Thilakan (born Surendranatha Thilakan) was a Malayalam film actor. Widely considered one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema, he was stubborn, uncompromising and very critical of the way lead actors worked in comparison to character actors. In a span of around 40 years, Thilakan handled a huge variety of roles, including negative portrayals. He is especially well known for his on screen father roles opposite Mohanlal, in movies like "Spadikam" (1995) and "Kireedam" (1989).