Ace Malayalam film actor Mala Aravindan(15 January 1939 - 28 January 2015) 76, died at a private hospital in Coimbatore on Wednesday morning. He has been hospitalised for a couple of weeks in connection with cardiac ailments.

Aravindan, known as comedian Mala, had acted in 650-odd films in a career spanning four decades. He had been an integral part of comedy scenes in Malayalam movies until a few years back along with the late Kuthiravattam Pappu and Jagathi Sreekumar, who has been paralysed following a road accident. The trio even stared in a comedy film named after them called `Pappu, Mala, Jagathi.’

Born in Ernakulam, Aravindan shifted to Mala in Thrissur, where his mother was employed. In the film industry, Aravindan was known as Mala.

Aravindan started his career as a thabala player and later joined a playback theatre team. Later, he graduated as a stage artiste and acted in 40 dramas with various troupes. Like several film actors of his generation, the performance in dramas paved way for his entry into films. After 12 years of theatre life, Aravindan made his film debut in 1976.