Veteran actor Madhu bags prestigious J.C. Daniel award

Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 (IANS): Veteran Malayalam actor Madhu has bagged the prestigious J.C. Daniel award for his contribution to Malayalam films.

"The award has been given taking into consideration the overall contribution of Madhu to Malayalam films," Culture Minister A.P. Anilkumar told reporters here Friday.

A jury headed by actor Nedumudi Venu chose Madhu for the award, which carries a cash prize of Rs.100,000. The Kerala government instituted the award.

Madhu's best performance has been in the national award winning film "Chemeen" directed by Ramu Kariat.

Madhu, 73, quit his college lecturer to join Delhi's National School of Drama in the early 1960s.

His first movie was "Ninamaninja Kalpadukal" in 1963 and since then he has not looked back, acting in close to 350 films.

Madhu went behind the camera in the late 1970s and has directed over 14 films, also producing a few. He once owned a film studio but sold it.

Madhu also acted in a Hindi film "Saat Hindustani" directed by K.A. Abbas and which featured Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.