Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair (11 March 1914 – 15 August 1990) was one of the most renowned Kathakali artists of any time, and arguably the greatest in the history of the four-century-old classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India. He had fleshy, flexible and clean-cut facial features that were powerful to launch any emotion with amazing power and ease, and was intelligent enough to acquire and exhibit varied styles of Kathakali that were in vogue across Kerala during his lifetime. Krishnan Nair died on Indian Independence Day, 15 August 1990, aged 76.