THRISSUR:Mala suffered a cardiac arrest on January 19 and was hospitalised. He breathed his last at a private hospital in Coimbatore.
A school dropout whose childhood was marked by hardships, Mala began his career off stage as a tabla player with minor theatre groups.
He worked with three generation of actors, from Prem Nazir and Jayan; Mammootty, Mohanlal and Dileep to the younger actors.
He used his body language and facial expressions with elan to communicate and connect with his audience than any other comedians of his generation.
Mala Aravindan, 76, who was fondly known as ‘Mala’ in the Malayalam filmdom, was one of the most versatile comedy actors of our time. He had used his body language with facial expressions as means to communicate more than any other comedy actors of his generation.He was versatile enough to entertain adults and kids alike with his inimitable style of voice modulations apart from his histrionics. The speed of dialogue delivery, which made him unique, had accorded a special place in the hearts of film buffs across the state.
Mala, who dabbled in theatre initially while working as a ‘thabala’ artist in amateur theatre sector, was known for his peerless, witty style of acting. When in movies, he was one who could carry off the humour elements with elan. He made Kerala laugh along with the late Kuthiravattam Pappu and Jagathi Sreekumar, who has been paralysed following a road accident, when the comedy in Malayalam cinema was largely centred on thespians like Adoor Bhasi and Bahadur.The Pappu-Mala-Jagathi team, which redefined the humour in the then Malayalam films through their innate sense of humour, eventually touched every element of humour through a remarkable range of performances. This had even forced the industry to take a film based on the trio titled ‘Pappu, Mala, Jagathi’.Late Malayalam screenplay writer-turned-director Lohitadas once said the observation skill of Mala was far superior to his contemporaries after watching the histrionic skills of a blind character done by Mala in his film Bhoothakannadi.
His colleague and compatriot Innocent said, Mala was a brilliant actor in our time endowed with innate sense of humour. “He he could use his body language and histrionics effectively well.”When AAMMA banned Mala A from acting for taking up a role in a Vinayan film, he said in one of the AMMA meetings that “they could ban him from acting but not from playing tabala.”