Pratap K. Pothen

Pratap K. Pothen (born 1952), popularly known as Pratap Pothen, is an Indian actor, director, writer, and producer who has acted in about 100 films. He has acted in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu as well as Hindi films. His directional ventures were in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

Pratap was born in Thiruvananthapuram. His father Kolathinkal Pothen was a well known business man of Thiruvananthapuram. He has two brothers and two sisters. He did his schooling at Lawrence School, Lovedale, in Ooty. He finished Schooling in 1968. His elder brother Hari Pothen was also a film producer was married to then famous actress Jayabharathi for a short while. His father died when he was 18. The youngest of five children, he grew up in a household where art, politics, entertainment and business co-existed, allowing him to experience a large cross-section of life from his ancestral home in Trivandrum in Kerala.

Pratap was married twice. His first marriage was with leading actress Raadhika in 1985 and subsequently they divorced in 1986. His second marriage was with Amala Satyanath in 1990, a senior corporate professional and they have a daughter Keya born in 1991. Later they got separated and divorced in 2012.

College life

Pratap gained admission to Madras Christian College (MCC), Madras. Pratap remained friends with those he went to school and MCC with. His friends helped him act in plays at college and his interest turned to acting from painting.

He left MCC with a B.A in economics in 1969. Pratap started to work as a copywriter in an ad agency in Mumbai. After a year, he joined Sistas ad agency. Later he worked for Hindustan Thomson.

During the late sixties and early seventies, armed with a boarding school education from Ooty and awakened by an amazing bohemian experience gained 'chasing the wind' during his college days at MCC in Madras, the young Prathap went about shedding his shy schoolboy skin and embracing a culture of theatre and art.

Pratap acted with The Madras Players. The late director Bharathan enjoyed Pratap's performance in Shaw's play Androcles and the Lion, and invited him to act in his Malayalam film Aaravam. Pratap acted in critically acclaimed films like 'Thakara' and 'Chamaram'. Chamaram dealt with the tumultuous affair between a student and his college lecturer.

Films like Nenjathai Killathe, Panneer Pushpangal, Moodupani and Varumayin Niram Sivappu made Pratap famous in Tamil also..

After a few years break from Malayalam movies Pratap made his comeback in 2012 by acting in 22 Female Kottayam in a negative role. The film made him more popular in Mollywood. It was the comeback of Pratap Pothen and he acted in several more movies including the super hit Ayallum Njanum Thammil, 3 dots, Idukki Gold, Arikkil Oraal.

Pratap directed three films in Malayalam:

• Rithubetham, which tells the agony of an illegitimate child.
• Daisy, which sent a romantic wave throughout Kerala.
• Oru Yathramozhi, which was about a son in search of his unknown father.

He also directed a Telugu film – Chaitanya. Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai, Seevalaperi Pandi, Jeeva, Lucky Man, Vetri Vizha My Dear Marthandan, Athma and magudam are some of the popular films he directed in Tamil.

In 2006, Pratap Pothan announced that he would direct Madhavan in a script written by K. Rajeswar. Pre-production works proved to be difficult and the film went through several changes of title and lead actress, before it was announced that the film would be called Oru Naal Podhuma and would feature Rukmini Vijayakumar in the leading female role. The team had made plans to complete shooting for the film in Canada, though creative differences meant that the film was subsequently shelved.

In the last few years he was busy with his ad agency named Green Apple' and focused on commercials for MRF Tyres and Nippo. He used to host Naalaya Iyakkunar in Kalaignar TV. Now Pratap Pothen is active as an actor.

His first National Film Award was the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director for the film Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai.

• 2014 Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award)

Pratap K. Pothen has been married twice. His first marriage was with leading actress Raadhika in 1985, however they got divorced in 1986. His second marriage was with Amala Satyanath in 1990 and the couple has daughter keya born in 1991.

As actor

As director

As writer

• Solla Thudikuthu Manasu

Television

• Naalaya Iyakkunar (Kalaignar TV)