Veteran actor Unnikrishnan Namboothiri defeated COVID-19 at the age of 98. Lovingly called the 'film star grandfather', Unnikrishnan had been undergoing treatment for COVID in a private hospital in Kannur for over a week. He had pneumonia for over three weeks. On Sunday, the actor tested negative and was discharged.

It was his son Bhavadasan who shared the happy news. “He was admitted in the ICU for two days. But he came back to life after recovering from the virus,” said Bhavadasan Namboothiri. Saying that it was his healthy lifestyle that helped him survive the disease, Bhavadasan said that Unnikrishnan had earlier owned a gym and was even a bodybuilder too.

It was recently Unnikrishnan turned 98. The actor won hearts of Malayali audience playing the role of grandfather in many movies including 'Desadanam', ‘Kalyanaraman’, ‘Pokkiriraja’, ‘Mayamohini’ and ‘Rappakal’ in Malayalam. He had even acted in several Tamil movies