Malayalam actor-mimicry artist Kalabhavan Haneef passes away
Kochi (PTI): Well-known actor and mimicry artist Kalabhavan Haneef died at a private hospital on Thursday here following a brief illness, industry sources said.
Haneef (63) had been under treatment at the hospital for some days, they said.
Hailing from Mattancherry near here, Haneef entered tinsel town through his mimicry performances.
He was a member of Kalabhavan, the famed performance troupe, which has played a key role in popularising the art form of mimicry in Kerala.
Like many of his co-artists in Kalabhavan, Haneefa also entered the world of cinema through a comic role. 'Cheppukilukkana Changathi' was his first movie.
He later acted in over 300 movies, the majority of them in humorous roles, in his years-long career in the film industry.
He also tried his luck in television serials and stage shows.
The Jude Anthony-directed film, '2018', was one of the latest movies in which the actor appeared.
Haneef is survived by his wife and two children.
Superstar Mammootty and Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan were among those who condoled the demise of the actor.
In a Facebook post, the minister said Haneef's spontaneous acting skills and dialogue delivery made his roles memorable.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
