He once shone through villain and supporting roles in Malayalam cinema, now a temple priest

On hearing the name Babu Namboothiri, the character 'Thangal' from the movie 'Thoovanathumbikal' comes to most people's mind. There is no doubt that it was the acting style of KN Neelakantan Namboothiri alias Babu Namboothiri that made the character so ingrained in the minds of the Malayalees. Even after Thoovanathumbikal, he was able to make a name for himself in Malayalam cinema through his many roles. He has acted in 215 movies in 40 years.

Apart from being a film actor, Babu Namboothiri has another image among the people at his place. That is the image of 'Valiya Thirumeni' (temple priest). He is not called by that name out of love for the character he enacted in any movie. Babu Namboothiri is actually a temple priest.

If you visit the Valiyaparachirayil Ganapati Temple at Mannanaikkad near Kuravilangad in Kottayam, you will see the priest Babu Namboothiri. But he can't be seen doing this every other day. Babu Namboothiri will become a temple priest only when the melsanthi (chief priest) of this 300-year-old family temple runs into an inconvenience. The main offerings in the temple are Ottayada, Shodashadravyaganapati Homam and 108 pot abhishekam (ritualistic bathing).

'I have known the rules of pooja since I was in school. If the santhi (priest) is inconvenienced, I will take charge at that moment. That is my karma. There is regular worship at this temple. Few people in the Namboothiri community know about priest work now. The new generation is not interested '- says Babu Namboothiri.