Veteran actor Santosh K Nair has died in a tragic car accident at the age of 65. The head on collision also left his wife Subhasree V. seriously injured and in intensive care. The couple’s car collided with a truck travelling in the opposite direction. Local witnesses rushed to help and emergency services had to cut open the car to get them out. The couple, who share one daughter, Rajasree S. Nayar were rushed to hospital where Santosh reportedly suffered a heart attack while being treated.
The truck driver, who also sustained injuries in the smash, is set to be questioned by police as authorities suspect driver fatigue may have caused the crash. The Motor Vehicles Department is also said to be investigating the accident.
The star’s career spanned over four decades and the tragedy comes just weeks after the April 10 release of Santosh’s latest film Bharathanatyam 2: Mohiniyattam, a sequel to the 2024 hit Bharathanatyam. The movie is due to land on Netflix on May 8. He had described it as one of the best roles of his career.
Although he attended college to study mathematics the lure of acting was too strong and he eventually pursued a career in it.
His career began in 1982 with the with the Malayalam film Ithu Njangalude Katha, directed by P. G. Viswambharan and he quickly became a popular star in Malayalam cinema.
A prolific and versatile actor he was known for playing villainous, lead, supporting, and comic roles and appeared in more than 100 films during his over 40 year career.
Some of his most memorable roles were in movies such as Vishnu Lokam, Irupatham Noottandu and Pinnilavu. He also enjoyed small screen success in shows such as Swapnam and Sreekrishnan.
The star, who was also active in politics during his younger years, had taken a break from the profession in 2014 and only returned to screens in 2021.
He was known for his dedication to his roles often performing physically demanding scenes and stunts and sometimes found himself injured during intense shoots.
However he had previously expressed disappointment about not always landing roles he felt matched his talent.
Santosh’s body will be moved to a government hospital for postmortem shortly and a public viewing is expected to be arranged for fans and members of the film industry to pay their last respects.