Malayalam actor Kundara Johny, known most for the villain characters he played in the movies, passed away on the night of October 17, Tuesday. He reportedly suffered a heart attack and breathed his last at a hospital in Kollam of Kerala. Johny was 71 years old.
Debuting in 1979 and acting in over a hundred movies, Johny often played a police official or the henchman to the antagonist. Some of his characters, like those in CBI Diary Kuruppu and Nadodikattu remain memorable and are often recalled in movie discussion groups. In CBI Diary Kuruppu, he played 'Driver Vasu' to the character of Ousepachan (Janardanan), a guy who surprises the investigating officials with his placid behaviour when he is caught for assisting a crime. Mammootty's character, playing the CBI official Sethurama Iyer, watches him and says, "Look at him, there is no reaction even when he reads newspaper reports about his role in the crime!" Another quoted line is Vasu’s retort: “If you have all the proof as you say, why are you questioning me sir?”
But in Nadodikattu, he took a detour from the stereotypical tough guy he had played through most of his career and acted as a scared goon to Thilakan's character of a smuggler. He and another actor called Ajith are easily scared about getting caught by two men (Mohanlal and Sreenivasan) who they think are CBI officers and run wildly the moment they see them.
Johny played memorable characters in films like Kireedom, Godfather and Spadikam. In his first film Nithyavasantham, Johny was only 23 when he played the role of a 55 year old. After that, he became part of many popular movies like Aalkkoottathil Thaniye, Rajavinte Makan, Amrutham Gamaya, 1921, Mukham, Inspector Balram, Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu, Kabooliwala and Aaram Thampuran. His last film was Unni Mukundan's Meppadiyan in 2022.
Kerala Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian paid his condolences to Johny, recounting a meeting with the actor two months ago during which he had seemed energetic. The news of his death was shocking, the minister said. Finance Minister KN Balagopal also remembered Johny as a long-time friend who was always a presence in the cultural and social events of Kollam.
Playback singer MG Sreekumar also paid tribute to Johny, recalling the days they spent together at the Swami's Lodge in the Madras of a long time ago. Actor-director Srikant Murali also paid his condolences.