Kalabhavan Abi

Abi
Born	Habeeb Muhammed (1965-02-28)28 February 1965 Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India
Died	30 November 2017(2017-11-30) (aged 52) Elamakkara, Kochi
Education	Maharaja's College, Ernakulam
Occupations	Impressionist comedian actor dubbing artist playback singer
Years active	1991–2017
Spouse	Sunila
Children	3 (including Shane Nigam)

Habeeb Muhammed (28 February 1965 – 30 November 2017), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Abi, was an Indian impressionist, comedian, actor, and dubbing artist.

Personal life

Abi was born as the third son to Kavumkara Thadathikkudiyil (Thonganal) Bava Khan, a noted social worker and the former state general secretary of Kerala Congress, and Payipra Ezhuthanikattu Ummakunju on 28 February 1965 at Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam. He has two elder brothers Ameer Navas and Kabeer B Haroon, and a younger sister Raziya. He had his primary education at Government Higher Secondary School, Muvattupuzha. He did his pre university degree from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. He studied Sanitary Inspector's Diploma Course (S.I.) at Mumbai.

He was married to Sunila. They had a son, Shane Nigam, two daughters. They settled at Elamakkara, Kochi. He was under treatment for aplastic anemia for two years before his death. On 30 November 2017 he was taken to Amrita Hospital at around 8 a.m. after he complained of uneasiness. Doctors confirmed death after half an hour. The death happened 45 mins before that. His funeral took place at Perumattam, Muvattupuzha Muslim Jamath mosque.

Career

Abi began his stage career in Youth Festivals in the Mahatma Gandhi University and had twice bagged the first prize in mimicry competitions which brought him into the mimicry troupe Kalabhavan. Later, he worked in the troupes Cochin Sagar, Cochin Oscar and Harisree. Cochin Sagar is a troupe he formed in 1990 and later on has worked in its banner. His debut film was Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu in 1991, and has then acted in about 50 films. As a stage performer, he is best known for his performance as an elderly Muslim woman named Amina Thatha, and is also known for mimicking voice of actor Mammootty. Along with Dileep and Nadirshah, Abi is one among the pioneers that produced comedy audio albums, Dhe Maveli Kombathu and Onathinidakku Puttu kachavadam in the 1990s. Abhi was also the voice behind Amitabh Bachchan in many Malayalam dubbed advertisements. His popular movies are Kireedamillatha Rajakkanmar, Aniyathipravu, Mazhavil Koodaram and Rasikan. Abi's last film was Thrissivaperoor Kliptham in 2017. Abi's son, Shane Nigam, is an actor.

Filmography

Actor

• All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted.

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu	Stephen
1992	Kasarkode Khaderbai
	Ellarum Chollanu
1993	Vatsalyam	Vinod
1994	Bheeshmacharya
	Sainyam	Cadet Das
	Vardhakya Puranam	Santhosh
1995	Mimics Action 500	Devassykutty
	Mazhavilkoodaram	Sobhan Kumar
	Kidilol Kidilam	Ajith
1996	Moonnam Loka Pattalam (The Porter)	Sasi Varma
	Kireedamillatha Rajakkanmar	Meter Koya, Ithaatha
1997	Manikya Koodaram
	Aniyathipraavu	Santhappan
1999	James Bond	Sundaran
2002	Desam	Bhaskaran
2004	Rasikan	Abu
2007	Kichamani MBA
2010	Thanthonni
2013	Thank You
	For Sale
	Malayala Nadu
2014	Koothara	Thufailikka
2016	Happy Wedding	SI Happy Paul
2017	Chicken Kokkachi
	Thrissivaperoor Kliptham	Sensilavos
	Karutha Sooryan

Singer

Year	Film	Song	Music Director	Co-singer
2014	Salalah Mobiles	La La Lasa	Gopi Sundar	Nazriya Nazim, Gopi Sundar

Television

• Prekshakare Avashyamundu (Mazhavil Manorama)
• Midukki (Mazhavil Manorama)
• Cinemaa Chirimaa (Mazhavil Manorama)