Noted Malayalam actor ‘Kalasala’ Babu (67) died at a private hospital in Kochi on Monday early morning.
Hospital authorities said he was ailing for some time and his condition worsened by Sunday. The actor is survived by wife Lalitha, daughter Sreedevi and son Viswanathan.
Born to noted Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Mohiniyattam exponent Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, Babu was active in theatre before making his foray into television and cinema.
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Babu founded the Kalasala drama troupe based in Tirupunithura. Noted actors like Thilakan and Surasu had cooperated with him in making the theatre group popular among the art lovers. He had also worked with Chalakudy Sarathy, a theatre company, for a few years.
Babu had acted in various television serials in his career spanning over four decades. He won the hearts of moviegoers through roles in movies like Kastooriman , Runway , Lion , Perumazhakalam , Two Countries and Mallusingh to name a few. He has acted in over 60 Malayalam films.