Madhavan Nair, commonly known by his stage name Madhu, is an Indian actor, director, producer, former college lecturer and former film studio owner, who works in Malayalam cinema and a certain number of Hindi and Tamil films. He was a prominent lead actor during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and has acted in more than 400 films. Madhu has also directed 12 films, produced 15 films and at one time owned the Uma Film Studio. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013 for his contributions towards the arts. He was honored with the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala in 2004, for his outstanding contributions to Malayalam films. He is the president of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) Kerala Unit. Mini, a children's movie produced by him, bagged the Indira Gandhi National Award for Best Film on Family Welfare, at the 43rd National Film Awards in 1995. He is the inaugural winner of the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam for his performance in Swayamvaram (1972), and has received three more Filmfare awards and is also the recipient of five Kerala State Film Awards. Madhu starred Chemmeen won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film in 1965, becoming the first Malayalam film to win the title. Personal life He was born on 23 September 1933 at Gourishapattom, Thiruvananthapuram. His father, R. Parameswaran Pillai (hailed from Padmanabhapuram, Thuckalay), was the erstwhile Mayor of Trivandrum and his mother Thankamma was a housewife. He has four sisters. He had his primary schooling up to the fourth standard at Kunnukuzhi L.P School, fifth class (preparatory) at S. M. V. School, 1st form to 3rd form at Pettah Middle School and fourth form to sixth form (SSLC) at St. Joseph's High School. He did pre university degree from Mahatma Gandhi College and graduation in Hindi from University College. He did his post graduation in Hindi from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He was married to Jayalakshmi till her death in 2014. They have a daughter Uma.<ref>{{cite news |title=Game again for arc lights, but its got to be different: Thespian Madhu (Where Are They Now?) |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/game-again-for-arc-lights-but-its-got-to-be-different-thespian-madhu-where-are-they-now/1584625 |access-date=17 August 2019 |work=Outlook |date=28 July 2019}}</ref> Career He started his career as a Hindi lecturer in S. T. Hindu College and then Scott Christian College at Nagercoil.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZzYIAsAWc&t=217s During that time he chanced upon a newspaper advertisement