- Was a matinée idol among Malayalee youth in the 1970s; some of the college campuses in Kerala even observed the 20th death anniversary of the action star by wearing the typical Jayan costume of bell-bottom pants, tight shirts and dark sunglasses. The college union of one of the city colleges in Kochi renamed its annual youth festival as 'Jayanothsavam' (Jayan Festival).
- Krishnan Nair was Jayan's original name. It was Actor Jose Prakash who gave the name "Jayan" to Krishnan Nair.
- Breathtaking action scenes, tight and risky stunts and fiery dialogues of Jayan truly made watching the film a thrilling experience, but Keralites had a rude shock when news broke that Jayan was crushed under a chopper that accidentally hit the ground while shooting the film 'Kolilakkam' at Cholavaram. Jayan was hanging down from the landing bars of the chopper by rejecting the director's offer for a dupe. He was killed instantly.
- In December 2010, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his death, it was announced that a new movie with Jayan in the lead is in the works, using advanced animation and graphics technologies. The movie, titled Avatharam (Incarnation), was announced to be directed by Vijeesh Mani and scripted by T. A. Shahid. The project is inspired by the star's posthumous popularity as an action legend. It was announced that the actor would be brought back to the big screen by twelve top technicians from Hollywood.
- Some conspiracy theories emerged regarding the circumstances of his death, primarily because the pilot and his co-star Balan K. Nair, who was in the helicopter, survived with minor or no injuries. Nevertheless, it has been confirmed as a genuine accident.
- In the peak of his career, on 16 November 1980, Jayan died in an accident on the set of the movie Kolilakkam (transl. Shockwave) at the age of 41 years, 3 months and 21 days. The climactic scene of the movie was being filmed in Sholavaram, near Madras, Tamil Nadu. Jayan always performed his own stunts, and for this movie he was performing a rather dangerous stunt that involved him boarding an airborne helicopter from a moving motorbike driven by Sukumaran. The shot was accepted by the director in the first take; Nonetheless, another three shots were filmed. According to the film's production executive, Jayan insisted on yet another re-take as he was not satisfied with its perfection. During the re-take, the helicopter lost its balance and crashed along with Jayan who was hanging onto the landing skids, and he later succumbed to his injuries.
- His first appearance with the name Jayan was in the movie Shapamoksham, which is usually credited as his first film.
- Is first accolades for his acting skills reached him when he was a naval sailor. He used to act in plays at various functions such as anniversaries. The encouragement from his friends and colleagues in the Navy gave him the desire to act in films.
- During his film career, he was primarily an action star and was particularly famous for his macho image and unique style. He was reputed for his masculine appeal and well known for performing stunts of a dangerous nature on his own.
- According to his nephew, he had the role of a vampire-like character in an unnamed project costarred by Vidhubala, which was never released.
- He starred in over 150 Malayalam films.
- His mother Bharathiyamma became bedridden after this incident, and she too died two years later.
- Jayan's Wax statue is unveiled at the Sunil Wax Museum in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram in 2022.
- Jayan's body was taken to Trivandrum via aeroplane and later it was taken to his home in Quilon, where he was cremated. Thousands paid homage to the actor, and the police had to take huge measures to deal with the crowds.
- He also played for Navy football team.
- Jayan served in the Indian Navy for 16 years, culminating in the rank of Master CPO. By the end of his navy days, he had begun efforts to start small businesses at Ernakulam and became a regular inhabitant of the Cochin Tourist Home. During his life at Ernakulam, he would meet some of his lifelong friends. It was such a chance meeting while on leave, with Rajan Prakash who is the veteran Malayalam actor Jose Prakash's son, who owned a dry cleaning shop in Cochin, that eventually landed him a role in the movie Shapa Moksham.
- After his death was confirmed, a slide was added during the theatre show of his movie Deepam, which was running in packed houses, informing viewers of his death. A large number of his fans burst into tears and ran out of the buildings, while many continued to watch the movie, refusing to believe it and taking it for an ingenious promotion for some upcoming project.
- Jayan is perhaps the only actor thus far in the history of Malayalam film industry who remains a marketable superstar decades after his demise, to this day. In the state of Kerala, he is a true icon of popular culture, whose life and image has made him a legend over time.
- Malayalam actress Jayabharathi, who was his first cousin introduced him to the film industry.
- He was an Indian actor, naval officer, stunt performer and cultural icon of the 1970s and 1980s.
- By the late 1970s, he became the most popular superstar, lead actor and bankable star of Malayalam cinema and has been acclaimed as the first and most successful action hero of Malayalam cinema.
- His superhero image had transformed him into a popular culture icon among Malayalis around the world, with widespread impersonations on stage and television programs based on his screen persona. It was accompanied by a cartoon, email and SMS phenomenon in the early 2000s, portraying him as a comic superhero with unique quotes of superhuman strength attributed to the action star becoming widespread.
- Jayan's formal education ended at the 10th grade at Kollam Govt. Boys High School when he joined the Indian Navy.He was a member of the Indian Navy team to travelled to Britain in 1961 for taking India's first war ship INS Vikrant.
- The meteoric rise of Jayan had literally a texture changing impact on the Malayalam film industry. It changed forever the hero concept that existed previously for many years and gave rise to a new genre of film characters with more manly characteristics. The National Film Archive of India, in a tweet writes: "Jayan, an action star of the 70s is remembered for his heroic style & ability to perform daredevil stunts.
- In 2009, an 8 ft high statue of the actor was erected in front of his house at Olayil, Kollam which is now a nursing home.
- There is a Jayan memorial Arts & Sports club functioning at Thevally near the actor's hometown. The residential area at his birthplace has been renamed "Olayil Jayan Nagar" in his honour.
- Efforts are being made to construct a permanent memorial at Mulankadakam where he was cremated, and also to open a library and museum near his home.
- Jayan memorial club and a Jayan memorial National highway waiting shed consisting of all Jayan film names and pics built by fans in Thrissur.
- Jayan's famous emotional English dialogue in street slang is included at number 7 in Outlook magazine's Terrific 13 lists published in the 13th anniversary edition of the magazine, in the section '13 Cheesiest Chalkiest dialogues in Indian Cinema'.
- The actor's domination and commercial success in the 1970s is mentioned in the book Because I have a Voice. It focuses on Jayan's masculine image.
- Film songs are an integral part of Indian cinema and the same is true for Malayalam films. Jayan has acted in several memorable song sequences which bring about nostalgic memories about the actor. The song "Kannum Kannum" in the film Angadi presents one of the most popular song sequences in Malayalam cinema involving Jayan and Seema. Its success led to the teaming together of this pair in numerous movies.
- In the film Shikkar, Jayan's image is used in the sets of a fight scene in a bid to stress the adventurous setting of the film.
- Kollam District panchayath and Government of Kerala built a new conference hall near to Kollam District panchayath office in Kollam municipal corporation as a memorial to the legend actor. The hall is named as "Jayan Memorial Hall". It was inaugurated on 12 September 2020.
- A book titled Jayan Americayil? (Jayan in America?) came out in 1981 and had record sales at the time. It circulated the rumour that Jayan was alive in America with an injured eye and that it was a look-alike who was killed in the accident.
- The movie, Ariyapedatha Rahasiyam had a good stunt sequence by Jayan, and this is one among the popular stunt scenes in Malayalam cinema till now.
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