Anish John Kokken

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anish John Kokken

• Anish John Kokken is a well-known South Indian actor, who has proved his acting skills by playing the role of an antagonist in several South Indian movies. John’s notable works in KGF: Chapter 1 (2018) and Sarpatta Parambhai (2021), have gathered huge appreciation from his fans, across the country. He is also known to have played a role in the blockbuster movie, Bahubali: The Beginning (2015).

• John traces his roots back to Kerala, but he was born and brought up in Mumbai, Maharashtra, from where he completed his schooling and formal education.

  

• At the young age of 23 years, Anish worked as a receptionist at several well-known, 5-star hotels such as ITC Maratha Sheraton and Hyatt Regency. While working at the hotels, John came into contact with several well-established modelling contractors, who motivated him to try his luck in the field of modelling.

• After working in the hotel industry, John switched his job and began working at a call canter known as IBM Daksh; to save more money for making a modelling portfolio.

• In 2005, John sent his portfolio to several modelling agencies, and also participated in the modelling contest organised by Gladrags. John performed well in the contest and was among the finalists of the contest.

• After the contest, John began giving auditions for several renowned companies, such as Cadbury and Bajaj, seeking a role in their ads. In an interview, he said,
  

  One of the things I learnt while being a model in Mumbai was learning to accept rejections gracefully. I would have attended some 1200 auditions before I got selected for my 1st ad.”

• In 2006, John travelled to Kerala, for a modelling contract. There he was introduced to several well-known South Indian movie producers and directors, and it was here when John landed in his big Malayali debut film, Kalabham; where he got the role of a Jihadi Leader.

  

• The movie was released in 2006, after which John returned to his hometown, Bombay, and continued pursuing his modelling career. John as a model was considered very tall and muscular, as a result of which, he often was denied a ramp walk modelling contract, but due to his big and muscular frame, John started receiving roles in the South Indian movies as a villain. In an interview, John said,
  

  As a model I was considered too huge for the ramp due to which I couldn’t do a lot of designer shows. But this same aspect became my advantage in films as I used to play the bad guy in all the films and the South Indian Film Industry prefers villains who are tall and big. So here I was 6.2″ tall and a big muscular guy and they lapped me up. Am so very grateful to the South Indian Film Industry for all the career and fame I have today.” ^[5]Eat My News

• After his debut in 2006, in 2009, John was given another break as a villain in the movie Love in Singapore. In this film, John acted with the renowned South Indian actor Mamooty.

  

• John has worked in a lot of South Indian movies. As a result of which, he has learned a lot of different languages. John is a polyglot. He knows Hindi, English, Marathi, Malyali, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani and Tamil. In an interview, John recalled,
  

  I have always had a flair for languages and having grown up in Mumbai I speak Hindi, Marathi and English fluently. Malayalam being my mother tongue I speak that too fluently. Working in the South I picked up Tamil, Telugu and Kannada along the way.”

• John has been a part of many well-known South Indian films such as I. G. – Inspector General (2009), Alexander The Great (2010), Veeram (2014), Janatha Garage (2016) and a lot more.

• In 2015, John was signed for the movie Bahubali: The Beginning; where he played the role of a soldier in Kalakeya’s Army.

  

• In an interview regarding the movie, Bahubali, John said,
  

  I still remember the shooting of the film Bahubali, but I played a small role in the film. I thought then, that my name would be known soon enough if no one knew my name at the time of playing that role.”

• In 2018, John was given the role of a villain in the famous movie KGF: Chapter 1. John is set to return as an antagonist in the sequel of the film, which will be released on 15 April 2022.

  

• In 2021, John was signed for the movie Sarpatta Parambarai, a movie set up in the 1970s; revolving around the sport of boxing. In the movie, John acted as the main antagonist, named Vembuli, against Arya Pasupathy, a well-known South Indian movie star.

  

• In Sarpatta Parambarai, the director, Pa Ranjith, asked John to adapt an intimidating and ferocious body language. Ranjith further asked John to study the body movements of the former World Boxing Champion, Mike Tyson and to take inspiration from him. John stated in an interview,
  

  It was this Mike Tyson that director Pa Ranjith asked me to take inspiration from for the role of Vembuli in Sarpatta Parambarai. I needed to look like a monster in the ring. I tried to replicate his body language, the aggression, and the ferocity.” ^[6]Eat My News

• John Kokken’s role as Vembuli in the film, Sarpatta Parambarai, was loved so much by the fans, that they call him Vembuli affectionately.

• In 2019, John acted as a cop in the Tamil crime-drama series called, Police Diary 2.0. The series was released on the Zee5 OTT platform.

  

• In 2021, John played the role of the god, Indrajeet in a series that was based on the Hindu mythology, Ramayana. The series, Ramyug, was released on the MX Player OTT platform.

  

• John is a staunch advocate of Yoga. Apart from Yoga, he also has an interest in boxing.

  

• John Kokken draws his inspiration from Sanjay Dutt, who he believes to be one of the greatest villains in the film industry.

  

• John has an ambition, that is to work in the James Bond film as the main villain. While giving an interview, John expressed his desire and stated,
  

  My ultimate goal as an actor is to play the antagonist lead in the James Bond movie. To me, that’s my ultimate dream.” ^[7]Eat My News

• Movies of different languages have always enthused John and since his childhood, John was a die-hard movie fan. He stated,
  

  Well to be honest modelling happened by chance and acting just came along with it. I used to watch a lot of movies while growing up. I was very crazy about movies be it any language.”

• John Kokken is also a pet lover. He has two pets. One is a Rottweiler, named Optimus, and the other one is a Pomeranian, named Trinity.

  

• John Kokken also has a love of horses.

  

• Even though John Kokken is a pure vegetarian, now he is working on adapting to a vegan lifestyle.