Kunchacko Boban

Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian film actor and producer. Sometimes referred by the moniker Chackochan, he works in Malayalam film industry and has acted in nearly 100 films over the period of more than two decades. He has received several awards, including the Kerala State Film Awards. He is a member of the Kunchacko family.

Kunchacko's debut was as a child in the film Dhanya (1981) produced by his father Boban Kunchacko. He debuted as an adult leading role in Fazil's 1997 romantic drama Aniyathipraavu opposite Shalini, which became the highest-grossing Malayalam film till then, establishing him as a bankable actor overnight. He appeared in a brief role in Harikrishnans (1998) starring Mohanlal and Mammootty, which was the top Malayalam box office grosser of the year. Kunchacko and Shalini joined again in successful romantic films Nakshatratharattu (1998) and Niram (1999), the latter becoming one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year. By then he had created a "romantic hero" image in Malayalam cinema, nevertheless, he also had success in other genres, as a villager in Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001) and as a son to a debt-ridden family in Kasthooriman (2003). Kunchacko won the Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention for his performance in the 2004 film Ee Snehatheerathu. His career took a setback after few box office failures during mid-2000s. He took a break from films in 2006 and moved on to business.

He came back in 2009 with the comedy Gulumal: The Escape, a commercial success. After his comeback, Kunchacko completely changed his chocolate boy and romantic hero image and he proved his versatility as an actor by doing various different roles. Later, he raised his stardom with commercially successful films and reestablished himself as one of the popular lead actors of Mollywood. He is also known for his dancing skills.

In 2016, Kunchacko produced the comedy drama film Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho through Udaya Pictures, in the process of reviving the studio after a 30-year hiatus.

Early and personal life
Kunchacko Boban (also known as Chackochan) was born in a Catholic Christian family at Alappuzha, Kerala. He hails from the Maliampurakal family, who is credited with owning the first film studio in Kerala, Udaya Studios; his great grandfather, Maliampurakal Mani Chacko, started the first boat service in Kuttanadu. He is the grandson of legendary film producer Kunchacko, who also established Udaya Studios. He is also the grandnephew of Navodaya Appachan of Navodaya Studios. Boban is a relative of Jijo Punnose, also a film director.

His father, Boban Kunchacko, was also an actor, director, and producer who was part of a few films produced by Udaya. Kunchacko's mother Molly is a housewife and he has two younger sisters, Anu and Minu. He graduated with first-class in B.Com from SD College, Alleppey in 1997. Kunchacko Boban is a sports enthusiast, he can play various games like cricket, badminton, table tennis and basketball. He is a fantastic badminton player and it’s probably his most favourite sport.

Kunchako Boban married a fan of his, Priya Ann Samuel on April 2, 2005 at Little Flower Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Ernakulam. They became parents to a baby boy named Izahaak Kunchacko on April 16, 2019. His son's baptism took place on 30 June 2019 and the event was attended by prominent personalities in the Malayalam film industry.

1997–2006
Kunchacko Boban was introduced into the Malayalam film industry by versatile director Fazil. His debut film Aniathipravu (1997), co-starring Shalini, and directed by Fazil, the film turned to be the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever and Kunchacko Boban's performance as Sudhi, the lead character was well-received by young audiences and families. Kunchacko Boban - Shalini pair was considered as one of the best star pair of malayalam film industry.| Following the success of Aniathipravu, Kunchacko Boban was casted in hit films such as Nakshathrathaarattu (1998), Mayilpeelikkavu (1998) and Niram (1999), which was one of 1999's the highest-grossing Malayalam film and songs of "Niram" are still very popular.| The actor reunited with his debut film's director Fazil in Harikrishnans, where he played a cameo, which marked the reunion of Mohanlal and Mammootty after nine years and it was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.| Then came again with commercially successful films such as Priyam (2000), Sathyam Sivam Sundaram (2000), Dosth (2001), Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001) and Kalyanaraman (2002). The movie Ee Snehatheerathu earned him a Special Jury Award for his performances at the 2004 Kerala State Film Awards.

In 2005, after his marriage, he took a break from films.

