TRIBUTE PAID TO AUGUSTINE, FILM ARTISTE

TRIBUTE PAID TO

AUGUSTINE, FILM ARTISTE

Augustine, 58, Malayalam film actor and producer, died in a hospital on Thursday.Augustine, who had a stroke in 2010, developed liver disease and was shifted to the hospital and put on ventilator on Wednesday. He breathed his last around 10 a.m.The body was kept till 1 p.m. in the Town Hall for the public to pay homage. The funeral will be held at St. Antony’s Church at Paroppady at 3 p.m. on Friday.Augustine had played more than 100 roles in Malayalam films. After the stroke, he mostly stayed away from films, except for a few appearances in those such as Indian Rupee ,Bavuttiyude Namathil and Shutter with roles that fit his physical state.

Augustine had been active in theatre here from a young age, but his career in Malayalam films had a slow pace. He had been a regular in films directed or only scripted by Ranjith such asDevasuram , Aaram Thampuran , Narasimham ,Nandanam and Chandrotsavam Augustine turned producer with the movie Mizhirandilum , directed by Ranjith. Shutter , directed by Joy Mathew, another friend of his, was his last film, in which he played an inactive film producer. He even had a brief stint in television serials.His roles in films such as Nilgiri , Gandhinagar 2nd Street , Ravanaprabhu , Chandralekha , Sadayam ,Commissioner , Oru Maravathur Kanavu , Ustad , InspectorBalram , Arabikatha , Vesham ,Kathaparayumbol and Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala are notable. His Malabar dialect earned him the slot vacated by Kuthiravattam Pappu for comic roles. He was equally at ease in character roles. Ann Augustine, actor, is his daughter.

Prof. John Kurakar