Malayalam actor Kottayam Pradeep passes away at 61; stars pour in tributes

Kottayam Pradeep, who had worked in numerous Malayalam films, has passed away. He was 61. He died of a heart attack at around 4.15 AM on Thursday, as per a report by Mathrubhumi. He was admitted to a hospital after he complained of discomfort. 

Tributes poured in from Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, among others.

Malayalam actor Kottayam Pradeep passes away at 61

The actor's real name was Pradeep KR and later started being known as Kottayam Pradeep. A highlight of his performances was always in bringing the humour quotient in his films. He starred as a junior artist in his initial films, and many of them were without dialogues and some were also uncredited roles.

The artiste has been associated with the film industry for the past two decades. He was said to have worked in 70 films in all. The actor had made his debut with the movie Ee Nadu Enale Vare, directed by I. V. Sasi in 2001. He had also worked in some Tamil films. One of his first breakout performances was in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa as Trisha's uncle in 2010. 

He starred in Kalyanaraman, 2 Harihar Nagar My Big Father, Oru Vadakkan Selfie, Life of Josutty, Amar Akbar Antony, Welcome to Central Jail, Ore Mukham, Oru Adar Love, Rajamanikyam, Aadu Oru Bheegara Jeevi Aanu, Adi Kapyare Kootamani, and Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan, among others.

Raja Rani, Theri were some of the other Tamil films he starred in and Ye Maaya Chesave was a Tamil film he did.

Malayalam stars pay respects to Kottayam Pradeep

Among those to pay respects to Kottayam Pradeep was actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran. He shared a photo of the late actor with his usual smiling face common in his films. The Brahmam star wrote, 'Rest in Peace' along with folded hands emoji. 

Other actors like Manju Warrier, Unni Mukundan, Asif Ali also shared their tributes for the late actor. They prayed for his soul and called him a 'dear colleague.'

Among the honours for Kottayam Pradeep was fetching the Best Supporting Actor at the 2nd Asianet Comedy Awards 2016. He is survived by his wife, Maya Pradeep, and two children.