Cochin Haneefa Passed Away

Veteran Malayalam actor and director “Cochin” Haneefa died of a liver ailment at a private hospital in Chennai today.He was 61 and is survived by his wife and two children.

Mostly cast in the role of villain in the initial stages of his career, he later excelled in comedy. He had acted in over 300 films since his debut film “Mamangam” in 1979. He had also acted in several Tamil films.

Salim Ahmed in real life, Haneefa started his acting career through the stage troupe Kochin Kalabhavan. Some films directed by him like ‘Valsalyam’ were box office hits and won critical acclaim.

Haneefa took easily to comedy roles and his performances were received enthusiastically by film buffs.

Haneefa had acted with almost all Malayalam heroes from the late Prem Nazir to Jayasurya and Prithviraj.

In 2001 he won the State Award for ‘Best Actor’ in ’Soothradharan’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor’ award in 1999