Mimicry artiste and actor Aby dead

Mimicry artist and actor Aby died in Kochi today. He was 50. Aby was ailing for some time following a platelet-related condition. According to hospital authorities, he was brought dead to the hospital at around 10:20 am.  

Aby, who rose to fame as a mimicry artist, had also acted in over 50 Malayalam films. He is survived by wife Suneela, son Shane Nigam and daughters Ahana and Aleena. Shane Nigam is also a popular actor in Malayalam. 

Career in mimicry

It was during the 90s that Aby, whose real name is Habeeb Ahamed, entered the mimicry field. During his stint with troupes like Kalabhavan and Harisree, Aby became a household name, pioneering the trend of mimicry cassettes. He was also a part of over 300 audio and video cassettes, including the superhit De Maveli Kombath and Onathinidakku Pootu Kachavadam. 

Popular for mimicking Mammootty and his characters like Inspector Balram, and Amitabh Bachchan, Aby also created the hit character Aminathatha. Such was the popularity of the character that Aby was chosen to reprise Aminathatha in the film Kireedam Illatha Rajakkanmar (1996). He had also acted in films like Mimics Action 500 and Rasikan, where he portrayed a Mammootty fan. He was cast opposite Dileep, who played a Mohanlal fan in the film. A fellow mimicry artist, Dileep had once mentioned that Rasikan was based on the real-life incidents during their stint in Kalabhavan. 

"He was a Superstar" - Siddique 

Director Siddique, who started his career as a mimicry artist with Kalabhavan, remembers Aby as a superstar in the mimicry field.  "I was already a mimicry artiste when I met Aby in Muvattupuzha. He had already started staging shows then. Then we got together in Kalabhavan where we started the trend of making mimicry cassettes. When I switched to films, I had to quit Kalabhavan. By that time, Aby had grown into a great mimicry artiste with a huge fan following. His works like De Maveli Kombath were also instant hits at that time. His untimely death is a huge loss for me as he was like a brother to me," says Siddique.