Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan

comedy troupe A comedy troupe is a group of comedians and associated Employment, personnel who work together to perform comedy as entertainment. The term is often used interchangeably with comedy group, and the troupe may specialize in a specific comedic genr ...

. He had starred in over 250 films, including

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, and Telugu films, and was renowned for his humorous characters and villain roles. Mani won National Film Award – Special Jury Award and

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

for his performance as Ramu in '' Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum'' (1999). He was the first actor from kerala who won the National Film Award - Special Jury Award in the history of Malayalam film industry.

Personal life

Kalabhavan Mani was born as Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

to Chenathunad Kunnisseri Veettil Raman and Ammini at

Chalakudy Chalakudy () is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls ...

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

on New Year's Day in 1971. He had an elder brother, Velayudan (deceased), younger brother, R. L. V. Ramakrishnan (dancer) and four sisters, Thankamani, Leela, Santha and Ammini Jr. He studied at GLPS East School Chalakudy till 4th grade and Government Boys School, Chalakudy till 10th grade. Mani married Nimmy on 22 September 1999 and has a daughter named Sreelakshmi, born in 2000. He was once an

autorickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

driver from

. His brother, R. L. V. Ramakrishnan acted in '' Bamboo Boys'' in a cameo role, starring alongside

Cochin Haneefa Cochin Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010) was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to become one of the most popular comedians of Malay ...

Harisree Ashokan Harisree Ashokan (born 6 April 1964) is an Indian actor and director who is known for his comedy roles in Malayalam films. Ashokan has acted in more than 200 Malayalam films. He started his career as a mimicry artist in the troupe Harisree and ...

and

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mala ...

Career

He started his career as a

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...

artist with the drama group Kalabhavan. His film debut was as a junior artist in

Vijayakanth Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...

Captain Prabhakaran. He started his acting career in the

film ''Aksharam'' as an

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

driver. He got his first major breakthrough with the Lohithadas movie Sallapam (1996), which was a hit. After this, he acted in several movies in the comedy roles. He did some notable roles in movies such as Dilliwala Rajakumaran, Manthra Mothiram, Gajaraja Manthram, Katha Nayakan, Mayaponman and Kottappurathe Koottukudumbam. Mani's comic role as ''Monayi'' in the 1998 movie Summer in Bethlehem was appreciated among the audience. After portraying several comic characters, his true potential to do the character roles was revealed in the film '' Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum''. He did the role of a blind singer in it which earned him the Special Jury Award at both

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

and

. These awards helped Mani to do the character roles and villain roles in several movies while also doing comedy roles in numerous films. In Vakkalathu Narayanankutty (2001), he played the villain role. However his performance as villain was first noted in the movie Rakshasa Rajavu (2001), where he played the role of a crooked corrupt politician called ''Gunasekharan''. The Guard is unique film as it has only Mani as a star cast in it. His performance as a poor eccentric person called ''Kuttan'' in Karumadikuttan received high appreciation. Mani returned to his unique comical role with the

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bhojpuri language films. He is also a chenda ...

starrer

One man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

. Mani was praised for his performance in Valkannadi (2002). The revenge drama had Mani in the role of ''Appunni'', a blacksmith with the history of mental illness. He was also noted for his performance in the character role in Malayali Mamanu Vanakkam. After the comedy movies Kuberan and Bamboo Boys, both of them released in 2002, Mani almost shifted his complete focus on doing character and villain roles. Mani's notable movies in 2003 include Vellithira,

Balettan ''Balettan'' is a 2003 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by V. M. Vinu, written by T. A. Shahid, and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal in the title role, along with Devayani, Nedumudi Venu, Harisree Ashokan, Riyaz Kh ...

, Pattalam and War and Love. He once again returned to do the comedy role with the 2004

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...

movie Vettam, which is probabily his last notable movie in a complete comic role. He also had a small appearance in ''Magic Lamp''. Mani's performance as ''Chemban Gurukkal'', the blind master martial artist, in Ananthabhadram (2005) received high appreciation. In Ben Johnson, he played the role of an action hero for the first time. It was one of the highest-grossing movies in 2005.His villain Role as komalan in the movie pouran(2005) also noted. The success of Ben Johnson saw Mani playing the similar hero roles in movies such as Lokanathan IAS, Chacko Randaaman,

Kisan Kisan may refer to: * Kisan people The Kisan are a tribal group found in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand. They are traditional farmers and a food gathering people. They speak Kisan, a dialect of Kurukh language, Kurukh, as well as Odia lang ...

