Mani had more talent than time: Kamal

Thousands bid goodbye, police probe death

Chennai: Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan has condoled the death of noted South Indian actor and popular folk singer Kalabhavan Mani, who passed away in Kochi yesterday. Mani, 45, was undergoing treatment for liver and kidney diseases at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences.

"Sad about my friend Kalabhavanam Mani. One more of My Malayalee brothers dying of cirrhosis. He had more talent than time," Haasan, 61, posted on Twitter. Mani starred in over 200 films, including Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films, and is especially known for his character and villain roles. He won the National Film Award and Kerala State Film Award in 1999 for his performance as Ramu in "Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum".

The shocking death of Kalabhavan Mani, often referred to as the "poor man's superstar", has left his fans in Thrissur shaken. Thousands of them waited for hours to get one last look at the actor, even as a special police team began a probe into what caused his death.

Mani passed away on Sunday night at a private hospital at Kochi and soon after his death, speculations surfaced that this was not a natural death as the hospital authorities reported presence of a chemical in his body. He was 45, and is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Mani's friends and colleagues from the film industry started making a beeline on Monday morning to have one last glimpse of the hugely talented actor, who died unexpectedly.