Thiruvananthapuram: Malayalam film actor and theatre artiste K S Premkumar, popularly called Kochu Preman, passed away at a private hospital here on Saturday. He was 68.

The actor had been admitted to hospital for treatment for a lung disease.

He is survived by his wife Girija Preman, who is also an actor and son Harikrishnan.

Born on June 1, 1955 in Thiruvananthapuram, the veteran actor completed his primary education at a government school in Peyad, after which, he joined the Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Following success in theatre, Preman moved to cinema, with ‘Ezhu Nirangal’ of 1979 being his first movie. The 1996 movie ‘Dilliwala Rajakumaran’ was one of his most successful ventures as actor. Preman acted in more than 250 films.

He is most remembered for his comic portrayal of characters in movies like ‘Thilakkam’, ‘Kalyanaraman’, ‘Thenkasipattanam’ and ‘Pattabhishekam’. His last movie, ‘Oru Pappadavada Premam’ was in released in 2021.

In addition, Preman starred in several Malayalam television serials and also worked in theatre troupes like Kalidasa Kalakendram, Kerala Theaters, and Sanghachethana.

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Bengaluru, Nov 1: ISRO on Friday said its analogue space mission has taken off at Leh in Ladakh, where it will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat as India prepares to send a human to the moon.

The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.

The month-long mission, kicked off mid-October, comes in the wake of India's plans to set up lunar habitats, which could provide a base to launch inter-planetary missions.

The geographical features of Ladakh are considered to closely resemble Martian and lunar landscapes and are an ideal training ground for scientific missions aimed at exploring planets "India's first analog space mission kicks off in Leh...this mission will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat to tackle the challenges of a base station beyond Earth," ISRO said in a post on X.

The team of AAKA Space Studio is testing environment suits and conducting geological studies in Leh's low-oxygen environment, simulating space-like conditions, studies that could be crucial for future space missions.

The team is also studying how the human body adapts to the harsh weather conditions in Ladakh that could be useful in understanding how astronauts could get used to space like conditions.