Late Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani had a distinctive style of laughter, that stays with the audience even to this day. So does the variety of characters he played on screen, and his enormously popular 'Thrissur slang.'

On Mani's second death anniversary on Tuesday, the first-look poster of the upcoming film Chalakkudikkaran Changathi was released. Mani is a native of Chalakkudi in Kerala's Thrissur district.

Director Vinayan chose the occasion of Mani's death anniversary to release the poster of the film, which, according to the director, is a tribute to the late actor. Vinayan released the poster by sharing it on Facebook.

The poster shows actor Rajamani – who plays Kalabhavan Mani in the film – stepping out of the driver's seat of an autorickshaw, dressed in a khaki shirt and a bright red mundu. He sports a thick mustache, like that of Mani, and is seen waving in the poster.  

"Kalabhavan Mani was a great actor, and above all, a great human being… A common man," Vijayan wrote in Malayalam.

Giving a sneak peek into what the movie will be about, Vinayan said that the audience can expect to see Mani's humour and tear-inducing moments of his life in the film.

Mani passed away two years ago on March 6. His untimely and mysterious death came as a shock to the people of the film industry and the people of the state alike.

Director Vinayan had, in August last year, announced that he is set to make a film inspired by Kalabhavan Mani's life.

Earlier in an interview, Vinayan had said that Chalakkudikaran Changathi is not a film about Mani's file, but one that is inspired by the actor's life.

“The movie is not about Kalabhavan Mani, but is based on his life. The life of a talented boy from a lower caste who makes it big in the film industry and how he slowly loses grip of it. It will shed light on how our society still marginalises dark-skinned people,” Vinayan had said.