കടലമ്മയവളുടെ
ആഴപ്പവിഴസ്സിംഹാസ്സനത്തില്‍
വിരുന്നൂട്ടിയ
മലയാളാണത്തം.

Sathyan (Sathyaneshan Nadar)  (11 November 1912 - 15 June 1971) the legendary Mlayalam Film Actor.  One of the  most acclaimed actors Malayalam cinema; the ease with which he handled complicated characters, like that of 'Pappu' in 'Odayil Ninnu', 'Jayarajan' in 'Daham', Prof. Sreeni in 'Yakshi', and of course 'Palani' of 'Chemmeen' has made him immortal . His popularity was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s and is often considered one of the greatest pure actors in Indian cinema, in terms of critical acclaim. He is remembered for his versatile and natural acting, when compared to his colleagues who at that time essentially followed the drama-style rendering of the dialogues.

Sathyan was born to a Christian Nadar family in the village of Aramada, near Thirumala at Thrikkannapuram in Southern Travancore,   passed the Vidwan exam, equivalent to Master of Arts, was a teacher in Saint Joseph’s School. Later he worked as a clerk in the Kerala Secretariat for about a year; joined the army in 1941 as a Commissioned Officer of the Viceroy of India; was in the British army in Manipur, Burma (now Myanmar) and Malaysia during the World War II period. After finishing his term in the army, he returned home and joined the then Travancore State Police as a police inspector. During the communist riots in 1947–1948, Sathyan was the inspector at Alappuzha North Police Station. He was publicly known as “Nadar Inspector”.

Sathyan’s entry into the field of acting started during his tenure as the police officer. At that time he acted in several amateur plays and that experience made him more interested in acting. His entry to film industry was accidental. He got introduced to a film musician Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar during his tenure as Inspector in Alappuzha North Police Station. The musician introduced Sathyan to various film personalities and one producer promised to cast him in a film; however Sathyan did not get any calls from the producer.

Sathyan came to know about a film that Kaumudi Chief Editor K. Balakrishnan was planning. He met Balakrishnan and the latter was impressed by Sathyan. Balakrishnan cast him as the protagonist in the film written and produced by him, titled Thyagaseema. Sathyan resigned from his job with the police to concentrate in acting and shortened his name to Sathyan from Sathyaneshan Nadar. However, the film was never released. That was in 1951.

Sathyan’s career was influenced by great directors like K. S. Sethumadhavan, A. Vincent and Ramu Karyat. Sathyan’s roles in various films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan like Pappu in Odayil Ninnu, Jayarajan in Daham, Prof. Sreeni in Yakshi(first psychological thriller in malayalam) and the pratogonist in Vazhve Mayam were well appreciated. Sathyan’s other major performances include those in Snehaseema, Nair Pidicha Pulival, Mudiyanaya Puthran, Bharya, Sakunthala, Kayamkulam Kochunni, Adimakal and Karakanakadal.

His famous title character ‘Othenan’ in the film “Thacholi Othenan” became highly popular among the masses. His role in “Chemmeen”, the poignant love story set against the background of the coast of Alappuzha did not win him the best actor award for the year, but is one of the most popular roles of his career. He acted in over 150 Malayalam films and two Tamil films. Sathyan won the first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 1969 for the double role in Kadalpalam. Vazhve Mayam, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Karakanakadal which won high critical acclaim was among his final films. Other releases were Bhikara Nimishankal, Aranazhikaneram & Oru Penninte Katha (as Madhavan Thambi. He was posthumously awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 1971 for his performance in Karakanakadal. He was the first superstar in the history of Malayalam film industry who passed away during the peak period of his career & at the height of popularity.