Mala Aravindan, one of Malayalam cinema’s all-time best comedians who was also noted for his character roles, died at a private hospital in Coimbatore on Wednesday morning. He was 76.
‘Mala’, as he was known, had been undergoing treatment in Coimbatore following a heart attack. His body was brought to Thrissur and kept at the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Hall for public viewing and at the St. Antony's High School, Mala. His mortal remains would be taken to Mala in the district for cremation at 8 a.m. on Thursday. He is survived by his wife Gettah and children Muthu and Kala.
Born in 1941 at Vadavucode in Ernakulam, Mala Aravindan began his career as a tabla artist with the State’s vibrant travelling professional theatre groups. He had relocated to Mala from Ernakulam well before he began his film career, adopting the place name as prefix to his artistic identity. He began his acting career in the plays of National Theatres, Kottayam, and went on to associate with theatre groups such as Natakasala and Suryasoma.
He won the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi's award for the best actor for his role in Sooryasoma's play Nidhi. Mala Aravindan began his stint in films with the 1968 film Sindhooram, directed by Balakrishnan. Since then he has acted in over 400 films. His major films include Mimics Parade, Kanmadam, Aalorungi Arangorungi, Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, Venkalam, Uppukandam Brothers, Bhoothakannadi, Joker, Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal, Maduranombarakkattu, Meesha Madhavan, Mahayaanam, Pattalam, Sethuramayyar CBI, Rasikan, Sandhesam.