Bharat Gopy (1937-2008) was an Indian actor, producer, director, writer and litterateur who made most of his films in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for his films “Kodiyettam” (1978), “Yavanika” (1982), “Kattathe Kilikkoodu” (1983), “Adminte Vaariyellu” (1983) and “Chidambaram” (1985). He died of a heart attack at the age of 71.
Wiki/Biography
Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair (popularly known as Bharat Gopy) was born on 2 November 1937 in Chirayinkeezhu, Travancore, British India (now Trivandrum, Kerala, India) (he died at the age of 71). His zodiac sign is Scorpio.
Bharat Gopi when he was young
After completing his school education, he joined Trivandrum University College and completed his graduation in Science. In 1952, while still a student, he performed for the first time in Jagathy NK Achari’s production of Karakku Company. In 1957, he worked briefly as a junior clerk in the Kerala State Electricity Board. His interest in theater and performance led him to delve into it.
family and caste
Bharat Gopy was born into a Nair Hindu family in Kerala.
Parents and siblings
Bharat Gopy’s father Kochuveettil Velayudhan Pillai was a teacher. He was also a theater enthusiast and acted in amateur plays in his day. His mother Parvathyamma was a housewife. Gobi was the youngest of their four children. In one of his articles, he mentioned that his eldest brother served in the Indian Army. He has another sibling.
wife and children
Bharat Gopy’s husband Jayalakshmi SV is an AE O who retired from the government service.
barat gopi wedding photos
They have a son Murali Gopy and a daughter Dr. Minu Gopy. Murali Gopy is an actor, filmmaker, author and journalist. He has written films such as Rasikan (2004), Left, Right, and Left (2013), and Lucifer (2019).
Bharat Gopi and family
Religion/Religious Views
In an interview published by Kilippattu in 2007, he discussed his religious and political views. He mentioned that even though his ideology was communism, he confirmed that he had never been an atheist. Prayer was part of his discipline.
address
Thrikkarthika, No. 27, Skyline Park Villas, Peyad, Thiruvananthapuram.
Signature/Autograph
signature of barat gopi
Profession
theater
Bharat Gopy was an all-rounder in his theater career. He is an actor (100 stage productions), playwright (5 plays) and director (5 stage productions). He began his stage acting career under the guidance of playwright and literary critic G. Sankara Pillai. In 1960, they established the small theater group Prasadhana to promote their modern theater concepts. He played a one-minute role in his first play Abhayarthikal (1962). The character, named Raghavan, doesn’t have any dialogue but must convey the shocking trauma through his expressions. Gopy’s performance was critically acclaimed.
Bharat Gopy’s first drama Abhayarthikal
Prasadhana’s other major works are “Mrugathrishna” (1963), “Pey Pidicha Lokam” and “Puja Muri”. The final production in 1973 was Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Bharat Gopy played the role of Estagon in this production. Among the five plays he composed, “Mutukal” and “Shiksha” were written in 1974 for children’s theatre. He wrote and directed “Rajavu”, “Rajyam” and “Rajakkanmar” (1974).
Bharat Gopy in Mrugathrishna
He has collaborated on productions with other theater groups such as Karamana Janardhanan Nair and CN Sreekantan. His creative exploration led him to join Kavalam Narayana Panicker’s indigenous theater group Thiruvarangu. He worked in films like “Daivathar”, “Avanavan Katamba” (1976) and “Bhagavadujjakam”. He directed the plays Thirumudi and Apraikkan, both written by Kavalam Narayana Panicker.
Bharat Gopy with Kavalam Narayana Panicker and Devarajan Master
Movie
Bharat Gopy’s debut film was Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Swayamvaram (1972), in which his role was only 48 seconds long. It was well received by critics and audiences alike.
Bharat Gopy in Swayamvaram
He appeared in Adoor’s Kodiyettam (1977), playing the role of a goofball named Shankarankutty. He won the National Award for Best Actor, then known as the Bharat Award, for the role, earning him the nickname “Bharat Gopi”.
In the film Thampu (1978) directed by G. Aravindan, he played the role of a circus manager. The tea shop owner in Peruvazhiyambalam (1979). In 1980, he played the role of Ramesh in Mani Kaul’s Satah Se Uthata Admi. The film was shown in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.
Bharat Gopy in Satah Se Uthata Aadmi
In 1981, he played the roles of Dr. Thomas in the film “Vida Parayum Munpe”, Vasu Menon in “Palangal” and Mammachan in “Kallan Pavithram”. Some notable characters and films before 1986 include Tabalist Ayyapan in Yavanika (1982), deaf sculptor Nandu in Ormakkayi (1982), Shakespeare’s Krishna Pillai in Kattathe Kilikkoodu (1983) , Mohandas in “Chidambaram” (1985) and Balan Menon in “Chidambaram”. Revatikolu Parvakutty (1986). In 1985, he won a lot of critical acclaim for his role as the negative trade union leader Krishnan Raju in Govind Nihalini’s “Aghaat”.
Bharat Gopy and Smita Patil in the movie Chidambaram
In 1986, he was paralyzed due to a stroke and his acting career was temporarily suspended. His roles in Susanna (2000), Rasathanthram (2006) and Nasrani (2007) were well received by audiences and critics.
