

His first published work was an essay on the diamond industry of ancient India, titled "Pracheenabharathathile Vaira Vyavasayam", which appeared in Keralakshemam, a biweekly published by C. He initially wrote poems but soon changed to prose writing.

MT began writing at a very young age, inspired by his elder brothers who wrote time and again in several literary journals and poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri who was his senior at high school.

He has a daughter from his first marriage, Sitara, who works as a business executive in the United States. In 1977 he married dance artist Kalamandalam Saraswathy with whom he has a daughter, dancer Aswathy Nair. They separated after 11 years of marriage. He married writer and translator Prameela in 1965. He also worked as a gramasevakan at a block development office in Taliparamba, Kannur for a few weeks before joining Mathrubhumi Weekly as subeditor in 1957. Tutorial College, Palakkad during 1955-56. He taught mathematics in Pattambi Board High School and Chavakkad Board High School for over a year and worked in M.B. He obtained a degree in chemistry from Victoria College, Palakkad in 1953. He had to break education after high school, and when he joined college in 1949, he was advised to opt for the science stream as it was felt that a degree in science secured a job faster than any other degree. He completed his schooling from Malamakkavu Elementary School and Kumaranelloor High School. His father was in Ceylon and he spent his early days in Kudallur and in his father's house in Punnayurkulam, a village in the present day Thrissur district. He was the youngest of four children born to T. Vasudevan was born on 9 August 1933 in Kudallur in the present day Palakkad district. He served as the editor of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly for several years.

Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam cinema for the year 2013. He has won numerous other awards and recognition including Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Vayalar Award, Vallathol Award, Ezhuthachan Award and Mathrubhumi Literary Award. In 2005, India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan was awarded to him. He was awarded the highest literary award in India, Jnanpith, in 1995 for his overall contribution to Malayalam literature. He won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay four times for: Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Kadavu (1991), Sadayam (1992), and Parinayam (1994), which is the most by anyone in the screenplay category. He has directed seven films and written the screenplay for around 54 films. Vasudevan Nair is a script writer and director of Malayalam films. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. His other novels include Manju ( Mist), Kaalam ( Time), Asuravithu ( The Prodigal Son - translated to English as The Demon Seed) and Randamoozham ( The Second Turn). His debut novel Naalukettu ( Ancestral Home- translated to English as The Legacy), wrote at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. He shot into fame at the age of 20 when, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. He was born in Kudallur, a small village in the present day Palakkad district (Palghat), which was under the Malabar District in the Madras Presidency of the British Raj. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. Madathil Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 9 August 1933), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director.
