Actor ‘Mela’ Reghu is no more

Puthenveli Sasidharan, popular as actor ‘Mela’ Reghu, died in Kochi on Tuesday.

He was 60. A resident of Cherthala, Mr. Reghu had collapsed at his home on April 16 following a stroke. He was admitted in an intensive care unit of a private hospital here. The actor’s condition worsened on Tuesday morning.

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A circus clown by profession, Mr. Reghu entered the tinsel town on account of his shortness of height in the movie ‘Mela’ directed by renowned filmmaker K. G. George in 1980. Actor Sreenivasan, who played a key role in the movie, found the actor in him after watching his performance as a clown in a show staged by the famous Bharat Circus.

Mr. Reghu played the lead character of Govindankutty along with actor Mammootty in ‘Mela’, which brought the tragic lives of male and female circus artists’ on the big screen. It was Mr. George who suggested that Puthenveli Sasidharan change his name to Reghu. The success of the movie earned him the epithet ‘Mela’ Reghu.

He had the chance to work in veteran actor Kamal Haasan’s blockbuster film ‘Apoorva Sahodarangal’ released in 1989. ‘Drishyam 2’ starring actor Mohanlal and directed by Jeethu Joseph was his last movie.

Despite making a dream entry in Mollywood, the actor in him could not bag many memorable roles. He later switched to theatre and had the opportunity to play a character in ‘Innalakalile Aakasham’ penned by Francis T Mavelikkara and directed by Pramod Payyannoor. Mr. Reghu later returned to the world of circus after his efforts to revive the film career failed.