Renowned
actor
Mela
Raghu
who
was
recently
seen
in
Mohanlal's
Drishyam
2,
passed
away
today
(May
4)
at
a
private
hospital
in
Kerala's
Kochi.
As
per
reports,
the
artiste
was
undergoing
treatment
at
the
hospital,
where
he
was
admitted
on
April
16
after
collapsing
at
this
residence
following
a
stroke.
He
was
60.
Upon
hearing
the
saddening
news,
Mollywood
celebs
including
Mohanlal,
Mammootty,
Prithviraj
Sukumaran,
Guinness
Pakru
and
others
mourned
the
demise
of
the
actor
through
their
social
media
handles.
Countless
fans
and
followers
of
Raghu
also
took
to
their
social
media
accounts
to
pay
tribute
to
the
late
actor.
Raghu
had
started
off
his
film
career
with
the
1980
film
Mela
directed
by
KG
George.
His
role
as
the
main
protagonist
Govindan
Kutty,
a
circus
clown,
garnered
huge
attention
of
the
audience
as
it
was
the
first
time
that
a
dwarf
actor
played
an
extended
role
in
a
Malayalam
film.
Notably,
he
shared
screen
space
with
Mammootty
and
Anjali
Naidu
in
the
film.
The
huge
success
of
the
film
earned
him
the
title
'Mela'
Raghu,
which
was
later
used
by
him
as
his
screen
name.
Though
the
star
acted
in
as
many
as
30
films
including
Kamal
Haasan's
Apoorva
Sagodharargal
(1989)
and
Mohanlal's
recent
release
Drishyam
2
(2021),
he
had
reportedly
tried
his
hand
at
theatrical
dramas
too.