Nivin Pauly


Nivin Pauly is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is the recipient of two Kerala State Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South, two Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, and six SIIMA Awards. He made his acting debut in Vineeth Sreenivasan's directorial debut, Malarvaadi Arts Club, in 2010. The 2012 film Thattathin Marayathu pushed him into stardom.
Nivin came to be known for playing the boy-next-door archetype, following roles in the bilingual black-comedy thriller Neram, the sports-drama 1983, the romantic-comedy Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, the romantic-drama Bangalore Days, the comedy road-thriller Oru Vadakkan Selfie, and the coming-of-age romantic drama Premam. He then went on to star in the police drama Action Hero Biju, the family drama Jacobinte Swargarajyam, the political satire Sakhavu, the family comedy Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, and the epic film Kayamkulam Kochunni, which emerged as one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films. and the romantic action comedy Love Action Drama.
He later starred in Sarvam Maya, which became the highest-grossing film of his career, further solidifying his commercial success.
Nivin made his debut as a producer with Action Hero Biju under his production company Pauly Jr. Pictures and has produced the films Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela and Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham. The latter is the first Malayalam movie to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar.
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for Neram. In 2015, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performances in Bangalore Days and 1983. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam for Action Hero Biju. In 2020, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor -Special Mention for Moothon.
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Early life

Nivin Pauly was born on 11 October 1984 at Aluva in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. His parents are Pauly Bonaventure and Thressiamma Pauly, who were employed at Aarau, Switzerland. He was brought up in Kerala. He did his B. Tech. degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from the Federal Institute of Science and Technology in Angamaly. He was employed at Infosys Ltd. in Bangalore through campus placements and was working there as a software engineer from 2006 to 2008. However, he resigned and returned home after his father's death.

Career

Debut and breakthrough (2010–2012)

Nivin auditioned for Malarvaadi Arts Club and was cast by Vineeth Sreenivasan in the role of Prakashan, which marked his debut. Following this, he acted in the films The Metro and Sevenes, and did cameos in Traffic and Spanish Masala. He appeared in the music video Nenjodu Cherthu from the album Yuvvh.
The 2012 film Thattathin Marayathu became one of the biggest hits of the year. He played the role of Vinod, a Hindu boy madly in love with Ayesha, a Muslim girl. This was Vineeth Sreenivasan's second film as a director. This also secured his position as one of the finest actors in the Malayalam film industry. He received offers from directors, including Sathyan Anthikad, Rajesh Pillai, Aashiq Abu, and Shyamaprasad.

Rise to prominence (2013–2015)

Nivin made his debut in Tamil with the bilingual film Neram.The film was director Alphonse Puthren's directorial debut and was noted for its non-linear screenplay. His other Malayalam films in 2013 include 5 Sundarikal and Sunil Ibrahim's Arikil Oraal. The latter was a psychological thriller in which he played the role of Ichcha, a waiter at a café. In 5 Sundarikal, he acted in the segment "Isha" directed by Sameer Thahir. He also acted in Shyamaprasad's English: An Autumn in London where he portrayed the character of a London-born dapper playboy.
In 2014, he played the role of Rameshan in Abrid Shine's directorial debut 1983, a coming-of-age sports film. His portrayal of Rameshan from his school life, well into adulthood earned him the Best Actor Award at the 2014 Kerala State Film Awards. This film also fetched him multiple other awards including the Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards South and South Indian International Movie Awards, and Most Popular Actor at the Vanitha Film Awards. This was followed by debutant Jude Anthany Joseph's romantic comedy Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, in which he portrayed the role of Giri and was released a week after 1983. "Sify" stated that the director Jude Anthany Joseph "creates an engaging enough drama in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, that you're happy to emotionally invest in ." His next release Bangalore Days was the coming-of-age romantic comedy drama directed by Anjali Menon. Nivin essayed the role of Krishnan "Kuttan" P P, a software engineer who is judgemental about modern life without really thinking about his own hypocrisies. This role was also taken into account by the jury for the Best Actor award at the 2014 Kerala State Film Awards. The film was released in 205 theaters across India, making it one of the biggest releases for a Malayalam film at the time. In the same year, he played an extended cameo in the Lal Jose film Vikramadithyan, as an assistant district magistrate.
In 2015, Nivin appeared in Mili, Oru Vadakkan Selfie and Ivide. He plays the role of a soft-skills trainer, Naveen in Mili, directed by Rajesh Pillai. He followed this up with the "road-comedy film" Oru Vadakkan Selfie, directed by G. Prajith and scripted by Vineeth Sreenivasan.
He then acted in Premam, where he played the role of George David. It grossed over 600 million, and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam movies, catapulting him into the '50-crore club'. The film collected ₹2 crore from Tamil Nadu box office in its 300 days theatrical run making it the highest grossing Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu at the time. Nivin's portrayal of George was featured in the Film Companion's 100 Greatest Performances of the Decade. Praising his performance, the Film Companion wrote: "His performance had charm, mischief, and most impressively, vulnerability."

