Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan passes away

The actor, who was also noted for his character roles, was 76. He is survived by his wife Geetha and children Muthu and Kala.

By T K Devasia

Published: Thu 29 Jan 2015, 9:14 PM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 9:02 PM

Trivandrum: Veteran Malayalam film actor Mala Aravindan, who made Malayalees laugh for nearly four decades with his comic acts passed away on Wednesday.

The actor, who was also noted for his character roles, was 76. He is survived by his wife Geetha and children Muthu and Kala.

Aravindan, popularly known as ‘Mala’, who was undergoing treatment at the Kovai Medical Centre at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu after he suffered a massive heart attack a week ago, breathed his last at around 6am.

His body was brought to Trichur in the afternoon and kept at the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Hall, Trichur and at the St. Antony’s High School, Mala, for public viewing

His mortal remains would be cremated at his home town of Mala in Trichur district at 8am on Thursday.

Born as the eldest son of Ayyappan and Ponnama in the year 1941 at Vadavucode in Ernakulam, Aravindan started his career as an instrumental artiste (table) in theatre and later shifted to stage plays. He went on to do many professional plays with reputed theatre troupes and later won the Kerala State Nadaka Academy’s award for best actor.

He entered the film world after a long stint in the theatre. Aravindan made his debut in the silver screen in 1968 with the movie Sindhooram directed by Balakrishnan.

He cemented his position in the industry with his own style of dialogue-delivery and comic timing.

Aravindan worked with three generations of Malayalam actors-from Prem Nazir, Jayan, Soman, Mammootty and Mohanlal to Dileep. He became inevitable for the industry after he joined stalwarts like Pappu and Jagathy in comic roles. They became a deadly comic combination that assured success to the producers. The trio went on to become the face of Malayalam comedy.

Some of his popular films are Ente Gramam, “Tharavadu, Adhikaram, Alorongi Arangorungi, Thadavara, “Bhoodhakannnadi, Ooma Penninu Uriyada Payyan, Koyyayam Kunjachan, Joker and Meesamadhavan. The actor’s last release was “Lal Bahadur Shasthri” in 2014.

Aravindan bagged the ‘Chalachitra Prathiba Puraskar’ instituted by the Kerala Film Critics Association. He served as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, a professional body of the actors.

Aravindan came to be known as Mala Aravindan after he relocated to Mala, the home town of former chief minister K Karunakaran. He adopted the place name as prefix to maintain his artistic identity.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Cultural Affairs Minister K C Joseph, leaders of major political parties and cultural organizations, and film personalities condoled the demise of the actor.

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