KOCHI: Actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away here on Sunday. He was 45. The actor, who was suffering from liver related ailment was admitted to a private hospital on Friday.
Mani had shown flair in acting during his school days and contested in mono act competitions. His life and career had a humble beginning. Mani, who hailed from a poor family, became an auto rickshaw driver for his livelihood. Simultaneously, he also became a part of various mimicry troupes. He was a member of the Kalabhavan Troupe, which gave him the prefix Kalabhavan to his name. His breakthrough was Sallapam (1996), in which he played role of Rajappan, a toddy tapper. From there on, Mani soon became one of the most sought after comedy actors in Malayalam cinema.
He turned into a character actor through Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum (1999) and an action hero through Ben Johnson (2005). He was equally popular in Tamil movie industry too. His last released Malayalam movie was Alif (2015) while Tamil movie was Papanasam (2015.) Some unconfirmed reports said there were traces of poison in his body.
“A team of Cheranaloor police came to Amrita Hospital after the hospital authorities passed an intimation in the morning that Kalabhavan Mani had been vomiting blood. However, the officials could not record his statements as he was shifted to ventilator,” said Sarath Kumar P R, Cheranaloor SI. Postmortem will be held at 9 am at Thrissur Medical College. Mani’s cremation will be held at 5 pm. His bodywill be kept at Sangeeth Nataka Akademi, Thrissur, from11.30 am to 12 noon and at Chalakkudy Town Hall from12.30 pm to 3 pm for public to pay homage.
STAR FADES AWAY
Debut Movie: Samudayam (1993)
Breakthrough: Sallapam (1996)
Noted Performances:
Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, Papanasam (Tamil),Karumadikkuttan, Ben Johnson, Amen, Bachelor Party, Marumalarchy, Gemini (Tamil).
Special Jury Mention in National Awards for Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum.