Surendranatha Thilakan known mononymously as Thilakan was an Indian film and stage actor who had starred in over 200 Malayalam films in a career spanning over four decades 19722012 Thilakan is regarded as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema and popularly mentioned as the Perumthachan master craftsman of Malayalam Cinema He is known for his excellence in character antagonist and protagonist roles He has won 3 National Film Awards and 9 Kerala State Film Awards The Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in 2009 for his contributions towards the arts