KOZHIKODE: Tributes poured in for actor Kalinga Sasi, 60, who passed away at a private hospital here in the wee hours of Tuesday. He was admitted on Monday due to liver malfunction. Originally V Chandrakumar from Vazhaparambu near Kunnamangalam, Kalinga Sasi had a long stint in theatre before acting in movies. The funeral took place at his Kunnamangalam residence.
Kalinga Sasi breathes his last at 60
Tributes poured in for actor Kalinga Sasi who passed away at a private hospital here in the wee hours of Tuesday. Aged 60, he was admitted on Monday due to liver malfunction. Originally V Chandrakumar from Vazhaparambu near Kunnamangalam, Kalinga Sasi had a long stint in theatre before plunging into filmdom. Kalinga Sasi donned significant characters in movies like Paleri Manikyam Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Kadha, Pranchiyettan and the Saint, Vellimoonga, Amen, Kerala Cafe, and Amar Akbar Antony, among others.
He took to acting courtesy his uncle Vikraman Nair who was the manager of the Kozhikode-based theatre group Stage India. Sakshatkaaram was his first play. Sasi performed in around 500 plays before facing the camera. Thakarachenda was his maiden film, released in 1998. After the Ranjith-directed Paleri Manikyam shot him to fame, Kalinga Sasi had no looking back in Malayalam cinema, acting in 100 movies. He also acted in a Hollywood film in 2015 which is yet to be released.
Though Sasi’s name was tagged with Kalinga, a professional theatre group in Kozhikode, the actor never performed in the plays of Kalinga. The name is learned to be suggested by Ranjith during the shoot of Paleri Manikyam. He is survived by wife Prabhavathi. The funeral took place at his Kunnamangalam residence, with not many people in attendance amid the Covid-19 pandemic.