Family suspects foul play in actor Sreenath’s death

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - A day after the funeral of popular Malayalam film and TV actor Sreenath, his family Sunday said they suspect foul play in his death and will approach the state government for a probe.

Sreenath was found dead in a hotel room in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district Friday morning with his wrist slashed. His last rites were performed Saturday.

Addressing reporters at the deceased actor’s home Sunday, his brother Satyanath said: “No one can believe that he committed suicide and there is no reason for that. It could be that someone is behind this or he was driven to do this. We just can’t believe that he will do this.”

Sreenath had been in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, around 250 km from Thiruvananthapuram, for the past two days and was shooting for Malayalam film “Shikar” starring superstar Mohanlal. According to the police, his body was discovered by the hotel staff.

“It’s quite strange that no one associated with the film called up to inform about the incident and neither did anyone come here also,” Satyanath said.

Meanwhile, reports have also surfaced that the actor was omitted from the film “Shikar” since he was not a member of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). He was, apparently, also asked to vacate the hotel room where he was staying at Kothamangalam.

Sreenath, who was in his early 50s, began his film career in the 1980s but faded out after an initial burst of movies. After a hiatus, he went on to become a popular television actor though he continued to act in films occasionally. His popular films include “Salini Ente Kootukari”, “Ethu Njangalude Katha”, “Oru CBI Dairy Kurippu” and “Kireedom”, among others.

At the start of his film career, he worked with actress Shantikrishna in a few hit movies and later married her. But the marriage didn’t work and the two parted ways. He married again a few years back.