Mohanlal's villain, Sanjay Dutt's bodybuilding guru; remembering Gavin the antagonist

There was a time when a certain actor played the antagonist in numerous Malayalam films. Although many didn’t know his name, audiences welcomed this unique villain with open arms. That villain, Gavin Packard, thus carved out a special place in the hearts of Keralites. Many even wondered if he was a foreigner.

Gavin’s grandfather, John Packard, was an Irish-American who arrived in Bengaluru as part of the US Army. He later chose to stay on in India. Gavin was born in Maharashtra, one of five children born to Earl and Barbara Packard. From a young age, Gavin’s areas of interest were acting and bodybuilding.

He won awards in bodybuilding at both state and national levels. It was also Gavin who trained the likes of Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty.

He entered acting as a henchman in the Malayalam film Aryan. The very next year, he made his debut in Bollywood. Following this, he acted in numerous films including Sadak, Cobra, Jaani Dushman, Yeh Hai Jalwa, Kranti, Baaghi and Maa Kasam. He appeared mostly as a villain. He also played the antagonist in Malayalam films such as Aryan, Aayushkalam, Season, Aanaval Mothiram and Jackpot. In the film Season, the protagonist Mohanlal and the antagonist Gavin stood toe-to-toe. It was a character that loomed large throughout the movie, and it can be said that this was Gavin's finest role.

In a career spanning 15 years, he appeared in over 60 films. He bid adieu to acting in 2002 with the film Yeh Hai Jalwa.

Meanwhile, in 2010, he was seriously injured in a motorbike accident at Kalyan Market in Mumbai. Gavin returned from the brink of death, but had to remain hospitalised for months. After that, his health and life were never the same again.

Two years later, he passed away due to respiratory complications. He was just 48 years old at the time. When he was laid to rest at St Andrew's Cemetery in Mumbai, there was no one present from the film industry. Thus, the fierce on-screen villain was given a remarkably quiet and modest final farewell.