Jayan : Biography
Jayan was a leading actor of the Malayalam film industry in the 1970s. He catapulted to fame riding on Machismo roles that endeared him to the masses, and he established himeself as one of the most popular Malayalam film actors of his time.
On November 18, 1980, at the height of his popularity, he died in an accident on the sets of a movie called Kolliilakkam. Jayan always insisted on doing his own stunts, and for this movie he was performing a particularly dangerous stunt that involved him boarding an helicopter while it was airborne. While doing it, he fell of the helicopter and succumbed to the resulting injuries. The scene was shot once, but the director insisted for a repeat shot in which the accident occurred.There have been some conspiracy theories regarding the circumstances of his death.
Jayan : Career
Jayan was very different from the typical Malayalam film stars in the sense that he had a good physique that befitted an action hero.With Jayan the advent of Serious Action movies began. The usual theme of family melodrama and "Romance-Songs-Running-in-between-trees" ended. Movies exploited his musculine physique and often could one see him appeared bare-chest in most of the scenes. His onscreen dress code, most famous for the Elvis bellbottoms, his masculine image and the nature of his death turned him into something of a legend in Kerala. Jayan was also known for having a very different and unique method of dialogue delivery and he has contributed many memorable lines to Malayalam film history.
