Kainakary Thankaraj

Kainakary Thankaraj (18 October 1946 – 3 April 2022) was an Indian actor, who worked in the Malayalam movie industry and Malayalam Drama Theater Industry.^[1]

Kainakary Thankaraj
Born	(1946-10-18)18 October 1946 Kainakary, Travancore present day Alappuzha district, Kerala, India
Died	3 April 2022(2022-04-03) (aged 75) Keralapuram, Kerala, India
Other names	Kainakari Thankaraj
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1978–2022

Life and career

Kainakary, son of playwright Krishnankutty Bhagavathar, was born on 18 October 1946 in Kainakary, Travancore.^[2] He began acting at 13 and worked with several theater committees, including Kerala People's Arts Club. His film debut was in Aanappaachan (1978) alongside Prem Nazir, leading to roles in over 35 films.

Thankaraj started acting in plays while in school, becoming a popular face in amateur theatre alongside Nedumudi Venu, Faasil and Alleppey Ashraf. His first professional play was Changanasserry Geetha. He was part of many professional theatre collectives, including Kottayam National Theaters, Chalakkuddy Saradhi and KPAC. In 1995, he founded Kainakary Theaters and later formed a theatre troupe named Ambalappuzha Aksharajwala with late actor Thilakan.^[3]

Kainakary passed away on 3 April 2022 at his home in Velamkonam, Keralapuram, after a long battle with liver-related issues.^[4] He was 75.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Achaaram Ammini Osharam Omana	Police officer	[3]
1978	Aanappaachan	Shankaran	[3]
1980	Agni Kshethram
2008	Annan Thambi
2013	Amen	Chali Pappan	[3]
2014	Iyobinte Pusthakam		[3]
2018	Ee.Ma.Yau.	Valiyathuparambil Vavachan Mesthiri	[3]
	Iblis	Great Grandfather	[3]
2019	Lucifer	Sakhaavu Nedumpally Krishnan	[3]
	Ishq	Murugan	[3]
	Vaarikkuzhiyile Kolapathakam	Kattuthara Vakkachan	[3]
2021	Home	Appachan	[3]
	Orilathanalil
	Mohan Kumar Fans		[3]
2022	Padavettu		[5]
2023	Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam		[6]