Mala Aravindan, the famous film actor known for his comedy roles, was born in the year 1939 at Ernakulum district. His original name was T K Aravindan and screen name given to him was Mala Aravindan. His father died earlier and his family was shifted to Mala, in Thrissur. He had a great interest in playing Tabla and his mother took him to Cochin Mohammed Us tad, a famous Tabla artist. He started his career as a Tabla artist and started playing Tabla for Kottayam National Theaters, Nadakashala and other troop’s stage plays.
He did many character roles in dramas and he got Kerala State Nataka Academy's Best Actor award for his role in Nidhi. Nidhi is a play by Sooryasoma troop. Almost 12 years he acted in dramas. He then acted in Kunju movie, which was his first movie.Unfortunately, the movie didn’t release. The first released movie was Thalirukal in 1967.His film career got a turning point from the movie Sindhooram directed by Balakrishnan . After that film, the name Mala Aravindan echoed in each nook and corner in Malayalam film. There was a time when every director cast the duo Jagathy-Pappu-Mala in their movies. Mala appeared for AIR’s interview programs many times, he also made appearances in some television programs in Doordarshan, Asianet etc, and he was invited as a judge for many comic programs. He acted almost 400 Malayalam films within his 33-yearcareer.
Mala Chettan, the name all Malayalee's call him with a respect was married to Geetha. The couple had two children. He had a cardiac arrest on January 19, 2015 and admitted to a private hospital in Coimbatore. Later, he was on ventilator support and on January 28 he passed away, leaving behind all memories.