Karikku fame Krishnachandran has earned praise from both the viewers and the critics alike for being the most prolific actor in the group. Bhavaniyamma, Sura Namboothiri, Ratheesh sir and Prachannan Prakashan are some of his characters that vouch for the incredible talent and range of this young actor. Even though he has mostly done older roles in Karikku videos, Krishnachandran is just 24 years old. Moreover, he is a soft-spoken young man who, quite ironically, has a knack for playing loud and boisterous characters. Krishnachandran says his friends' circle at Karikku brings out the best in him. In a candid chat, Krishnachandran opens up about his career and also shares some interesting memories about his childhood homes.
Entry to Karikku
Krishnachandran confesses that he hasn’t even been in a school play before he tried his luck in Karikku. The movies were what inspired him to do something creative. That is how he began uploading short videos called ‘Country Fellows’ in instagram and YouTube. Karikku founder Nikhil Prasad offered Krishnachandran roles in Karikku videos after being impressed by the latter’s performance in Country Fellows. “Like most people in Karikku, I too had studied BTech. However, unlike them, I had completed my course in three different colleges. Unfortunately, the first two colleges that I had enrolled shut down due to various reasons. So, it was in a third college that I could finally complete my course. My college life was really stressful. I began doing videos as a relief from the stress,” says Krishnachandran.
Family
Krishnachandran hails from Kadavoor near Haripad. Besides his parents, the actor has a younger sister and grandparents too. His father runs a small business while his mother works as a postmistress. His sister has just completed plus two.
“I was born into a normal family. However, my parents made sure that we had a safe and comfortable childhood. My mother is my role model. She began her career as a postal clerk and wrote qualifying exams to finally earn the position of postmistress. My parents were courageous enough to let me chase after my dreams. It was, in fact, my mother who bought me my first camera. Initially, the people in the locality used to mock me saying that I was roaming around aimlessly, carrying a camera. However, now, everyone is very supportive,” notes the actor.
Childhood homes
The family’s ancestral home is at Muttam where his grandparents live. Later, Krishnachandran’s father purchased a plot in Kadavoor and built their house. The actor says he likes spending his time at his ancestral home whenever he is at his native place. “There is a paddy field behind the house, from where the cool breeze flows in. Moreover, the beautiful view of the lush greenery could be enjoyed from the windows. I would go to my house at Kadavoor only in the night to sleep. I like spending most of my time at the ancestral home with my grandparents. As I grew up there, I have lots of friends too in the locality,” says Krishnachnadran.
“It was my parents’ biggest dream to build a house of our own. We began the construction with whatever penny and savings we had. As I was studying then, I didn’t feel any stress or difficulties. It is a single storey house with three bedrooms. The house is called ‘Krishnalayam’. In the future, when I have some savings of my own, I wish to give the house a makeover. I am someone who has homesickness as I am not used to staying away from my house. Now, I am living in Kochi as I work at Karikku. I live in the house that was shown in the videos in the initial days. Anu, Kiran and Sabareesh are my roommates there. Now, the filming has been stalled due to the lockdown restrictions,” notes the youngster.
The characters
Krishnachandran says he ‘really’ looks old when he wears a wig and a fake moustache. That is why he is often chosen to play the roles of grandfather, grandmother, uncle and older boss in most of the videos. Interestingly, his character too makes this observation, in an episode titled ‘Happy Birthday’. “I must say that I have a special liking for Bhavaniyamma, Sura and Ratheesh sir. Just like the audience, I too am eagerly waiting to start shooting for Karikku when the lockdown restrictions are finally eased,” Krishnachandran signs off.
