Thiruvananthapuram, June 8 -- Thousands braved heavy, uninterrupted rain to stand in line in front of the Town Hall in Kerala's North Paravur on Sunday to bid farewell to Salim Kumar, Malayalam cinema's versatile comedian-actor, who passed away on Saturday night due to long-standing health issues. He was 57.

Kumar died at a private hospital in Kochi after being admitted with fever and shortness of breath. A hospital statement said that he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease and sepsis with multi-organ dysfunction. A recipient of a liver transplant a few years ago, Kumar was given ventilator support but succumbed to illness around 10.43 pm on Saturday.

The actor's mortal remains were shifted ...