Bharat Gopy of Rasathanthram
Gopy made his directorial debut with the 1979 film Njattadi. This is also the debut film of actor Murali. The film was not released because the censorship board banned it for promoting Nazi ideology.
Behind the scenes of the movie Njattadi’s Bharat Gopy
He later directed three more films – Ulsavapittennu (1989), Yamanam (1991) and Ente Hridayathinte Udama (2002). “Amanam” won the National Film Award for Best Social Issues Film. He became the producer of the film Patheyam (1993).
Bharat Gopy on the set of the movie Patheyam
writing
He has written two books. The first one was published in 1994 – Abhinayam Anubhavam. His syndicated column titled Vichara Kouthukam published in Chitrabhoomi in the early 1990s became the basis of this book. It is now considered a treatise on Indian cinema. The book won the National Award for Best Book in Indian Cinema and the jury mentioned,
For his first-person approach to introspection and self-analysis. Abhinayam Anubhavam, alternately serious and wistful, the actor weaves an entertaining picture of his interactions with his colleagues in film and media. This book is both unusual and illuminating. “
Cover page of Abhinayam Anubhavam of Bharat Gopy
The second book “Nataka Niyogam” was published in 2002. This is an autobiography about his experiences in the theater career. This book is a collection of syndicated columns published in Mathrubhumi. It won the Kerala State Award for Best Drama Book. Dr. Ayyappa Paniker’s introduction to the book provides an insight into the book.
പക്ഷേ,’നാടകനിയോഗ’ത്തിന്റെപ്രസിദ്ധീകരണത്തോട െ ഗോപി ഒരു നാടകവിമർശകനും ആത്മകഥാരചയിതാവുമായ ിശ്രദ്ധനേടുന്നു. ഈ ഗ്രന്ഥം, ഇപ്പോൾ സൂചിപ്പിച്ചതുപോലെ, ഒരേസമയം ഒരു നടന്റെ ആത്മകഥയും നാടകവിമർശനവും ഉൾക്കൊള് ള ുന്നു. “
He was writing his third book, which at the time of his death was considered a sequel to Nataka Niyogam. The working title of the book is “The Philosophy of Performance.”
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 1977, Gopi won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the film “Kodiyettam”.
Bharat Gopy wins Bharat Award for film ‘Kodiyettam’
- He won the Kerala Film Awards for Best Actor four times. It was Kodiyettam in 1977, Ormakkayi in 1982, Ente Mamattikuttiyammakku, Eenam, Ettilam and Kattathe Kilikkodu in 1983 and Chidambaram in 1985.
- In 1981, he won the Best Supporting Actor Award from the Kerala Film Critics Association for the film Kallan Pavithran.
- In 1982, Bharat Gopy won the Best Actor Award from the Kerala Film Critics Association for the films “Ormakkayi” and “Yavanika”, in 1983 for “Sandhya Mayangum Neram” and in 1984 for the film ” Kattathe Kilikkodu” and “Rachana” won the Best Actor award.
- In 1985, he won the Special Jury Award at the Tokyo Asia Pacific International Film Festival (APFF) for his film “Kattathe Kilikkooodu”.
- He won the South Filmfare Award for Best Actor twice, in 1982 for the film “Ormakkayi” and in 1985 for the film “Kattathe Kilikkoodu”.
- In 1985, the French government honored Barat Gobbi with a five-film retrospective at the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris.
- In 1991, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.
Bharat Gopy receives Padma Shri
- In 1991, the film “Yamanam” directed by Bharat Gopi won the National Film Award for Best Social Issues Film.
- In 1991, he won the V. Shantaram Award for Best Film as the producer of the film Padheyam.
- In 1993, he was awarded the title of Senior Researcher of the Ministry of Culture.
- In 1994, he received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Scholarship.
- In 1995, his book “Abhinayam Anubhavam” won the National Award for Best Film Book.
Bharat Gopy wins National Award for book ‘Anhinayam Anubhavam’
- In 2002, his book “Nataka Niyogam” won the Kerala Professional Theater Award for Best Drama and Drama Book.
- In 2002, the Kerala Film Critics Association awarded him the Chalachitra Ratnam Award in recognition of his overall contribution.
die
In 2008, Bharat Gopy suffered a heart attack while shooting for the film De Ingottu Nokkiye and died after being hospitalized for nearly a week. In 1986, he suffered a fatal paralyzing stroke from which he never fully recovered. Changes in blood pressure had troubled him since the early 1980s.
Favorites
- Starring: Sivaji Ganesan Nedumudi Venu
Facts/Trivia
- The cover of Bharat Gopy’s book Nataka Niyogam was designed by his son Murali Gopy.
Cover of Bharat Gopy’s book Nataka Niyogam
- Bharat Gopy is the only Malayalam actor to be honored with a retrospective of five films by the French government. Other Indian actors who have received this honor include Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Amitabh Bachchan.
- During his college summer camp, he made his film debut by playing the lead role in Ponkunnam Varkey’s Njanoradhikapattanu along with his friend Karamana Janardhanan Nair. Years later in 2005, his son Sudheer Karamana made his acting debut through the TV movie Maraviyude Manam (2005) directed by Bharat Gopy.
- The movie “Aghaat” stars Bharat Gopy along with Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah.
Bharat Gopy and Om Puri in the movie Aghaat
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education