Saju Navodaya

Saju Navodaya
Saju during Kairali TV event in Doha, 2016
Born	P. T. Saju (1973-10-14) 14 October 1973 (age 51) Udayamperoor, Ernakulam district, Kerala, India
Other names	Pashanam Shaji
Occupations	Actor comedian mimicry artist
Years active	2014 – present
Spouse	Resmi

Pappanikunnel Thankappan Saju (born 14 October 1973), better known by his stage name Saju Navodaya, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Malayalam films, television and stage. He began his career as a comedian on stage shows and later forayed into television and into films.[1] In January 2020, he contested in the second season of Malayalam reality TV show Bigg Boss.

Personal life

Saju Navodaya was born sixth among nine children to Pappanikunnel Thankappan and Manka at Udayamperoor, Kochi in Kerala, India.[2] He did his schooling at SNDP HSS, Udayamperoor. He was a regular participant in almost all the competitions in school youth festivals. Saju has directed many dramas which won prizes in Ernakulam district level youth festivals in late 1990s. He studied at Sree Rama Varma Government Sanskrit College, Thrippunithura before starting a dance institute in Udayamperoor to teach classical and cinematic dance.[3] He is also an ardent follower of sports and enjoys playing Cricket and Association football. He has organized and managed sports teams, sports clubs and sports events, such as cricket and football tournaments. Saju Navodaya is married to Resmi, a trained classical dancer.

Career

Saju began his career as an amateur mimicry artist performing in stage shows for some local clubs and festivals in his hometown. A professional mimicry artist Manoj Guinness gave him an opportunity in his professional mimicry troupe in Kochi named Cochin Navodaya. Later on, Saju's name was changed to Saju Navodaya after associating with the troupe.[4] He was known for imitating actors that made him a regular performer during stage shows presented by his troupe in India and abroad.

As of 2020, Saju is the Captain of the Mimicry Artists Association Fighter (MAA Fighters), a team in the Celebrity Cricket Fraternity (CCF), a Cricket league that includes film actors, directors, assistant directors, musicians, producers, choreographers, television actors, mimicry artistes, and media professionals.[5] In January 2020, he entered as a contestant in the second season of the 15 week-long Malayalam reality television show Bigg Boss (Malayalam season 2), broadcast on Asianet and hosted by actor Mohanlal. He was elected as the Captain of the Bigg Boss house four times, in week 2, 6, 7, and 8.[6]

Filmography

Films

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Mannar Mathai Speaking 2	Thief
	Vellimoonga	Kochappy
	Little Superman
2015	Mariyam Mukku	Nazerath
	Ivan Maryadaraman	Traveler in train
	Bhaskar The Rascal	Vikraman
	Oru Second Class Yathra	Biju
	Thinkal Muthal Velli Vare	Jayadevan's Helper
	Acha Dhin	Police Officer
	Jamna Pyari	Sreenivasan
	Utopiayile Rajavu
	Life of Josutty	Rameshan
	Pathemari	Narayanan's Roommate
	Amar Akbar Anthony	Rejimon
2016	Kattumakkan
	Hallelooya	Uthaman
	Aadupuliyattam	Saju
	Marubhoomiyile Aana	Kamal's asst
	Thoppil Joppan	Eldho
2017	Achayans
2018	Kalyanam	Panchayath Member
	Ladoo	Itoope
	Karinkannan	Das	Leading role[7]
2019	Old is Gold
	Prakashante Metro	Agasthi
	Kochin Carnival	Nazeer
	March Randam Vyazham	Bhargavan
	Vattamesha Sammelanam
	A for Apple
	Mattoru Kadavil Kuliscene 2	Kochettan	Short film debut
2020	Panavally Pandavas	Himself	Debut as writer and director
2021	Velukkakka Oppu Ka		OTT Release
	Kalakaran		OTT Release
2022	Pothum Thala
2023	Kenkemam	Rajendran
	Dance Party		[8]
2024	Blue Star	Bullet Babu	Tamil film[9] Credited as Pashanam Shaji
	Once Upon a Time in Kochi		[10]
	Kudumbasthreeyum Kunjadum		[11]
	Prathibha Tutorials
	Swargathile Katturumbu		[12]

Television

• Bhima Jewels Comedy Festival
• Comedy Stars season 1
• Comedy Super Nights 2
• Cinemaa Chirima
• Pashanam Shaji Speaking
• Kaliyil Alpam Kaaryam
• Tamaar Pataar
• Comedy Stars Plus
• Onam Upperi
• Nalla Best Family
• Bigg Boss (Malayalam season 2)
• Priyapetta Nattukare
• Comedy stars season 2
• Star Singer season 8
• Boeing Boeing (Web Series)
• Sura Chettai (Web Series)
• Funs Upon a time
• Wife is beautiful

Playback singer

Year	Song	Film	Co-singers	Language	Music	Notes
2016	"Manja Kattil Pokande"	Aadupuliyattam	Jayaram, Ramesh Pisharody	Malayalam	Ratheesh Vegha

Awards

Year	Organization	Category	Movie	Language	Place	Notes
2015	Ramu Karyat Film Awards	Best Comedian	Multiple movies	Malayalam	Kerala
2016	Asianet Comedy Awards	Most Promising Actor	Multiple movies	Malayalam	Kerala

References

1. "Saju Navodaya". Filmibeat.
2. Mangalam.com
3. "Manam Pole Mangalyam: Pashanam Shaji & Reshmi". jaihind.tv. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
4. "ഷാജി ഈ വീടിന്റെ ഐശ്വര്യം". ManoramaOnline.
5. Anand, Shilpa Nair (20 February 2020). "Malayalam film and media celebrities come together to form a league, Celebrity Cricket Fraternity to play cricket". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
6. "Bigg Boss Malayalam 2 update, Day 7: Saju Navodaya becomes the new captain". The Times of India. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
7. "Karinkannan movie review". Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
8. "Dhama Dhama song from Dance Party ft Shine Tom Chacko, Prayaga Martin is out". Cinema Express. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
9. "Blue Star Movie Review : A well-cast sports drama that's simplified, straightforward and splendid". The Times of India.
10. Features, C. E. (29 May 2024). "Once Upon A Time In Kochi Trailer: A police procedural centered around drug abuse in Kochi". Cinema Express. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
11. "It's A Wrap For Dhyan Sreenivasan-starrer Kudumba Sthreeyum Kunjadum". News18. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
12. Features, C. E. (16 June 2024). "Dhyan Sreenivasan's Swargathile Katturumbu gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 17 June 2024.

External links

• Saju Navodaya at IMDb