Malayalam actor Sreenath found dead in hotel room

Kothamangalam (Kerala), April 23 (IANS) Popular Malayalam film and TV actor Sreenath was found dead in a hotel room in this Kerala town Friday morning, police said.

His body was discovered by the hotel staff at about 8.30 a.m., a police official said.

Police have not ruled out the possibility of suicide as his wrist was found slashed, he added.

Sreenath had been in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, around 250 km from Thiruvananthapuram, for the past two days and was shooting for Malayalam film 'Shikar' starring superstar Mohanlal.

Sreenath, who was in his early 50s, began his film career in the 1980s but faded out after an initial burst of movies. After a hiatus, he went on to become a popular television actor though he continued to act in films occasionally.

His popular films include 'Salini Ente Kootukari', 'Ethu Njangalude Katha', 'Oru CBI Dairy Kurippu' and 'Kireedom', among others.

Sreenath's last film was 'Kerala Cafe', a movie that had 10 short films woven around a common theme, which released late last year.

At the start of his film career, he worked with actress Shantikrishna in a few hit movies and later married her. But the marriage didn't work and the two parted ways.

He wed again a few years back.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, Sreenath was a Shiv Sena candidate from the Attingal constituency.

Sreenath was winner of a state award for best TV actor.