Kochi: The funeral for actor and mimicry artist Kalabhavan Navas is scheduled to take place on Saturday evening, following public viewing at the Aluva Juma Masjid from 4 pm to 5 pm. The post-mortem was performed earlier in the morning at Kalamassery Medical College. After this procedure, his body will be handed over and transported to his residence in Aluva.
Navas was discovered unconscious in a hotel room in Chottanikkara late on Friday night and was pronounced dead upon reaching the hospital. A preliminary medical assessment suggests that cardiac arrest may have been the cause of death.
The actor had been staying in a lodge in Chottanikkara since July 25 for a film shoot. After completing his work around 5:30 pm on Friday, Navas, who was on a two-day break, mentioned to colleagues that he might head home. He returned to his room shortly thereafter.
The film crew had booked three rooms, with two already checked out. Navas was in Room 209. When he did not check out on time, co-workers reached out to the hotel staff, who sent a room boy to investigate. “The door wasn’t locked, but there was no response. When it was opened, Navas was found lying unconscious on the floor. We informed the production controller and took him to the hospital immediately,” said hotel owner Santhosh.
Santhosh noted that Navas exhibited signs of life while being transported to the hospital. “His hands were moving when we took him,” he added. “I don’t know what happened after that.” The body was subsequently moved to the Ernakulam Government Medical College mortuary.
Kalabhavan Navas embarked on his career on mimicry stages and made his film debut in 1995 with the movie Chaitanyam. He went on to star in numerous popular films, including Mimics Action 500, Hitler Brothers, Junior Mandrake, Mattupetti Machan, Chandamama, and Thillana Thillana. His most recent film was Detective Ujjwalan. Recently, he featured in the lead role alongside his wife, Rehna, in the film Izha.
