Noted mimicry artiste and actor Abi passed away in Kochi on Thursday morning.
The 52-year-old was declared brought dead at a private hospital at 10.15 a.m. According to hospital sources, he had been undergoing treatment for reduced blood platelet count.
Abi may not have made it big as an actor, but he played a key role in making mimicry one of the most popular art forms for Malayalis.
He had arrived on the mimicry scene long before the comedy shows became a rage on television. Along with the likes of Jayaram and Zainuddin, he was one of the early stars of mimicry, both on stage shows and in audio cassettes.
He was truly versatile as a mimic. He could imitate bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, even as he brought to life various characters of Mammootty, including Chanthu in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha . Mammootty had taken note and acknowledged that Abi helped him correct as an actor.
But his masterpiece was not Mammootty nor Bachchan. It was as Amina Thatha that he elicited the loudest laughter.
As the innocent, witty old Muslim woman from Malabar, Abi was a class act. Decades since Abi created her, she remains one of the most loved characters on the mimicry stage. She was so popular that Abi played her in a film too – Kireedamillatha Rajakkanmar .
That, however, was one of the few films that gave him any scope to showcase his skills as an actor. He appeared in only about 50 films though he had been around for more than three decades. In most of these films, he had forgettable roles.
Some of the films in which he had notable roles, such as Rasikan , failed at the box office. He was naturally disappointed that he could become a star in films despite possessing talent and good looks, even as several mimicry stars, including Jayaram, Dileep, Zainuddin and Jayasurya achieved great success in tinsel town. “Maybe I don’t have a face that was different from the rest, say like that of Zainuddin,” he had once said as a possible explanation.
Director Fazil, who directed him in Aniyathi Pravu , said Malayalam cinema failed to make use of Abi as an actor. “He was relatively new when I cast him in Aniyathi Pravu ,” the director told The Hindu . “He had only a few scenes in the film, but he surprised me with his natural talent: he needed just one take for what was a difficult scene.”
Fazil felt Abi had the potential to become a character actor who could have played myriad roles. “If not as a hero, he would have excelled in the kind of roles that are played by Siddique and Saikumar,” he said. “I am, however, glad that Abi lived long enough to watch his son Shane Nigam emerging as a star.”