Continued success and critical acclaim (2016–2021)

Nivin produced Action Hero Biju in 2016 under his banner Pauly Jr. Pictures. The film, a police procedural drama, was directed by Abrid Shine. As sub-inspector Biju Poulose, the film and the role portrays an honest look at the life of a police official. The film also has the highest opening gross for a Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu. The movie was well received by the police fraternity in Kerala. He also starred in the family-drama Jacobinte Swargarajyam directed by Vineeth Srinivasan. Based on a true story, he played the role of Jerry, the son of Jacob Zacharia who struggles to clear his father's debts.
His next film was a political drama Sakhavu in which he played dual roles. Directed by Sidhartha Siva, this was the first dual role in his career, where he portrayed a student political leader and a senior social activist and comrade who fights for his left-wing ideals.
Nivin appeared in his first straight Tamil feature film through Gautham Ramachandran's crime drama Richie, where he portrayed a small town thug. He also starred in the dramedy Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela. This film was his second outing as a producer. The film which was received well at the box office was a heart-warming story which portrayed that cancer is never the end of the road for everyone involved.
In 2018, the big-budget movie Kayamkulam Kochunni, directed by Rosshan Andrrews made a significant impact at the Kerala box office, and across all territories that it was released as well. This film put Nivin in the 100 crore club. He came together with Shyamaprased for a third time for the romantic-comedy Hey Jude (film). Nivin plays the role of a mathematical genius, yet socially awkward Jude who like his namesake Beatles song finds himself in spite of his perceived shortcomings.
In 2019, Nivin played the role of Dr Mikhael John in Haneef Adeni's action-thriller Mikhael. This was followed by Love Action Drama, a romantic comedy which also saw commercial success at the box office. Nivin next appeared in Geetu Mohandas' film Moothon which was screened at several international film festivals worldwide including Toronto International Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, FFAST (Paris), Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and Mumbai Film Festival. He won the award for the best actor at the New York Indian Film Festival for his role in Moothon. Nivin portrayed the dark and demoralising world of Moothon as Akbar which fetched him the Kerala State Film Awards – Special Mention in 2019. The film was the screened as the opening film at the Mumbai Film Festival Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image and as the grand finale at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Nivin's role as Akbar in this film was also featured in Film Companion's 100 Greatest Performances of the Decade.
In 2021, he starred in Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval's Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham, a family drama with satire and absurd-comedies elements.

Recent work and career fluctuations (2022–present)

The fantasy film Mahaveeryar was Nivin's first release of the year directed by Abrid Shine and was released on 21 July 2022, to critical acclaim. However, the film underperformed at the box office. The climax of the film was later changed, which was better received by the audience. The teaser of Mahaveeryar garnered 6 million views within 24 hours of its launch making it the then most viewed teaser in Malayalam cinema. His next film, action thriller Padavettu, an action thriller directed by debutant Liju Krishna had its theatrical release on 21 October 2022, to critical acclaim from the critics but didn't performed well at the box office. The trailer of Padavettu was launched to a full house at the inaugural match of the Indian Super League 2022 at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi; making it the first film to have the trailer launch at the ISL. This was followed by the comedy drama Saturday Night, directed by Rosshan Andrrews, which released on 4 November 2022. It received largely negative reviews from both the critics and audience, alike, and failed at the box office. In 2023, Nivin appeared on screen as Mattanchery Moidu in Rajeev Ravi's film Thuramukham. Though it opened to mixed reviews, Nivin was praised for his sublime performance. Then he appeared in Ramachandra Boss & Co which received negative reviews and ended up as a box office bomb.
In 2024, he starred in the film Varshangalkku Shesham directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan In which he had a cameo appearance as Nithin Molly which received widespread praise from the audience for his performance and was a hit at the box office and his next film Malayalee from India, directed by Dijo Jose Antony was released to mixed reviews from critics and audiences was underperformed at box office.
After a series of commercial setbacks, he made a huge comeback with the Christmas 2025 release Sarvam Maya, directed by Akhil Sathyan, the son of Sathyan Anthikad. It received generally positive reviews and became a huge commercial success, grossing over 145 crores worldwide and marking a revival in his career.
His next film Baby Girl released on 23 January 2026. His next projects are the Tamil film, Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, directed by Ram, Action Hero Biju 2, Gangster of Mundanmala, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, Shekara Varma Rajavu, and the LCU entry Benz. He has also announced a new project titled Dear Students, which will be produced under his home banner.

