Kunchacko Boban

Early life and family

Kunchacko Boban (also known as Chackochan) was born in Alappuzha, Kerala. He hails from the Maliampurakal family, which is credited for owning the first film studio in Kerala, Udaya Studios, considered the ancestral home of the Malayalam film industry. His great-grandfather, M. M. Chacko, started the first boat service in Kuttanad.

He was named after his grandfather, the legendary film producer Kunchacko, who established Udaya Studios. He is the grand-nephew of Navodaya Appachan of Navodaya Studios. His father, Boban Kunchako, is the cousin of Jijo Punnose, also a film director. His father, Boban Kunchacko, was also an actor, director, and producer who was part of a few films produced by Udaya. Kunchacko’s mother, Molly, is a housewife and has two younger sisters, Anu and Minu.

After completing his pre-degree from SB College, Changanacherry, in 1996, he graduated with a first-class in B.Com from SD College, Alappuzha, in 1997. Being an avid sports enthusiast, he plays various games like cricket, table tennis, basketball, and badminton, with badminton being the one he is best at. He was trained in Bharatanatyam during his childhood.

Personal life

Kunchacko Boban married his fan-turned long-term sweetheart, Priya Ann Samuel, on April 2, 2005, at the Little Flower Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Ernakulam. They became parents to Izahaak Boban Kunchacko on April 16, 2019. His son's baptism took place on 30 June 2019, and the event was attended by prominent personalities of the Malayalam film industry.

Acting career

1997–2006

Kunchacko Boban was introduced into the Malayalam film industry by versatile director Fazil. His debut film, Aniathipravu (1997), co-starring Shalini, and directed by Fazil, turned out to be the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever and Kunchacko Boban's performance as Sudhi, the lead character was well received by young audiences and families. The Kunchacko Boban - Shalini pair was considered one of the best star pairs of the Malayalam film industry.|

Following the success of Aniathipravu, Kunchacko Boban was cast in hit films such as Nakshathrathaarattu (1998), Mayilpeelikkavu (1998) and Niram (1999), which was among 1999's highest-grossing Malayalam films and songs of "Niram" are still very popular. The actor reunited with his debut film's director Fazil in Harikrishnans, where he played a cameo, which marked the reunion of Mohanlal and Mammootty after eight years and it was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.| Then he appeared in commercially successful films such as Priyam (2000), Sathyam Sivam Sundaram (2000), Dosth (2001), Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001) and Kalyanaraman (2002).

In 2005, after his marriage, he took a break from films.

2008–present

Kunchacko Boban returned to films in 2008 with a special appearance in a song in Twenty:20 and later acted in Shafi's LollyPop. His real comeback was in 2009 with comedy film Gulumal: The Escape, directed by popular ad filmmaker and director V. K. Prakash. Gulumal was followed by a string of successful films which established him as one of the most successful actors of the last decade and he made a complete makeover of his screen image in his comeback.

In 2010 he played the lead role in the films such as Jeethu Joseph's Mummy & Me, Sakudumbam Shyamala and Lal Jose's Elsamma Enna Aankutty, all of which were commercial successes and reviewers praised Kunchacko Boban for his performance in Elsamma Enna Aankutty.

In 2011, he played the central character in the road thriller film Traffic. The film's success and wide critical acclaim ushered in a trend that followed in Malayalam cinema, dubbed the New generation movies. This was followed by another film Seniors where for the first time he took on a negative role playing a criminal, which was commercial success at the box office and he won SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role - Malayalam. In the same year he acted again in films like Three Kings, Sevens and Doctor Love. He also won the Youth Icon award at Asianet Film Awards.

In 2012, he was featured in three films, Lal Jose's Spanish Masala, Ordinary and Mallu Singh. In Spanish Masala he played a full-length negative role which had Dileep as main lead. Ordinary had a high opening at the Kerala box office and had 10,000 showings in theatres before reaching the 50-day mark. Mallu Singh is credited as 50th film of Kunchacko Boban. Ordinary and Mallu Singh both films became major commercial success at the box office.

His started 2013 with comedy thriller Romans, which was a blockbuster at the box office and later, 3 Dots, God for Sale: Bhakthi Prasthanam, Kadhaveedu, Vishudhan, and Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum, a commercial success.

Kunchacko Boban also gained critical acclaim for his performance, in films such as God for Sale: Bhakthi Prasthanam (2013), Vishudhan (2013), Kadhaveedu (2013), How Old Are You (2014), Madhura Naranga (2015), Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal (2015) and Vettah (2016).

He was also a part of Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal, directed by Dr. Biju, was an eye-opener on how the use of endosulfan affected Northern Kerala villages. The film was screened at the United Nations and was also selected for many world-famous film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, and International Film Festival of India. Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal earned the national award for Best Film made on environmental preservation.

In 2016, Kunchacko revamped Udaya Pictures, the iconic Malayalam production house. Kochauvva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho marked his debut as a producer under this new film outfit.

The year 2017 saw three films, Take Off, Ramante Eden Thottam and Varnyathil Aashanka, earned him numerous accolades as a mature and versatile actor. Take Off was produced in memory of the late director Rajesh Pillai and earned several awards in State, National and International competitions. The characters of these films earned him the Family Hero award at the Vanitha Film Awards and Best Actor critics award at the Asianet Film Awards. The film also happened to release on the 20th anniversary of his film debut Aniyathipravu.

He began 2018 with back-to-back successful films, Shikkari Shambhu, Kuttanadan Marpappa and Panchavarnathatha. His next two releases were Mangalyam Thanthunanena and Johny Johny Yes Appa. His final release of the year was Lal Jose's Thattumpurath Achuthan.

