Vineeth Anil – Malayalam Child Artist of 1990s best known for Yoddha

Vineeth Anil is a former child artist who worked in Malayalam cinema and television in the 1990s. He has been featured in several nostalgic TV serials of Doordarshan in 1990s, Oru Kudayum Kunju Pengalum being extremely popular. His role as Vikru, Mohanlal’s hometown buddy in Yoddha (1992) was also noticed. His innocent face and acting skills made him a household name in the 1990s. In 2016, he directed an art house film titled “Osyathu,” based on the novel of the same name. But Malayalis still remember for his roles as a child artist. He is one among those child artists who went missing from spotlight, and found later after a decade or so. You can read it in Malayalam. 

Vineeth Anil and his Doordarshan days

Vineeth Anil hails from Manacaud, Thiruvananthapuram. His father Anil is a film distributer and also worked as the manager of the company, Jubilee. He still serves as the vice president of Trivandrum Distributors’ Association. That’s how he entered films.

Vineeth entered acting at the age of 4. Thaniyavarthanam (1987) was his debut flick. He played Mammootty’s son in the movie. After that he appeared in Sibi Malayil’s Ezhuthappurangal. He portrayed Mohanlal’s childhood role in Vasthuhara. As he was an actor, he got a lot of privilege at school, Vineeth told in an interview. As a child artist he was active for 12 years in the industry. Though he wanted to continue in films, his parents desired to complete his education first.

He acted in many popular serials of Doordarshan. His lead role as the elder brother who gets separates from his sister in Oru Kudayum Kunju Pengalum, is nostalgic to many. Though he took a break from acting, he returned to television at the age of 22, this time as an assistant director. He also worked as a post-production director in a serial. But he didn’t stay in the industry for long. He moved to a foreign country in search of a job. But he couldn’t stay away from film dreams for long. He came back, and directed one film, Osyathu, in 2017.

Some of his noted film roles belong to 1990s

Vineeth appeared as a child artist in many well-known films like Thaniyavarthanam (1987), Vasthuhara (1991), Yoddha (1992), “Aanaval Mothiram” (1991), “Kankettu” (1991), “Nettippattam” (1991), and “Sunday 7.P.M.” (1990). Among all, his role as Vikru in Yoddha, Thaiparambil Ashokan’s (played by Mohanlal) friend in Yoddha is extremely popular. His screen chemistry with Mohanlal, and also some combination scenes with Jagathy Sreekumar were well received. He appeared in approximately 20 Malayalam films, sharing screen space with popular actors like Mohanlal, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi and Srinivasan.

Though he fully quit acting in childhood, he later directed one film, Osyathu, in 2017. He has also handled roles like chief associate, associate director etc. He wants to get engaged in direction field and also dreams to own a production house. In fact he started one production house in 2017, but still in primitive stage. He is fully active in Malayalam cinema, but behind camera.