M. N. Nambiar

Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar (Tamil:மஞ்சேரி நாராயணன் நம்பியார், Malayalam: മഞ്ഞേരി നാരായണൻ നമ്പ്യാർ; 7 March 1919 – 19 November 2008), known as M. N. Nambiar, was a film actor in Tamil cinema who dominated the industry in the role of villain for around 50 years. Also known as Nambiar swami or Maha Guruswami, he was a spiritual leader who pioneered the movement of taking pilgrims to Sabarimala.

M. N. Nambiar was born on 7 March 1919. While still a child, his father died and so he moved to live and study in Ooty with his elder sister and brother-in-law. He became interested in acting when he was 13 and he joined Nawab Rajamanikkam's troupe. From then on acting became the only thing that occupied him. His first film was 'Bhaktha Ramadoss', shot in 1935 in Hindi and Tamil, where he played as a comedian along with T.K.Sampangi.