His releases of 2019 were comedy-thriller Allu Ramendran and a medical thriller Virus. Allu Ramendran met with a positive response and was a commercial success. Virus received critical acclaim and was a major box office success of 2019. His performance in both films was highly praised. His first release of 2020 was crime thriller Anjaam Pathiraa, in which he played the central character, Anwar Hussain. The film received highly positive reviews and becomes the first blockbuster film of 2020 in Malayalam Film Industry. The film considered the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year grossed ₹50 crores worldwide and also the highest TRP rated Malayalam film of the year across all channels as well as Surya Tv's all-time biggest TRP rated film ever.

He started 2021 with three movies. Nayattu, which was released in theatres on 8 April, was critically acclaimed for showing the truth of the political circus. The movie was later released on Netflix. The other two, Nizhal and Mohan Kumar Fans, were also released in theatres.'Mohan Kumar Fans' was praised for their effective blend of satire and emotional drama. He ended 2021 with Bheemante Vazhi, which saw a theatre release on 3 December 2021. After four weeks of theatrical run, the film was released in Amazon Prime Video on 30 December 2021.

He started 2022 with political social-thriller film Pada and starred in Ariyippu and Nna Thaan Case Kodu later that year. All three films opened to highly positive reviews. Kunchako was a part of the multistarrer 2018 (2023) based on the 2018 Kerala floods.

Filmography

Main article: Kunchacko Boban filmography

Other works

Besides films and business, Kunchacko support social causes. In 2014 Kunchacko Boban, launched Celebrity Cricket Club (C3). He is the chairman of the organisation C3, and a group of celebrities came together to pledge their time and effort for charity initiative. The club stands for cricket, charity and comradeship.

In 2015, he opened Al Fasht Medical Centre in Sharjah, a medical centre providing comparatively low-cost health care for child behaviour, autism, and adult psychiatry.

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

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6. George, Anjana. (27 January 2017). "Mollywood stars recall their stint as child artistes". [[The Times of India]].
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15. (22 March 2018). "Kunchacko Boban Is at His Best in This New Dance Number!".
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18. (2 August 2021). "Chackochan shows off his cooking skills, prepares health drink". @mathrubhumi.
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22. "‘പഠിക്കാനാണ് പോയത്, കളിച്ചു നടക്കാനല്ല’, ഒരിക്കൽ മാത്രം ക്ലാസ് കട്ട് ചെയ്ത് സിനിമയ്ക്ക് പോയി; എസ്ബി ഓർമകളുമായി കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ". ‘പഠിക്കാനാണ് പോയത്, കളിച്ചു നടക്കാനല്ല’, ഒരിക്കൽ മാത്രം ക്ലാസ് കട്ട് ചെയ്ത് സിനിമയ്ക്ക് പോയി; എസ്ബി ഓർമകളുമായി കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബൻ.
23. (16 January 2018). "Kunchacko Boban revisits his college days". The Times of India.
24. "Kunchacko Boban's degree". The Times of India.
25. "ഡാൻസ് കളിക്കാൻ പഠിപ്പിച്ചത് അമ്മച്ചിയാണെന്ന് ചാക്കോച്ചൻ". Samayam Malayalam.
26. (2 September 2022). "INTERVIEW {{!}} I just want to be known as 'The Actor', says Malayalam actor Kunchacko Boban". The New Indian Express.
27. "Kunchacko Boban is a fantastic badminton player".
28. (June 2022). "Facebook Photo }}{{better source needed".
29. "Kunchacko Boban celebrates 14th wedding anniversary".
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31. "Kunchacko Boban names his son Izahaak".
32. (17 July 2019). "Izahaak Boban Kunchacko baptism".
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34. (24 January 2017). "നല്ല സിനിമ മരിക്കില്ല; അനിയത്തിപ്രാവ് തെളിവ്...".
35. (14 June 2017). "THROWBACK: Mammootty & Mohanlal's Harikrishnans Location".
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44. (18 May 2016). "Killing fields of Kasaragod".
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48. (29 November 2017). "48th International Film Festival of India".
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51. "2018:All Malayalam Movies Box Office Verdict".
52. (1 September 2020). "Malayalam film 'Anjaam Pathiraa' gets a Hindi remake". [[The News Minute]].
53. (10 May 2021). "Malayalam movie Nayattu is a big winner on Indian OTT platform".
54. (10 May 2021). "Nayattu movie review: Kunchako Boban, Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan's thriller shows the truth of political circus".
55. (12 May 2021). "Nizhal movie review: Nayanthara, Kunchacko Boban thriller is high on promise and low on delivery".
56. (19 March 2021). "Mohan Kumar Fans Movie Review: A fairly effective blend of satire and emotional drama".
57. (5 November 2021). "കുഞ്ചാക്കോ ബോബന്റെ 'ഭീമന്റെ വഴി' ഡിസംബറിൽ തീയേറ്ററുകളിൽ".
58. (15 January 2024). "Bheemante Vazhi OTT Release Date and Time on Amazon Prime Video Confirmed".
59. "Bheemante Vazhi on Prime Video : ചാക്കോച്ചന്‍റെ വേറിട്ട കഥാപാത്രം; 'ഭീമന്‍റെ വഴി' ആമസോണ്‍ പ്രൈമില്‍".
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62. (2022-08-11). "'Nna Thaan Case Kodu' movie review: An earnest Kunchacko Boban in a biting satire". The Hindu.
63. "'2018' is a well-made film that recreates one of Kerala's worst moments in recent memory".
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69. "Mollywood star Kunchacko Boban is back with a Christmas special show on TV". The Times of India.
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