Saju Navodaya (Comedian)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Saju Navodaya

• Saju Navodaya is a Malayalam comedian and actor who works in both films and comedy reality shows.

• He used to participate in almost every competition in his school.

• During his college days, he acted and directed dramas and won many prizes in the youth festivals of Ernakulam district.

• After completing his graduation, he started a dance school ‘Magic’ in Udayamperoor, Kerala.

• While he was searching for a classical dance teacher for his school, he met Resmi (a trained classical dancer). He fell in love with her, and the couple got married on the next day of his elder brother’s marriage.

  

• He got married at the age of 24, and thereafter, he started working as a painter; as his financial condition was not good at that time.

• Later, he worked as a mimicry artist. He used to participate in stage shows of local clubs in his hometown.

• A professional mimicry artist, Manoj Guinness gave him the opportunity to perform in his mimicry troupe ‘Cochin Navodaya’ in Kochi.

• Manoj changed his name to Saju Navodaya, and later, he became popular with this name.

• Saju, along with his comedy troupe, performed at both the national and international levels.

• Soon, his talent was recognised by the Malayalam TV industry, and he started getting offers for various TV serials.

• He appeared in many comedy television shows including Comedy Super Nights 2 (2013), Tamaar Padaar (2014), and Nalla Best Family (2019).

  

• He has won a reality show for mimicry troupes ‘Comedy Festival,’ aired on Mazhavil Manorama.

• He acted in many Malayalam films including Acha Dhin (2015), Aadupuliyattam (2016), Achayans (2017), Kalyanam (2018), and Prakashante Metro (2019).

• On 5 January 2020, he entered the Bigg Boss 2 Malayalam house along with other contestants like RJ Raghu, Veena Nair, Rajini Chandy, and Reshma Rajan. He was the 5^th contestant to enter the Bigg Boss house.

  

• His looks are quite similar with the Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera.

  

• He is one of the members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) in Kochi.

  

• In an interview, when he was asked on being typecast in the films, he said,

Yes, I am. After my movie ‘Vellimoonga’ was released, every other project that came to me has the same character with a similar name and shade. I have declined some projects for that reason but slowly I started getting rejected for my reluctance to play ‘Pashanam Shaji.’ I realise that I am still a junior artist. I’m not yet a biggie in this industry to read the script in advance and suggest changes to my character. So I accepted that ‘Pashanam Shaji’ is here to stay with me. Still, I have a feeling that I could explore other areas of my talent had I been offered with a different character. I’m typecast as pessimistic villager now.”