Ace Mollywood directors who are also good actors

Directors are the ones who visualize situations from behind the lens, and many times they are the ones who prompt actors to behave according to the character in the movie. So, in short, good directors have a good actor in them and most actors are developed into great actors under the guidance of directors. Sometimes, directors themselves have acted in movies and have stunned the audience with their performance. Mollywood also has seen some great acting performances from prominent directors. Here we take a look at some of the ace directors from Malayalam industry who proved their acting skills also.

Ranjith, a mainstay in Mollywood has made his mark in a variety of fields in cinema as director, scriptwriter, producer and actor. Ranjith, who started his film career by writing screenplays for movies became noted soon after the success of movies like, 'Orkkapurathu', 'Shubhayatra', 'Devasuram', 'Johnnie Walker' and many other commercially successful movies. His first directorial venture was 'Ravanaprabhu' with Mohanlal in the lead. Though Ranjtih has played unnoticed roles earlier in his career, it was 'Thirakadha' directed by himself in which Ranjith made his full-fledged acting debut. He played the role of director Aby Kuruvilla in the movie with conviction. However, Ranjith's finest performance as an actor was seen in Rajeev Ravi's 'Annayum Rasoolum' in which he played the role of Rasool's father. The detailing of the small role by Ranjith was much appreciated. He also played a full-length role in the movie 'Gulmohar', in which he played the role of a revolutionary.

Considered as one of the best directors currently in Mollywood, Dileesh Pothan started his film career as an assistant director to filmmaker Ashiq Abu. Dileesh was given small roles in almost all Ashiq Abu movies, starting from 'Salt N Pepper', in which Dileesh played the character of a flirtatious director. Dileesh carries a sense of humour in most of the characters he plays on screen. Dileesh's role as a police officer in Ashiq Abu movie 'Gangster' saw this award-winning director in a subtly expressive role. Dileesh has acted in around 30 movies so far, the last being his priest role in critically acclaimed movie 'Ee Ma Yau'. In between he directed 'Maheshinte Prathikaram' and 'Thondimuthalum Drisakshiyum', both garnered great reviews from critics and movie lovers. A new tag called 'Pothettan brilliance' was given for movies directed by Dileesh Pothan for its minute detailing.

A veteran actor-director and scriptwriter, Lal, made a name in the industry for his humour oriented movies written and directed along with his longtime friend Siddique. The duo's movies like 'Ramji Rao Speaking', 'In Harihar Nagar', 'Godfather', 'Vietnam Colony' were laugh riots that are enjoyed even today. Lal, however, didn't limit his artistic endeavors to direction and scripting alone, as he ventured into acting soon. Lal first appeared in an uncredited role in the movie 'Manathe Kottaram' and then played a negative character in the National Award winning movie 'Kaliyattam' directed by Jayaraj. It was his role in mega-hit comedy movie 'Punjabi House' that established Lal as a prominent supporting actor. Lal then became an integral part of many commercially successful movies including 'Honey Bee', 'King Liar', 'Pulimurugan', 'Salt N Pepper' and 'Chettayees'.

Sreenivasan, the master of all trades in Mollywood, has established himself as an actor, director, producer and screenwriter in this industry. More than a director, Sreenivasan is known for his intelligent humour riddled screenplays. His first script was for the movie 'Odaruthammava Aalariyam' which was an out-and-out comedy movie. After that, he wrote a script for a number of movies, mostly humour oriented in nature. 'Boeing Boeing', 'TP Balagopalan MA', 'Gandhinagar 2nd Street', 'Hello My Dear Wrong Number' were some of the hit movies for which Sreenivasan wrote scripts for. In 1989 Sreenivasan directed his first movie named 'Vadakkunokkiyanthram' in which he played the lead role that showed him as a husband with an inferiority complex. The movie was critically acclaimed and became commercially successful. Sreenivasan is among those rare talents who understands the pulse of common people and one who satirically criticizes social dogmas and power politics. He started out as an actor in PA Backer's 'Manimuzhakkam', Sreeni played roles which mostly suited the characters he created and has starred in more than 200 movies since his debut in 1977. Sreeni always maintained a signature style of acting and chose his roles wisely.

Son of veteran writer-actor Sreenivasan, Vineeth Sreenivasan, has followed his father's path by envisaging into multiple fields in cinema. Vineeth has excelled as a singer, actor, director and scriptwriter. Vineeth entered the industry as a playback singer in the movie 'Kilichundan Mambazham'. The multi-talented youngster soon made his debut in acting through the 2008 movie 'Cycle'. Vineeth then went on to act in a number of movies including leading roles in 'Makante Achan', 'Chappa Kurish', 'Kunji Ramayanam' etc. Making his directorial debut in 2010 through the movie 'Malarvadi Arts Club', Vineeth was successful in creating a feel-good movie through a story of friendship. However, it was his second movie 'Thattathin Marayath', a love story which established him as a director. The movie was a huge commercial success. His third movie 'Thira', with Shobhana and Vineeth's brother Dhyan in lead roles, showed Vineeth's progress as a director as he maintained a nail-biting pace in the narration of a serious subject like child trafficking. Vineeth, like his father, chose his roles wisely.