Kalabhavan Mani, the versatile Malayalam film actor, folksinger, who forayed into Industries across south India as a comedian, hero and villain passed away at a hospital in Kochi, according to reports.
He was 45. The death occurred around 7.15 p.m
The Hindu quoted Dr Sanjeev Singh, senior medical administrator at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi that the actor was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night with bleeding haematemesis (vomiting of blood). The death occurred due to liver and kidney ailments, he said.
Mani, who entered into Malayalam films in 90's, was under treatment for liver and kideney complications. In his early youth he plied auto rikshaw, a three-wheeler taxi to eke out a living.
Before films, he made a name in the mimicry, then a fledgling art form in Kerala. Mani was among the few who made it into the world of films from the mimicry industry which employed thousands of artistically minded young men.
In Tamil and Telugu, he essayed mainly villain roles. he won the special jury award at the national and the state level for his portrayal of the blind protagonist in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum, a 1999 blockbuster movie without much star power.
He is survived by his wife Nimmy, a veterinary physician and a daughter, Sree Lakshmy.
He was born in Chalakudy, a suburban of Kochi.
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, which is going for an election this May.
The Peninsula