, Payum Puli, Red Salute etc. He got a lot of praise for his performance as the villain in Chotta Mumbai (2007). In the movie, Mani played the character called ''Nateshan'', which is considered one of the biggest villain characters in Malayalam. Mani played the lead role in the family drama Aayirathil Oruvan (2009), which was critically acclaimed In 2010, Mani acted in several films in the lead roles such as ''Orange'', Pulliman, Black Stallion and

Canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

. However, most of these were a huge failure at box office. In 2012, he acted in the multi-starrer crime drama film

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...

. His performance as ''Looyi Papan'' in ''

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

'' (2013) was acclaimed by both the critics and audience. Mani's last Malayalam movie is ''Poyi Maranju Parayathe'', which was released in 2016 after his death. He grabbed everyone's attention in the

Tamil film Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...

industry as the villain in the movie Gemini (2002), which featured Vikram in the lead role. He acted in more than 30 Tamil films along with numerous

and Telugu films. His last Tamil film is ''Pudhusa Naan Poranthen'' released in 2016. Along with his acting career, Mani established a parallel industry of ''Nadan Pattu'' (

folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

), by selling a record number of releases. His first music album was ''Kannimanga Prayathil''. Most of his songs were written and composed by ''Arumugan Venkidangu''. He also released several religious songs and Mappila Pattukal.

Charity

Mani is well known for providing humanitarian assistance to people in need. He was approached and was offered a seat in the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election by LDF. He had openly told that he was a Leftist and used to Campaign for CPI(M) and left parties during elections. Mani is known for doing a lot of charity work for the poor people. Reportedly, on an average day, around 20 people from less privileged backgrounds used to come to visit him at his residence. As a fund-raiser and performer, he also had contributed money to the local festivals of the religious organisations and provided funds to the schools in his village.

Death

Kalabhavan Mani died at 7:15 pm on 6 March 2016, aged 45. The day before, he was admitted to Amrita Hospital, Kochi, with haematemesis (vomiting of blood) and was in the ICU. The police registered a case as

Manner of death In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distin ...

due to the presence of excessive

Methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

(a toxic chemical found in illicit

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

Arrack Arrack is a Distillation, distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the Fermentation (food), fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon ...

) with

Paracetamol Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is a non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic agent used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. It is a widely available over-the-counter drug sold under various brand names, including Tylenol and Panadol. Parac ...

in Kalabhavan Mani's body. On 8 March 2016, based on the initial

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

report and statements of witnesses, the police said that serious alcoholic fatty liver illness along with

alcohol consumption Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

may have caused his death and it might have been a suicide attempt. Four months prior to his death, doctors had categorically warned him against drinking alcohol and he was counselled for

severe depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introd ...

. However, Mani in his phase of depression and informed of severe liver damage conditions, ignored the doctors' warnings and continued with alcoholism. Even on the day before he died, he was allegedly reported consuming alcohol (beer) with friends in the

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

of his house. His unexpected death led to a case by his friends and family which has been filed for investigation through

Kochi City Police Kochi City Police (KCP), also known as the Ernakulam City Police, is the police force of the Indian city of Kochi. The force is headed by a Police Commissioner, an IPS officer. The city police was reorganized as Metro Police force, on 1 April ...

. On 18 March 2016, based on the forensic test from the Regional Chemical Examiner's Laboratory, death cause was identified with high probability a highly poisonous chemical,

Chlorpyrifos Chlorpyrifos (CPS), also known as chlorpyrifos ethyl, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, animals, in buildings, and in other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems ...

—usually used in

insecticides Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, in ...

, which is banned in many countries for residential use, it is considered a hazardous substance for general ecology. Presence of chlorpyrifos along with methyl and ethyl alcohol contents were found excessively in the test samples. The report suggests that Mani might have consumed the poison knowingly or unknowingly over the days before his death. Therefore, the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

has ordered a comprehensive probe in the death of Mani. The police is rounding the case through whom Mani could have accessed this poisonous concoction for substance abuse. Under RLV Ramakrishnan's suspicion Mani's three close friends have been taken into custody for questioning to rule out activities of vested interest. On 11 June 2016, based on the recommendation of the state DGP, the Government of Kerala has decided the case to be investigated by CBI. In May 2017 CBI took over the case and submitted FIR in which it was stated that the death of Kalabhavan Mani was due to unusual reasons. His sudden demise led to emotional reactions from his fans and many of his co-stars in the

Malayalam Film Industry Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both the mainstream film industry a ...

along with the rest of the South Indian Film Industry. The Malayalam film fraternity and thousands of fans of late actor Kalabhavan Mani paid homage to the versatile artiste during a memorial service on 13 March 2016, at Carmel Higher Secondary School in Chalakudy organised by well-wishers. Tributes were celebrated through the media with 2–3 hours programme special. Mani was cremated with full state honours at his home premises on 7 March. The shopkeepers of Chalakudy paid homage to Mani by closing their shops on the same day.

