Over 500 films. A career spanning over three decades in Malayalam (200 films), a few in Tamil, Telugu (70 films), and one each in Hindi and English. Captain Raju’s career graph can be best described as uneventful, yet surprisingly he has come up with quite a few memorable performances.
It’s also interesting how despite playing a villain for the longest time, he has effectively broken the stereotype and experimented a lot with a terrain that doesn’t necessarily go with his tall and stern onscreen image—comedy. We bring you some of the most talked about roles of the late actor.
Sathyaraj (Avanazhi): He was the main antagonist of this I.V. Sasi crime thriller scripted by T. Damodaran. A worthy adversary to Inspector Balram, he killed without batting an eyelid and remained remorseless and ruthless till the end.
Krishnadas (Samrajyam): Again, he locks horns with Mammootty who plays Alexander, a don. One of the most memorable scenes in the film is between Raju’s Krishnandas (a powerful kingpin and swindler) and Alexander, when the latter accuses the former of betraying him to the cops. He cannot be bracketed as either an antagonist or a hero and it’s precisely this quality that has helped Captain break labels.
Nicholas (August 1): Hands down one of his most popular characters, the best part about Nicholas is the air of mystery surrounding him. He is a hired assassin, cold, ruthless, a loner who takes his job very seriously. This is one film where he hardly speaks more than a few words, yet nothing can be more intimidating than his mere presence. Raju aces the deadpan look here.
Aringodar (Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha): Chandu Chekavar’s Guru cool, the formidable and noble thespian who impresses with his skills and knowledge. Be it the action or emotional scenes, Captain Raju effortlessly slips into the character.
Pavanai (Nadodikattu): The formidable hired killer (or the hilarious version of Nicholas) who carries a suitcase filled with an array of guns and knives and assures his customers they are as efficient and sharp as they look. Of course, it doesn’t take much time to figure out Pavanai is all talk and no action. What worked here was how perfect he was for this role, be it his tall frame bundled inside a thick trench coat and hat or his pokerfaced expression that brought a lot of fun into the proceedings.
Karunan Chandakavala (CID Moosa): He can as well be counted as an aged version of Pavanai, with excess mirth and as much foolhardiness. Though he looked like a veteran detective who never solved a case in his life, it’s clear that he is quite impressed with himself and has a lot of silly tricks up his sleeve.
Prabhakara Verma (Our CBI Diary Kurippu): Despite being a cameo, Dy.SP Prabhakara Verma, initially assigned to investigative the Omana murder, impresses with his efficient and straight-talking investigative style. The role seemed tailor-made for him.
Other notable films include Pazhassiraja, Hello My Dear Wrong Number, Agnidevan, Puthukottayile Puthumanavalan, Kabooliwala etc. He has also directed two films that unfortunately failed to make any impact at the box office.