Famous Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away at a hospital in Kochi on Sunday (March 6). The versatile actor had been unwell for a few days and was admitted to a hospital in Kochi. Though he had been admitted to the hopsital, it was only in Sunday afternoon that news emerged that he was serious and on a ventilator. He was undergoing treatment for liver related diseases. At 7.15 pm the hospital confirmed the actor’s death.
Mani, who started as a mimicry artist, was a popular character actor in all South Indian languages. Mani who was previously an auto driver had broken all conventions to charter a successful career for himself. He acted as hero in many Malayalam movies and was a very popular folksinger and stage performer. He came to the forefront with his role in Sallapam, which incidentally was the first big hit of super star Dileep.
He won the National Film Award and Kerala state film award in 1999. He started out as a mimicry artist, and gained popularity with the same in films too. He then moved on to the Tamil and Telugu cinema too, and saw immense success in villain roles. In the Tamil film industry, he grabbed everyone’s attention as the super-villain in the movie Gemini, in which Vikram played the lead role.