Legacy

'' Chalakkudikkaran Changathi'' is a 2018 Malayalam biopic film directed by Vinayan based on the life of Kalabhavan Mani.

Controversies

In an interview with journalist John Brittas, Mani stated that the State Government Award could easily have been bought off. On 14 May 2013, Mani has been accused of

assaulting In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result i ...

two forest officials during a routine inspection at

Athirappilly Athirappilly is a first grade Grama Panchayath with 489.00 km2 area in Chalakudy Taluk, Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is located 60 km from Thrissur city, 70 km northeast of Kochi city, 55 km northeast of Cochin In ...

. However, those who had claimed to be travelling with Mani in the same car, had filed a complaint against the forest officials for abusing them. The police have registered cases against both Mani and the injured forest officials. Later, Mani was arrested and charged when he surrendered to the police. He was granted bail by the

High Court of Kerala The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

with conditions on it. Mani and his friends had been on a trip to the tourist place when forest officials intervened and said they wanted to search his vehicle. It was alleged that the officials started having an argument with Mani, allegedly hit the actor, verbally assaulted his Other Backward Class caste and stated Kalabhavan Mani was a "Dalit" and misbehaved with his friends' wives on the car. T. P. Senkumar of then Kerala Police ADGP had said that Mani was unnecessarily harassed by the officials and the actual reason behind the assault case against Mani was that he belonged to a lower caste and that discrimination against the ordinary and lower class exists in the

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

force. However, the High Court criticised ADGP regarding the statement. On the other hand, the officials had alleged that Mani was in a

drunk Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

condition and also a main accused in two other assault cases. During an interview at Kairali channel, Mani said that

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...

had caused the officials registering the false case against him and the police officer who beat him had a criminal background of four charges.

Awards and honours

* 1999 – Special Jury Award – '' Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum''

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

* 2002 – Best Villain (Tamil) – '' Gemini'' Asianet Film Awards * 1999 – Best Actor Award – '' Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum'' * 2007 – Best Actor in a Villain Role – '' Chotta Mumbai'' Vanitha awards * 2008 – Vanitha Chandrika Award for Best Actor in Villain Role– '' Chotta Mumbai'' Jaihind TV awards * 2010 – Special Jury Award Other awards * 2014 Bharat Gopi Foundation AwardBharath Gopy award for Kalabhavan Mani
. Metromatinee.com (30 January 2014). Retrieved 20 September 2015.

Filmography

Malayalam films

1990s

2000s

2010s

Tamil films

Telugu films

Kannada films

As playback singer

* Sammanam (1995) * Kottaram Veettile Apputtan (1998) * Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu (1999) * Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum (1999) * O Priye (2000) * Achaneyanishttam (2001) * Akasthile Paravakal (2001) * The Guard (2001) * Karumadikkuttan (2001) * Bamboo Boys (2002) * Kanmashi (2002) * Vaalkannadi (2002) * Kusruthy Kannan (2003) * Kanninum Kannadiykkum (2004) * Kazhcha (2004) * Malsaram (2004) * Ananthabhadram (2005) * Ben Johnson (2005) * Chacko Randaaman (2006) * Kissan (2006) * Red Salute (2006) * Abraham Lincoln (2007) * Evan (2007) * Chakorandaman (2006) * Indrajith (2006) * Aandavan (2007) * Paayum Puli (2007) * Kabadi Kabadi (2008) * Twenty Twenty (2010)

As music director

Story

*''MLA Mani Pathaam Classum Gusthiyum'' (2012)

Television

* Manimelam as host (

Kairali TV Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment free-to-air television channel owned by PTC Network via holding company G-Next Media Pvt Ltd . It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. Hist ...

) *Gajarajan Guruvayur Keshavan (

Surya TV Surya TV is an Indian Malayalam language Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. which is headquartered at Kochi. Surya TV HD became the third Malayalam language high-definition channel. Current broadcas ...

) *Meera ( Asianet) *Vinodsala (

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

) *Chiri Arangu (Doordarshan)

References

External links

* * http://en.msidb.org/displayProfile.php?category=actors&artist=Kalabhavan%20Mani&limit=186 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mani, Kalabhavan 1971 births 2016 deaths Indian male film actors Male actors from Thrissur People from Chalakudy Actors from Thrissur district Kerala State Film Award winners Male actors in Malayalam cinema International Tamil Film Award winners Male actors in Tamil cinema Malayalam playback singers Singers from Thrissur 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners Film musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian male singers Male actors from Kerala Male actors in Malayalam television Artists from Kerala