Kochi: Malayalam actor Mela Raghu, who was last seen in Drishyam 2, directed by Jeethu Joseph, passed away on May 4 in a hospital. He was 60. Mela Raghu was collapsed and rushed to the hospital on April 16. After being in critical condition for a few days, he was reportedly on ventilator support after his health grew critical. Mala Raghu stepped into the industry back in 1980 with the film Mela. He played the protagonist, Raghu, a circus clown in the film. The film made headlines as it featured a dwarf actor in a full-length role in it. After a few years in the industry, he changed his name from Puthanveli Sasidharan to Mela Raghu, and the latter became his screen name.

The veteran actor breath his last this morning and the unfortunate news was shared by entertainment tracker Sreedhar Pillai on Twitter. His tweet read: “Veteran Malayalam character actor  #Raghu (60) who debuted in KG George’s classic #Mela (1980) and was recently seen in #Drishyam2 passed away in Kochi. He was in a critical condition for the last few days.”

Mela Raghu has acted in over 30 films, both in Malayalam and Tamil. He had shared the screen with Kamal Haasan. Several celebrities like Mammootty, Mohanlal, Siddique, Guinness Pakru mourned the demise of his death.

May his soul rest in peace!