Anish John Kokken is an Indian actor and former model who has appeared in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam films, playing predominantly antagonistic roles. He earned recognition for his role as Vembuli in the 2021 Tamil film Sarpatta Parambarai.
Early life Anish John Kokken was born into a Malayali family in Thrissur, Kerala, but was raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His father John was a school vice principal, and his mother was a nurse. He has two brothers. Kokken studied BSE at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai before switching to hotel management, which he did for two years.
Career Kokken began his career as a model, and after finishing in the last ten in the Gladrags 2005 contest, he chose to pursue a career as an actor. He appeared in his first film, Kalabham during 2006, and subsequently continued to play supporting roles across the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries. In 2010 he was introduced to Kannada cinema by the famous actor cum producer Puneeth Rajkumar During this period, he notably portrayed antagonistic roles in films including Yevadu (2014), Baahubali: The Beginning, (2015) and the K.G.F film series. In 2021, Kokken notably appeared as boxer Vembuli in Pa. Ranjith's period drama Sarpatta Parambarai, before portraying the main antagonist in Thunivu (2023). Later that year, he appeared in the streaming television series The Village and The Freelancer.
Personal life From 2012 to 2016, Kokken was married to actress Meera Vasudevan. Together, the couple have a son. In April 2019, he married actress Pooja Ramachandran. They have a son, who was born in April 2023.
Filmography
Film +List of John Kokken film creditsYearFilmRoleLanguageNotes2006KalabhamJihadi terroristMalayalam2009Love In SingaporeRahulIGYasser Shah2010Alexander The GreatMoneylenderShikkarThambi MuthalaliPrithviNagendra NayakKannadaShouryaVijayendra Varma's sonMylariAnitha's brotherDon SeenuPraveen DuggalTeluguShouryaKannada2011Osthe Local DonTamilTeen MaarVasumati's brotherTelugu2012Ko KoKannadaAnna BondJohn MathewShivaPanduraanga Shetty's sonAdhinayakuduMinister's sonTeluguDaruvuBihari contract killer2014VeeramAaadalarasu’s right hand manTamilYevaduDevaTelugu1: NenokkadineAntonio Rosarius' henchman2015Baahubali: The BeginningKalakeya WarriorBruce Lee2016LakshmanaKannadaSardaar Gabbar SinghPathaanTeluguJanatha GarageSatpalChuttalabbai2017TiyaanMuthassimMalayalamRaja The GreatDevaraj's henchmanTelugu2018K.G.F: Chapter 1JohnKannada2019Venky MamaBihari contract killerTeluguMaharshiVivek Mittal's PA2021Sarpatta ParambaraiVembuliTamil2022Poikkal KuthiraiDevaJamesJohnKannadaK.G.F: Chapter 22023ThunivuKrishTamilVeera Simha Reddy Raja ReddyTelugu2024Captain Miller Prince JayavardhanTamil2025Madha Gaja RajaPedha Perumal's son Kadhalikka NeramillaiKaran 2026 Blast Varun Dhayalan
Television +List of John Kokken television credits Year Title Role Channel Notes2023The Village Farhan Hameed Amazon Prime Video TamilThe Freelancer Raghavendra Sethu Disney+ Hotstar Hindi
References
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