In the media

Following his appearance in Premam, Nivin was chosen as the Most Desirable Man of 2015 by Kochi Times.
In early 2017, Nivin appeared as himself in the short film "No Go Tell" directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. This viral film was vetted by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and focuses on creating awareness among children about sexual abuse and child body safety.
Nivin was also part of the Kerala Strikers team in the Celebrity Cricket League. In addition, he was named the youth ambassador of the Kerala Blasters for the third edition of the Indian Super League.

Philanthropy and services

Nivin was noted for his contributions during the unprecedented floods of 2018 in Kerala. He visited relief camps in his hometown of Aluva and arranged basic necessities for the flood-affected people. He also met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to hand over his donation towards the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.
He was also in the news for the "On-Call" campaign, where he called and spoke to patients and healthcare workers during the lockdown, encouraging and thanking the latter for their selfless service.
Nivin was also a part of the launch of the "Drug-Free Kerala" campaign of the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau against corruption and narcotic substances

Personal life

Nivin married his college sweetheart, Rinna Joy, on 28th August 2010, at St. Dominic's Church in Aluva. They were classmates at the Federal Institute of Science and Technology. The couple has a son and a daughter. He currently lives with his family in Kochi.

Filmography

Films

  • All films are in Malayalam, unless otherwise noted.
YearTitleRoleNotes
2010Malarvaadi Arts ClubPrakashan
2011TrafficCar driver in the last sceneCameo appearance
2011The MetroHarikrishnan
2011SevenesShaukath
2012Spanish MasalaMathewsCameo appearance
2012Thattathin MarayathuVinod Nair
2012Bhoopadathil Illatha OridamMurali
2012Puthiya TheerangalMohanan
2012ChaptersKrishnakumar
2012Da ThadiyaRahul Vaidyar
2013NeramMathew
Vetri 		Bilingual film in Malayalam and Tamil
2013My Fan RamuHimselfCameo appearance
2013English: An Autumn in LondonSibin
20135 SundarikalJinuAnthology film; Segment: Isha
2013Arikil OraalIcha
20141983RameshanKerala State Film Award for Best Actor
2014Ohm Shanthi OshaanaGiri Madhavan
2014Bangalore DaysKrishnan P.P. aka "Kuttan"
2014VikramadithyanLokesh Kumar IASCameo appearance
2015MiliNaveen
2015Oru Vadakkan SelfieUmesh
2015IvideKrish Hebbar
2015PremamGeorge David
2016Action Hero BijuBiju PauloseAlso producer
2016Jacobinte SwargarajyamJerry Jacob
2016AanandamAkashCameo appearance
2017SakhavuKrishnakumar & Sakhavu Krishnan
2017Njandukalude Nattil OridavelaKurien ChackoAlso producer
2017RichieRichard K. Sagayam Tamil film
2018Hey JudeJude Rodriguez
2018Kayamkulam KochunniKayamkulam Kochunni
2019MikhaelDr. Mikhael John
2019Love Action DramaDineshan
2019MoothonAkbar/ BhaiKerala State Film Award Special Mention
2021Kanakam Kaamini KalahamPavithranDisney+ Hotstar film, also producer
2022MahaveeryarSwami ApoornnananthanAlso producer
2022PadavettuRavi Koroth
2022Saturday NightStanley
2023ThuramukhamMattanchery Moidu
2023Ramachandra Boss & CoRamachandra BossAlso producer
2024Varshangalkku SheshamNithin Mulanthuruthy aka Nithin MollyExtended Cameo appearance
2024Malayalee From IndiaAalparambil Gopi
2025Sarvam MayaPrabhendhu N. Namboothiri
2026Baby GirlSanal Mathew
2026Tamil film; Completed
2026HariAlso producer
Post- production
2026Filming
2026WalterTamil film; Filming
2026Post- production

Web series

YearFilmDirectorRoleLanguagePlatform
2025PharmaP. R. ArunK P VinodMalayalamJioHotstar

As a producer

  • All films are in Malayalam, produced under Nivin Pauly's home banner Pauly Jr. Pictures unless otherwise noted.
YearFilmDirectorNotes
2016Action Hero BijuAbrid Shine
2017Njandukalude Nattil OridavelaAlthaf Salim
2021Kanakam Kaamini KalahamRatheesh Balakrishnan PoduvalRelease on Disney+ Hotstar.
2022MahaveeryarAbrid Shine
2023Ramachandra Boss & CoHaneef Adeni
2025George Philip Roy
Sandeep Kumar