: Noted film-theatre actorSasi Kalinga, who immortalised a number of significant characters both on stage and silverscreen and known for his characteristic humorous expression, died here early Tuesday, family sources said.The 59-year old actor was battling liver-related ailments for some time and was admitted to a private hospital in this north Kerala district.Though his real name was V Chandrakumar, the actor had been known as Sasi Kalinga throughout his decades-long acting career.Before trying his luck in films, he had acted in over 500 dramas of various theatre groups in the past 25 years.Though the actor made his debut in Malayalam cinema in 1998 in the movie "Thakarachenda", he couldn't find a deserving space in the glamour world.But his second movie innings through the Mammootty- starrer, "Palerimanikyam Oru Pathira Kolapathakam", gave him a handful of good characters, majority of them humorous roles, in Mollywood.Sasi, who had acted in over 250 movies in a short span of time, would be specially known for his characters in "Pranchiyettan and the Saint", "Kerala Cafe", "Indian Rupee", "Amen", "Vellimoonga", "Adaminte Makan Abu", "Amar Akbar Antony" and others.Condoling his death, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed the contributions of the actor in film and theatre.Sasi, who had excelled in theatre for over a quarter of a century, carved a niche in the world of films also, Vijayan recalled.
