Maniyanpilla Raju Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Other Name(s)	Maniyampilla Raju, Maniyan Pilla Raju
Real Name	Sudheer Kumar
Nickname	Raju
Profession(s)	Actor, Filmmaker, Singer
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 7" (170 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut	Film (Malayalam; As an actor): Mohiniyattam (1976) as a job hunter
Personal Life
Date of Birth	20 April 1955 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2025)	70 Years
Birthplace	Thycaud Village, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
School	Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School, Trivandrum
College/University	• Victory Tutorial College, Thiruvananthapuram • Adyar Film Institute, Madras now Chennai
Educational Qualification(s)	• Pre-Degree at Victory Tutorial College, Thiruvananthapuram • Diploma in Acting at Adyar Film Institute, Madras now Chennai (1973–1975)
Religion	Hinduism
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Controversy	Accused of Sexual Abuse In 2024, the Mollywood actress Minu Muneer accused Raju and a few other South Indian filmmakers of abusing her physically and mentally. She said that it happened while she was shooting for a film in 2013. However, Raju denied it and said that he was ready for investigation in the matter. [1]The Economic Times
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	Year, 1985
Family
Wife/Spouse	Indira Raju
Children	Son(s)- Sachin Raju (engineer), Niranj Raju (actor) Daughter- None
Parents	Father- Sekaran Nair Mother- Saraswathyamma
Siblings	Brother(s)- 4 including Surendran Sister(s)- Ramani and Radha
Favourites
Actor	Mohanlal
Food	Chicken Dishes, Biryani
Restaurant	Kethel in Thiruvananthapuram
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Nissan Volvo • Mercedes

Some Lesser Known Facts About Maniyanpilla Raju

• In childhood, he was a big fan of Kethel Restaurant’s chicken. He once sold a tap of his house to buy chicken from there. He even sold his school books to buy a dish from the restaurant.

• Since his school days, he has been friends with the Indian actor Mohanlal.
  

  Maniyanpilla Raju in his younger days

• In the 1970s, he acted in many Malayalam films like ‘Light House’ (1976), ‘Neethipeedam’ (1977), ‘Mudramothiram’ (1978), ‘Mattoru Karnan’ (1978), and ‘Maalika Paniyunnavar’ (1979).
  

  Maalika Paniyunnavar

• Some of his Malayalam films from the 1980s are ‘Maniyan Pilla Adhava Maniyan Pilla’ (1981), ‘Bheeman’ (1982), ‘Pinnilavu’ (1983), and ‘Oru Muthassi Katha’ (1988).
  

  Oru Muthassi Katha

• After appearing in the film Maniyanpilla Adhava Maniyanpilla, he got the name Maniyanpilla.

• He went on to work in many Malayalam films including ‘Adhwaytham’ (1991), ‘Njan Salperu Ramankutty’ (2004), ‘Kunjaliyan’ (2012), ‘Shikkari Shambhu’ (2018), and ‘Gu’ (2024).
  

  Gu

• Apart from acting, he has also produced various Malayalam films like ‘Vellanakalude Nadu’ (1988), ‘Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu’ (1999), ‘Black Butterfly’ (2013), ‘Finals’ (2019), ‘Maheshum Marutiyum’ (2023), and ‘Gu’ (2024).
  

  Maniyanpilla Raju on the sets of a film

• He has acted in a few Malayalam TV shows such as ‘Laksharchana’ (1995), ‘Akshayapatram’ (2001), ‘Kadamattathu Kathanar’ (2004), and ‘Mahatma Gandhi Colony’ (2007).
  

  Kadamattathu Kathanar

• In 2019, his son opened a restaurant, Be@Kiwizo in Kannur, Kerala’s first restaurant to use robots to serve customers. Raju is a co-partner in the business.
  

  Maniyanpilla Raju at his son’s restaurant

• Raju has judged a few seasons of Malayalam comedy TV shows like ‘Comedy Super Show’ (Flowers TV), ‘Comedy Stars Plus’ (Asianet Plus), ‘Comedy Stars Season 2’ (Asianet), and ‘Comedy Stars’ (Asianet).
  

  Maniyanpilla Raju in Comedy Star Plus

• He has also hosted a few Malayalam TV shows like ‘Laughing Villa’ (Surya TV), ‘Malayali Durbar’ (Amrita TV), and ‘Jambanum Thumbanum’ (Asianet Plus).
  

  Malayali Durbar

• In 2024, he was roped in for the Malayalam web series ‘Jai Mahendran.’