Character actor Augustine dies

Kozhikode: Malayalam film actor Augustine, 56, who essayed a number of memorable character roles in a career spanning over 35 years, died at a private hospital here due to liver ailment on Thursday morning. 

Augustine, who had been keeping away from cinema after he suffered a paralytic stroke, had acted in over 100  films, including  major hits like Gandhinagar Second Street,    Devasuram,  Aaraam Thampuran, Ravanaprabhu  and Nandanam.

He  is survived by wife Aansamma and daughters Jeethu Augustine and  Ann Augustine, who  is an upcoming actor. Prominent directors such as Renjith, Joy Mathew and V.M. Vinu were present in the hospital when his end came. 

Several  film and theatre personalities  in Kozhikode paid homage to  the actor. His body was later taken to the town hall to enable the  public to pay their last respects before it was shifted to his home.

The funeral will be held at Paroppady St. Antony’s Church at 3 p.m. on Friday.  Son of Kunnumbarath Mathew and Rosy of  Kodenchery, Augustine  was associated  with several  theatre groups in Kozhikode.  His initial attempts to get  a foothold in films, then based at Kodambakkam in Chennai, had failed.

A breakthrough came in 1980s with the film Gandhinagar Second Street’ scripted by Sreenivasan. Thereafter,  he made his presence felt in films scripted or directed by hit-makers like Renjith.  Augustine’s  other prominent films included Chandralekha, Commissioner, Indian Rupee, Arabikatha, Sadayam and  Nilagiri.

Shutter directed by Joy Mathew was his  last important  film. Paying tributes to Augustine, Joy Mathew said: “Many people like me have grown up watching the performance of Augustine in dramas and I have won prizes in my school days by portraying the characters enacted by Augustine.”