Popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passes away

Popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away at a private hospital in Kochi today, said his family. He was 45.

Unwell for a while, Mani was hospitalised for the past two days.

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.

For his brilliant portrayal as a blind man in the film "Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum", he won the special jury award at the national and the state level.