Angadi (1980) the latter of which was the highest grossing film of the year. He is generally regarded as the first action hero in Malayalam cinema. Superstardom Sarapancharam broke all box-office records set in the Malayalam movie industry till it's time and became the highest-grossing movie of 1979. Its box-office records were broken by another Jayan film, Angadi in the following year, which cemented his popularity among the masses. In films such as Aavesham and Manushya Mrugam he played double roles. During his career, he received only a few critically appreciated roles perhaps partly due to his commercial hero image and partly due to the lack of films that garnered critical appreciation at the time. The focus was always on his unmatched drawing power as an action star and by 1980, at the peak of his career, he had attained a genuine superhero image. Movies exploited Jayan's masculine physique and he appeared bare-chested in numerous scenes. His on-screen attire (most famously his Elvis bellbottoms), his masculine image and later the nature of his death transformed him into a legendary pop culture icon in Kerala. Jayan was also known for his unique method of dialogue delivery and he has contributed many memorable lines to the Malayalam film history. Multistar films Jayan acted in several ensemble cast movies, mostly with Prem Nazir. The duo acted in films such as Naayattu, Love in Singapore, Chandrahasam, Thacholi Ambu, Kannappanunni, Paalattu Kunjikkannan, Maamaankam, Prabhu etc. all of which were top-grossing movies at the box office. He also acted with other popular actors of the time, such as Soman, Sukumaran and Madhu in many films. In early films before 1979 (e.g. Thacholi Ambu and Panchami), he had negative or supporting roles. But later films in the beginning of 1980 relied heavily on Jayan's drawing power as an action hero and placed him as the central character. In 1980, the duo Jayan and Prem Nazir were cast in Ariyapedatha Rahasiyam by P. Venu, that showcased the most famous fight scene in Malayalam cinema. Prem Nazir agreed to play a supporting role in Naayattu, which was very unlikely for a superstar of those times. He had agreed to do this as a token of friendship with Jayan and the director Sreekumaran Thambi. The duo acted together many action films such as Irumbazhikal, Love in Singapore etc. where the box office draw was huge. Death In the peak of