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Bharat Gopy Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography, & More

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Death Cause: Heart Attack
Age: 70 Years
Hometown: Thiruvananthapuram

Bharat Gopy 1

Bio/Wiki
Real nameGopinathan Velayudhan Nair
Other nameKodiyettam Gopy
ProfessionActor, Producer, Director, Author, Litterateur
Famous for• Playing the role of Sankarankutty in Kodiyettam (1978)
• Playing the role of Aiyappan in Yavanika (1982)
• Playing the role of Prof. Shakespeare Krishna Pillai in Kattathe Kilikkoodu (1983)
• Playing the role of Mammachan in Adaminte Vaariyellu (1983)
• Playing the role of Mohan Das in Chidambaram (1985)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 175 cm
in meters- 1.75 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourSalt and pepper (bald)
Career
DebutAs an actor:
Malayalam Film- Swayamvaram(1972)
Swayamvaram
Hindi Film- Satah Se Uttha Aadmi (1980)
Satah Se Uthata Aadmi
As a director: Ulsavapittennu (1988)
Ulsavapittennu
As a producer: Patheyam (1993)
Patheyam


Last FilmDe Ingottu Nokkiye (2008)
De Ingottu Nokkiye
Awards & HonoursInternational:
• Special Jury Award at the Asia Pacific International film festival held in Tokyo in 1985 for the film Kattathe Kilikkoodu
• A five-film retrospective honouring Bharat Gopy's films held in Paris by the Government of France in 1985

National:
• Best Actor Film Award for the film Kodiyettam in 1977
• Padma Shri Award in 1991
Bharat Gopy receiving Padma Shri
• Best Film on other social Issues Award for the film Yamanam in 1991
• V. Shantaram Award for Best Film for the film Padheyam in 1991
• Senior Fellowship of the Cultural Ministry in 1993
• Best Book on Cinema Award for his book Abhinayam Anubhavam in 1995
Bharat Gopy received National Award for the book Abhinayam Anubhavam
• Chairman of the jury for selecting Best Book on Cinema in 2002

State:
• Best Actor Film Award for the film Kodiyettam in 1977
Bharat Gopy received National Award for the film Kodiyettam
• Best Actor Film Award for the film Ormakkayi in 1982
• Best Actor Film Award for the films Ente Mamattikuttiyammakku, Eenam, Ettilam, Kattathe Kilikkodu in 1983
• Best Actor Film Award for the film Chidambaram in 1985
• Chairman of the Kerala State Film Award Jury in 1991
• Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1994
• Professional Theatre Award for the Best Book on Dramatics and Theatre for the book Nataka Niyogam in 2002

Filmfare Awards:
• Best Actor Award for the film Ormakkayi in 1982
• Best Actor Award for the film Kattathe Kilikkoodu in 1985

Kerala Film Critic's Awards:
• Best Supporting Actor Award for the film Kallan Pavithran in 1981
• Best Actor Award for the films Ormakkayi and Yavanika in 1982
• Best Actor Award for the film Sandhya Mayangum Neram in 1983
• Best Actor Award for the films Kattathe Kilikkoodu and Rachana in 1984
• Chalachitra Ratnam Award for contributions to Malayalam Cinema in 2002

Other Awards:
• Kerala Film Fans Association Award in the Best Actor Category for the film Yavanika in 1982
• Bombay Malayalam Film Critics Association Award in the Super Actor category in 1983
• Abhinava Puraskaram Award from SANGEETHA - UK in 2002
• Chalachitra Saparya Award from Mathrubhumi in 2002

