Veteran actor GK Pillai passed away on Friday morning, due to age-related ailments. He was 97.Born in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, GK Pillai served in the Indian Army and Indian Navy, before venturing into movies. He debuted in the Malayalam movie industry with the 1954 release ‘Snehaseema’. The film was directed by SS Rajan and written by Ponkunnam Varkey. GK Pillai grabbed the attention of the cinephiles, playing the villain characters mostly. He was also a popular face in historical movies like ‘Thacholi Aambu’, ‘Palattu Kunjikannan’ and even the iconic ‘Padayottam’, released in 1982, which also marks the first 70 mm film in South India.
He has acted in over 300 films and portrayed the roles of villains and excelled when he played roles in films based on popular ballads in the state. Some of his popular films include, 'Ashwamedham', 'Aromalunni', 'Chola', 'Aanakkalari' and 'Karyasthan'.GK Pillai later went on to become a household name for the television audience in Kerala. He debuted on tv with the 2004 horror soap ‘Kadamattathu Kathanar’ and shot to fame playing the Colonel Jagannatha Varma, Jayanthi's dad in the 2011 soap ‘Kukumapoovu’. In between, he also dabbled in politics and was seen in Congress party circles too. He is survived by six children, while his wife predeceased him. Hailing from the capital city district, he was a popular figure at many events.