Salim Kumar: the ultimate meme king

Salim Kumar as Kannan Sranku in the Malayalam film Mayavi. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Salim Kumar may not have been a superstar in the film industry. But when it came to social media, the likable actor — or rather his many characters, even the underdogs — was a hit. So much so that there seems to be a Salim Kumar sticker or meme for almost every situation and moment, often laced with satire.

He was literally the uncrowned king of social media memes.

Three years after winning the National Award in 2011, the genius actor stayed away from the silver screen due to ill health. Yet he remained alive in the public memory, largely thanks to memes that drew heavily on his image and witty dialogues, giving them a sharp satirical edge.

“Malayalam audience only needs three weeks to forget an actor and I was out of the scene for three years. You have kept my presence alive and helped me make a successful comeback in the film industry,” he told the youth behind the popular International Chalu Union (ICU) Facebook page during his comeback.

He marveled at how many of his dialogues, long forgotten, took on epic proportions in memes thanks to clever contextualization. “It’s like these dialogues are meant for these memes,” he said.

Characters like Manavalan in Pulival Kalyanam, Pyari in Kalyanaraman, Kannan Sranku in Mayavi, mentally disabled character in CID Moosa, dancing master Vikram in Chathikkatha Chanthu, advocate Mukundan Unni in Meesha Madhavan, Koshy in Ee Parakkum Thalika in End culture, Kunjiko Chandran in Mearing culture were popular. Interestingly, even flop characters brought back memories of these long forgotten films like his roles in One Man Show and Kamalasanan in Venicile Vyapari.

Salim Kumar’s off-screen personality and laid-back approach to life have probably made him a favorite among meme makers. He often joked that he had been “killed” more than 15 times, citing false reports of his death.

During one such speculative episode, this night shift reporter rang his number and hesitantly asked if Salim Kumar was available. Realizing that this was a coy attempt to verify that he was alive, Salim Kumar blurted out, “I am very much alive, brother,” followed by a roar of laughter at his own joke.

That was summed up by Salim Kumar – a man who could laugh even at his own death being talked about.

Published – 07 Jun 2026 0:58 IST