Peal of Laughter Will Ring On
KOCHI: Mani, the very sound of his name always rang with laughter. Malayalis heard that typical Mani-style laughter, which later became his trade mark, in the movie ‘Sallapam’. Kalabhavan Mani, the versatile actor, who passed away on Sunday, registered his presence in Mollywood with his performance as Rajappan, the toddy tapper, who used to tease the character played by Manju Warrier in ‘Sallapam’.
Through that character, Mani had proved that he could sing well too as Ayyappan, a typical local Romeo, who teased girls with romantic songs while tapping toddy. His skill to make spectators laugh and his ability to sing well, had turned him into a popular artist in Malayalam filmdom.
Even before entering the glamorous world of films, Mani was a master of multi-tasking. The boy who had a humble beginning won the prize for mono act in the School Youth festival which changed his life. He had taken to auto driving for his livelihood and had joined various mimicry troupes from where he had got an opportunity to be a part of the Mimicry troupe of Kalabhavan, which gave him the prefix Kalabhavan to his name.
A flexible Mani had experimented novel items in Mimicry venues and his special item had been the the gestures of a Dinosaur.
In his initial years in Malayalam cinema, Mani had handled comedy roles the most. ‘Kireedamillatha Rajakkanmar’, ‘Dilliwala Rajakumaran’, ‘Mannadiar Penninu Chenkotta Chekkan’, ‘Ullasappoonkattu’, ‘Manthra Mothiram’ and ‘Kalyanappittennu’ were some of the movies in which Mani had scored with his genuine comedy numbers. His combination with Dileep and Jayaram was lapped up by movie buffs.
Monayi, his character in multi-starrer ‘Summer In Bethlehem’ (1998), was well received. Monayi’s translation of ‘ainthu cousins’ is still fresh and lives on, because of the innocence showed by Mani to that character.
In 1999, Mani acted as a bear (a man who was forced to dress himself as a bear in a zoo) in ‘My Dear Karadi’. In the same year Mani had switched gear to serious roles. The role in Vinayan’s ‘Independence’, Ezhuthachan in ‘Crime File’, the role of a mentally challenged in ‘Kannezhuthy Pottum Thottu’ saw him evolve as an actor.
However, through ‘Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum’ in which he played the role of Ramu, a blind man, Mani proved that he was capable of handling serious roles and he had matured as an actor.
From there, his experimentation as an actor had began and Mani,in 2000, also turned to characters with a negative touch. Through Kattuppilli Pappan in ‘Valyettan’ and Gunasekharan in ‘Rakhshasa Rajavu’, Mani had proved his versatility and had been invited to play the role of protagonists in films. He had donned the hero in ‘Akashathile Paravakal’, ‘Valkannadi’, ‘The Guard’ (the movie with only one character.
In the meantime, Mani had found time to play different characters in Superstar movies such as ‘Balettan’ and ‘Sethuramiyyer CBI’.
In 2005, Mani became an action hero of Malayalam cinema following the success of ‘Ben Johnson’. Movies such as ‘Lokanathan IAS’, ‘Red salute’, ‘Rakshakan’, ‘Payum Puli’, ‘Abraham and Lincoln’, ‘Orange’, ‘The Filmstar’, ‘Patham Classum Gusthiyum’ and ‘Pulliman’ had given him the status of a star who could guarantee hits. Even when he had been doing central characters in some movies, Mani found time to be a part of exciting projects in Malayalam. The role of Ayyappan in ‘Bachelor Party’, where the audience saw stylish Mani, Louis Pappan in ‘Amen’, Antony in ‘Black and White Kudumbam’ and the role of a sub inspector in ‘Ayalum Njanum Thammil’ are examples of Mani’s commitment to cinema and his passion to be part of good cinema.
As a Playback Singer
Mani had sang in more than 25 films in Malayalam. His hit songs in movies include ‘Chempazhukka’, which he sang along with Manju Warrier in (Kannezhuthy Pottum Thottu) and Sona Sona from Ben Johnson. The song ‘mala mala luya’ (Ananthabhadram) along with his role in that movie was also an instant hit.
Conquered Kollywood
Apart from Malayalam cinema, Mani was a popular actor in Tamil too. He debuted in Tamil through the Mammootty-starrer Marumalarchi (1998). His role in Gemini (2002) was his real breakthrough following which he got a chance to act in superhit director Shankar’s ‘Anniyan’ and Enthiran. His last film in Tamil was Kamal Hassan- starrer ‘Papanasam,’ which is the remake of Malayalam blockbuster ‘Drishyam,’ in which he played the role of constable Perumal. (The role was played by Kalabhavan Shajon in ‘Drishyam).’
Songs with Rustic rhythm
The folk songs of Malayalam, regained its popularity in the 1990s, thanks to the albums of Kalabhavan Mani. Mani, who was a good singer, revamped those songs which turned into best selling albums. His popular folk songs include:- Kanni Manga Prayathil, Odenda Odenda, Chalakkudichankthakku pokumbol, Umbayi Kochand, Varannu Paranjittu chettan, Kunjunaalu cheruppathil and Kottoppam Kottangale.