Malayalam actor and popular folk singer Kalabhavan Mani passed away at a hospital in Kochi on Sunday (March 6). He was 45.
Mani, who started as a mimicry artist, was a popular character actor in all South Indian languages.
He acted as hero in many Malayalam movies and was a very popular folksinger and stage performer. In a career spanning close to a quarter century, Mani has acted in around 200 films and of late, was seen more often in Tamil films.
Beginning his career as a mimicry artiste, he went on to play serious and even villain roles and was a popular singer too, especially of ballads.
He came to the forefront with his role in Sallapam, which incidentally was the first big hit of super star Dileep.
He won the state award for best actor in 1999 for his role in Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum. He lost out on winning the national award that year by a narrow margin.
The actor got the Special Jury Award in the year 2000 for his film Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum
He was an auto-driver in Chalakkudy before he became a full time actor.
“The actor was admitted to Amrita Hospital in Kochi yesterday. He was critical and was in the ICU. He died at 7:15 PM today,” said a hospital official.
The news comes amid reports that he was being considered for an Assembly ticket from his hometown Chalakkudy. He was known to be close to the Left Front in Kerala.
Mani, who started as a mimicry artist, was a popular character actor in all South Indian languages.
He acted as hero in many Malayalam movies and was a very popular folksinger and stage performer. In a career spanning close to a quarter century, Mani has acted in around 200 films and of late, was seen more often in Tamil films.
Beginning his career as a mimicry artiste, he went on to play serious and even villain roles and was a popular singer too, especially of ballads.
He came to the forefront with his role in Sallapam, which incidentally was the first big hit of super star Dileep.
He won the state award for best actor in 1999 for his role in Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum. He lost out on winning the national award that year by a narrow margin.
The actor got the Special Jury Award in the year 2000 for his film Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum
He was an auto-driver in Chalakkudy before he became a full time actor.
“The actor was admitted to Amrita Hospital in Kochi yesterday. He was critical and was in the ICU. He died at 7:15 PM today,” said a hospital official.
The news comes amid reports that he was being considered for an Assembly ticket from his hometown Chalakkudy. He was known to be close to the Left Front in Kerala.