2008–present
Kunchacko Boban returned to films in 2008 with a special appearance in a song in Twenty:20 and later acted in Shafi's LollyPop. His real comeback was in 2009 with comedy film Gulumal: The Escape, directed by popular ad filmmaker and director V. K. Prakash. Gulumal was followed by a string of successful films which established him as one of the most successful actors of the last decade and he made a complete makeover of his screen image in his comeback. In 2010 he played the lead role in the films such as Jeethu Joseph's Mummy & Me, Sakudumbam Shyamala and Lal Jose's Elsamma Enna Aankutty, all of which were commercial successes and reviewers praised Kunchacko Boban for his performance in Elsamma Enna Aankutty.

In 2011, he played the central character in the road thriller film Traffic. The film's success and wide critical acclaim ushered in a trend that followed in Malayalam cinema, dubbed the "New generation movies". This was followed by another film Seniors where for the first time he took on a negative role playing a criminal, which was a blockbuster at the box office and he won SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role - Malayalam. In the same year he acted again in successful films like Three Kings, Sevens and Doctor Love. He also won the Youth Icon award at Asianet Film Awards.

In 2012, he was featured in three films, Lal Jose's Spanish Masala, Ordinary and Mallu Singh. In Spanish Masala he played a full length negative role which had Dileep as main lead. Ordinary had a high opening at the Kerala box office and had 10,000 showings in theatres before reaching the 50-day mark. Mallu Singh is credited as 50th film of Kunchacko Boban. Ordinary and Mallu Singh both films became major commercial success at the box office.

His started 2013 with comedy thriller Romans, which was a blockbuster at the box office and later, 3 Dots, God for Sale: Bhakthi Prasthanam, Kadhaveedu, Vishudhan and Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum is regarded as the best comedy entertainer of 2013.

Kunchacko Boban also gained critical acclaim for his performance, in films such as God for Sale: Bhakthi Prasthanam(2013), Vishudhan(2013), Kadhaveedu(2013), How Old Are You (2014), Madhura Naranga (2015), Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal (2015) and Vettah (2016).

He was also a part of Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal, directed by Dr. Biju, was an eye-opener on how the use of endosulfan affected Northern Kerala villages. The film was screened at the United Nations and was also selected for many world-famous film festivals including the Toronto Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, and International Film Festival of India. Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal earned the national award for Best Film made on environmental preservation.

In 2016, Kunchacko revamped Udaya Pictures, the iconic Malayalam production house. Kochauvva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho marked his debut as a producer under this new film outfit and the film was a hit at box-office.

The year 2017 saw three films, Take Off, Ramante Eden Thottam and Varnyathil Aashanka, earned him numerous accolades as a mature and versatile actor. Take Off was produced in memory of the late director Rajesh Pillai and earned several awards in State, National and International competitions. The characters of these films earned him the Family Hero award at the Vanitha Film Awards and Best Actor critics award at the Asianet Film Awards. The film also happened to release on the 20th anniversary of his film debut Aniyathipravu.

He began 2018 with back-to-back successful films, Shikkari Shambhu, Kuttanadan Marpappa and Panchavarnathatha. His next two releases were Mangalyam Thanthunanena and Johny Johny Yes Appa. His final release of the year was Lal Jose's Thattumpurath Achuthan.

His releases of 2019 were comedy thriller Allu Ramendran and a medical thriller Virus. Allu Ramendran met with positive response and was a commercial success. Virus received critical acclaim and was a major box office success of 2019. His performance in both films was highly praised.

His first release of 2020 was crime thriller Anjaam Pathiraa, the film received highly positive reviews and becomes the first blockbuster film of 2020 in Mollywood. The film considered as the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year grossed ₹60 crores worldwide and also the highest TRP rated Malayalam film of the year across all channels as well as Surya Tv's all time biggest TRP rated film ever. He's filiming a new movie with Nayantara for the first time.The film titled as Nizhal.

Other works
Beside films and business, Kunchacko also promotes social causes. In 2014 Kunchacko Boban, Chairman of the organisation C3 launched Celebrity Cricket Club (C3), a group of celebrities came together to pledge their time and effort for charity initiative. The club stands for cricket, charity and comradeship.

In 2015, he opened Al Fasht Medical Centre in Sharjah, a medical centre providing comparatively low-cost health care for child behaviour, autism, and adult psychiatry.