Popular Malayalam actor
Kalabhavan Mani died at a private hospital here on Sunday evening. He was 45.
The death occurred around 7.15 p.m.
Dr.
Sanjeev Singh, senior medical administrator at the Amrita Institute of Medical
Sciences here, told The Hindu that
the actor was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night with haematemesis
(vomiting of blood). Sources said the actor suffered from liver and kidney
ailments.
Amid
conflicting reports about the cause of the death, it has been decided to conduct
a post-mortem at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thrissur on Monday.
“The body will be kept at the mortuary in the hospital before completing the
formalities as early as possible on Monday. A decision on whether to keep the
body for the public to pay homage in Thrissur would be taken later. Efforts are
on to conduct the cremation at Chalakudy by Monday evening,” said Edavela Babu,
representative of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes.
A senior
official at the Cheranalloor police station confirmed that the hospital
authorities had informed them on Sunday morning that the actor was admitted
after vomiting blood. “We could not record his statement as he was in a
critical condition and put on ventilator,” he said.
Mani had completed in over 200 films in Malayalam and other South Indian languages.
The
actor’s sudden death came as a shock for the Malayalam fraternity and his
hundreds of fans. Many, including senior actors and technicians, rushed to the
hospital to pay their homage.
Sallapam might be remembered more for Manju Warrier’s
debut as heroine and a superb musical score by Johnson. But, those who saw the
film would also remember Rajappan, the wicked toddy tapper. It may have been a
small role, but that was enough for Kalabhavan Mani to show the world what he
was capable of. That was in 1996.
Over the
next couple of decades, Mani went on to establish himself as one of the more
popular actors in Malayalam cinema. Comedy was his forte, but he proved that he
was not just a comedian.
With his
superb portrayal of a blind singer in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, (remade in Tamil
as Kasi),
he was a favourite to win both the State and national awards for the best
actor.
He also
made an excellent performance in villain, in films such as Gemini (Tamil).
He was a good singer and the folk songs he rendered were extremely popular. His
untimely death has dealt another blow to Malayalam cinema in 2016, which
recently lost actor Kalpana, lyricist O.N.V. Kurup, directors Rajesh Pillai and
Mohan Roop, cinematographer Anandakuttan, composer Rajamani and musician Shan
Johnson.
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