Personal Life
Date of Birth2 November 1937 (Tuesday)
BirthplaceChirayinkeezhu, Travancore (now, Thiruvananthapuram)
Date of Death29 January 2008
Place of DeathThiruvananthapuram
Age (at the time of death) 70 Years
Death CauseHeart Attack [1]Hindustan Times
Zodiac signScorpio
SignatureSignature of Bharat Gopy
Nationality• British Indian (till 1947)
• Indian (1947 - 2008)
HometownThiruvananthapuram
College/UniversityUniversity College, Thiruvananthapuram
Educational QualificationB.Sc
ReligionHinduism
CasteNair
Food HabitNon-vegetarian
Political InclinationBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) [2]The Times of India
AddressThrikkarthika, No.27, Skyline Park Villa, Peyad, Thiruvananthapuram
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)Married
Family
Wife/SpouseJayalakshmi S. V. (A. E. O, retired)
Bharat Gopy with Wife
ChildrenSon- Murali Gopy (actor, writer)
Murali Gopy
Daughter- Dr Minu Gopy
Dr. Minu Gopy
ParentsFather- Kochuveettil Velayudhan Pillai (deceased; primary school headmaster)
Mother- Parvathyamma (deceased; homemaker)
Bharat Gopy's parents
SiblingsBrother(s)-3 (one elder)
Favourites
FoodEggs
ActorSivaji Ganesan, Nedumudi Venu

Bharat Gopy (circled) with the cast and crew of film Yavanika

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bharat Gopy

  • Bharat Gopy’s first appearance on stage was in a drama by Jagathi N. K Achari named Karakku Company during his school days.
  • During his college days, he played a role alongside his friend Karamana Janardhanan Nair in the drama Njanoradhikapattanu by Ponkunnam Varkey. This was Karamana’s debut play. Bharat Gopy was instrumental in Karamana’s son, Sudheer’s acting career, as he debuted through Gopy’s directorial telefilm Maraviyude Manam (2005).
  • After his graduation, he worked as a Lower Division Clerk in the Kerala State Electricity Board for a brief time.
  • He along with his friend and mentor, G. Sankara Pillai, started a theatre group called the Prasadhana Little Theatre in 1960.
  • His first stage as a professional theatre actor was only for a minute in the play Abhayarthikal (1962), which got him a lot of appreciation.
  • Some of his popular theatre productions from Prasadhana Little Theatre are Mrugathrishna (1963), Pey Pidicha Lokam, and Puja Muri.

    Bharat Gopy in Mrugathrishna

    Bharat Gopy in Mrugathrishna

  • He collaborated with other professional theatre groups led by artists like Karamana Janardhanan Nair and C. N. Sreekantan.
  • He was part of Thiruvarangu (now, Sopanam), the indigenous theatre group of Kavalam Narayana Panicker, in productions like Daivathar, Avanavan Katamba (1976), and Bhagavadujjakam.

    Bharat Gopy with Kavalam Narayana Panicker and Devarajan Master

    Bharat Gopy with Kavalam Narayana Panicker and Devarajan Master

  • He was versatile in all aspects of theatre. He acted in over 100 productions, wrote 5 plays out of which two were for children, and directed 5 productions.
  • His role in his debut film Swayamvaram was for only 48 seconds, which was well-appreciated by the audience.

    Bharat Gopy in Swayamvaram

    Bharat Gopy in Swayamvaram

  • His first directorial film Njattadi (1979) was unreleased, but he went on to direct three more films. The censor board issued a ban on the film citing the reason that it promoted naxal ideas.

    Bharat Gopy during the film Njattadi

    Bharat Gopy during the film Njattadi

  • He legally changed his name to Bharat Gopy by publishing it in the Gazette as the National Award for Best Actor was known by the name Bharat Award at the time.
  • His health was affected by a paralytic stroke in 1986, which affected the movement of his left hand and leg.
  • After the stroke, he focused more on his writing, production, and direction of films and telefilms. He wrote two books – Abhinayam Anubhavam (1994) and Nataka Niyogam (2003). The cover of Nataka Niyogam was designed by his son, Murali Gopy.

    The cover of Bharat Gopy's book Nataka Niyogam

    The cover of Bharat Gopy’s book Nataka Niyogam

  • He was writing his third book, tentatively titled The Philosophy of Acting, considered a sequel to his second book, Nataka Niyogam when he passed away in 2008.
  • He suffered a heart attack on the set of the film De Ingottu Nokkiye (2008) and was hospitalised for almost a week before he passed away.
  • Bharat Gopy’s second film in Hindi, Govind Nihalani’s Aghaat (1985) had the veteran actors Om Puri and Nasseruddin Shah in lead roles.

    Bharat Gopy with Om Puri in the film Aghaat

    Bharat Gopy with Om Puri in the film Aghaat

References/Sources:[+]