Dileep, born Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai, is a renowned Indian actor, producer, playback singer, and businessman, primarily active in the Malayalam film industry.
As the eldest of three children, Dileep completed his schooling in Kerala at Vidyadhiraja Vidya Bhavan Higher Secondary School in Aluva and Union Christian College. He then pursued his Bachelor's degree in History at Maharaja's College, Ernakulam.
During his college days, Dileep honed his mimicry and impressionist skills, which led to his involvement in De Maveli Kombathu, an Onam-based audio cassette album that served as his gateway to the film industry. He worked as a mimicry artist at Kalabhavan in the 1980s.
Dileep made his acting debut in minor roles, such as Ennodishtam Koodamo (1992) and Manathe Kottaram (1994),under the screen name Dileep. He gained popularity with his roles in Ee Puzhayum Kadannu (1996) and Sallapam (1996).
He played notable roles in Varnapakittu (1997),Punjabi House (1998),Ee Parakkum Thalika (2001),Kuberan (2002),and Meesha Madhavan (2002),which earned him widespread recognition.
Dileep's breakthrough role came in Meesha Madhavan (2002),where he played the thief Madhavan and won the Best Actor award at Filmfare Awards South. He also appeared in his debut Tamil movie Raajjiyam (2002).
In 2003, Dileep founded Graand Production, which produced the comedy film C.I.D. Moosa (2003),in which he played the lead role. He went on to produce Kadhavaseshan (2004) and Twenty:20 (2008),which won several awards.
Dileep's notable performances include Chanthupottu (2005),Kaaryasthan (2010),Vellaripravinte Changathi (2011),Two Countries (2015),and Ramaleela (2017).
Throughout his career, Dileep has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Kerala State Film Special Jury award, Best Actor award at the Asianet Film Awards, and the Award of Excellence at the Asianet Film Awards.
Dileep married actress Manju Warrier in 1998 and had a daughter, Meenakshi, in 2000. The couple divorced in 2015, and Dileep married actress Kavya Madhavan in 2016, with whom he has a daughter, Mahalakshmi, born in 2018.
