Prem Nazir was the icon of the Malayalam film industry before the era of Mammootty and Mohanlal began. Now, the two stars are going to release a book on the legendary actor. The book, titled Nithyaharitham, will be released by Mammootty and Mohanlal at a special event to be held at TDM Hall in Kochi at 6 pm on Sunday. The event will be attended by the state culture minister AK Balan, along with a long list of film celebrities such as Kunchacko Boban, Jayaram, Kamal, TN Krishnankutty and Sibi Malayail. A special cultural programme has also been planned at the event.

G Suresh Kumar, chairman of the Prem Nazir Foundation, revealed that the team has been working on the venture for the past 18 months. Initially, it was planned as a 200-page book but in the end it turned out to be around 1,000 pages after Prem Nazir’s family, friends and colleagues shared several interesting details about him.

Prem Nazir was born on 7 April, 1926 and lived until 16 January, 1989. He is one of the finest actors the Malayalam film industry has produced. The star was often referred to as Nithyaharitha Nayakan, which means ‘Evergreen Hero’, and interestingly the book on him is aptly titled Nithyaharitham. He began his career as a stage actor and made his film debut with the 1952 film Marumakal, but he took the stage name Prem Nazir only during the making of his second film Visappinte Vili in 1952. Prem Nazir rose to stardom during the 1950s and was the biggest superstar of the Malayalam film industry until his death in 1989.

Prem Nazir won the Kerala State Film Award in 1981 and went on to win the Filmfare Special Award – South] for numerous films in 1976. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1983.

(Content provided by Digital Native)