Neeraj Madhav

Neeraj Madhav (born 26 March 1990) is an Indian actor and rapper who predominantly works in Malayalam and Hindi films, apart from one Tamil film.^[3]

Neeraj was born on 26 March 1990, in Kozhikode, Kerala into a Malayali family.^[4] He studied at St. Joseph's Boys' Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode. He graduated in Visual communications from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kanchipuram and later did his post-graduation in Theatre from School of Drama and Fine Arts, Thrissur. His father Dr. K. Madhavan is a veterinarian, and his mother Latha, a teacher.

The young talent started off as a dancer with the first edition of reality television programme ‘Super Dancer’ on Amrita TV and made it to the final round. Neeraj is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, having studied under Kalamandalam Saraswathy and her daughter, Aswathy. He is also trained in chenda and is a disciple of Kalanilayam Udayan Namboodiri.

Neeraj has a younger brother Navneeth Madhav, who is also a dancer turned actor. He has acted in films such as Shikkar , Kottarathil Kutty Bhootham, Nallavan and Manikyakkallu , and TV series such as Kuttichathan.^[3]

Neeraj made his entry to the Malayalam cinema industry through Raaj Prabavathy Menon's Buddy, which he was selected for through an audition. He was later noticed by director Jeethu Joseph and invited to be a part of the movies Memories and Drishyam , both of which turned out to be box office successes, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. Neeraj played his first lead role as Govindankutty, a daily wage labourer, in the movie Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam , directed by debutant Domin D'Silva. Neeraj also acted in Abrid Shine's 1983 and Sathyan Anthikad's Oru Indian Pranayakadha .^[3]

Other noted performances of his are in Anil Radhakrishnan Menon's Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, in which Neeraj plays one of the lead characters alongside Prithviraj, Anoop Kannan's Homely Meals, and Apothecary (film) , a medical drama directed by Madhav Ramadasan.^{[3] [5]}

Neeraj made his debut as a dance choreographer with the film Oru Vadakkan Selfie , scripted by Vineeth Sreenivasan and directed by G. Prajith, with the hit song "Enne Thallendammava".^{[6] [7]} His other releases in 2015 also include Jamna Pyari , Kunjiramayanam , Madhura Naranga , KL.10 Pathu , Charlie and Adi Kapyare Kootamani .^[8]

The movie Oozham , which has Prithviraj in the lead, has Neeraj in a full-length role.^[9] Neeraj also portrayed a pivotal role in Tom Emmatty's Oru Mexican Aparatha .

Neeraj debuted as a screenplay writer through the movie Lavakusha in 2017 in which he also played one of the title characters along with Aju Varghese.

In 2019, Neeraj starred as the main antagonist, Moosa Rehman in the Amazon Original web series titled The Family Man, helmed and produced by director duo Raj and DK. The series also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani and Kishore in major roles.

In July 2020, he released a rap song titled "Pani Paali". It depicted various aspects of life experienced by common people during the COVID-19 pandemic.The song went viral in a very short period of time and was a huge hit among Malayalees and also around other parts of the globe. It also introduced rap music to a more mainstream audience.^[10]

Neeraj is the son of Dr. K. Madhavan and Latha Madhavan. He married his long time girlfriend Deepthi, who is also a native of Kozhikode, on 2 April 2018. The couple have a daughter born in 2021.^{[11] [12]}

• All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted.

Asianet Film Awards

• 2018 – Won – Best Star Pair – Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam

Asiavision Awards

• 2015 – Won – New Sensation in Acting (Male) for performance in various movies^[27]

North American Film Awards

• 2016 – Special mention by the jury for performance in various movies
• 2017 – Special mention by the jury for performance in Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam

• Neeraj Madhav on Instagram
• Neeraj Madhav on Facebook
• Neeraj Madhav at IMDb